Jets Magazine 09-10/2014

During the early post-war years, investigations into faster flying took many different directions. In September 1948, Britain's Air Council placed an order with Reid and Sigrist Ltd, based at Desford, Leicestershire, for a single aeroplane to examine the pros and cons of accommodating the pilot in a prone position. A prone-cockpit layout particularly for future fighter aircraft, had two particular advantages worth exploring. For some time it had been recognised that a prone pilot could endure greater G force during tight turns and was less likely to black out than in an upright attitude, vital as jet fighters became able to manoeuvre at ever faster speeds. Also, the prone arrangement could help reduce future interceptors' frontal area, thereby decreasing drag. Reid and Sigrist came up with a small two-seat twin-engined monoplane named the RS.4. The aircraft was converted from their earlier RS.3 Desford and christened the Bobsleigh, a reference to the second pilot's experimental position. Powered by two 130hp de Havilland Gipsy Major engines, the 34ft span aircraft (registered VZ728) first flew in its modified state on June 13, 1951. A conventional cockpit was retained and an extended, largely transparent nose added to accommodate the prone pilot.

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America In WWII 10/2014

Back when the Marvel universe first came to be, the Angel was on the job. Debuting in 1939 alongside Timely Comics' Human Torch in Marvel Comics No. 1, the Angel beat Captain America to the crime-fighting scene by a good two years. But it is the star-and-stripes-clad Captain America, not the Angel, whom people remember. The Angel, a.k.a. Tom Hallowav, didn't have powers to speak of, apart from a cape that allowed him to fly when he bothered to use it. Raised in prison by his warden father after his mother died, and trained in everything a growing boy needs to become a crime-fighter, Halloway became a detective. Then he strangely donned a snazzy red, yellow, and blue costume with wings emblazoned on his chest. Sporting an atypical (for a superhero) Errol Flvnn-like mustache, with no mask to hide his identity, the Angel turned up in numerous series and had a few significant WWII exploits. One of the Angel's most bizarre war adventures came in Human Torch No. 5 in the fall of 1941, when he teamed up with the Sub-Mariner to battle Nazi operatives disguised as zombies. The "Nazombies" were infiltrating Bermuda and striking fear into everyone's heart. But the two heroes uncovered the subterfuge— after the Angel temporarily became the Nazombies' captive—and sent the fake undead soldiers packing. The Angel crusaded for the Allied cause throughout the war, with the help of other heroes or solo, even falling prey to a Japanese brainwasher who nearly turned him into an Axis assassin. He appeared more than 100 times in multiple titles and was retroactively considered a member of the wartime All- Winners Squad.

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AIR Modeller Issue 55

The uniqueness of this subject led this modeller to a different thinking in relation to the construction that was to follow. First, at a wingspan of 23", the model had to be robust enough so as to withstand the inevitable mishandlings during its construction. Its sturdiness, when finished, must ensure a long life in the showcase. Second, and more important, the construction had to be designed in a way of leaving an unobstructed cabin interior into which all details would be installed. All the weight of the wings had to be carried by the fuselage skin and not by reinforced bulkheads, as there weren't any on the real thing... Considering the above, the construction of the Calcutta deviated a little from the traditional scratchbuilding using styrene, as it will be shown in the paragraphs that follow. As usually happens with flying boats drawings, a major design line called "the base line" is drawn below the hull, to serve as a starting point for all measuring and dimensions to be determined. The base line is horizontal, and when looking at the side profile of the drawing, it allows for all design angles, except for the dihedral (which can be seen from the front), to be determined. On the Calcutta (see photo 1), the wings angle of attack is 2.5 degrees (angle a) with the engine nacelles "thrust line" (orange line) set at 0 degrees, that is, parallel to base line (red line). The hull's top profile (green line) rises at 3.0 degrees (from bow to tail- angle b) so the horizontal stabilizer is set in line with the nacelles thrust line. The result is that the wings are mounted onto the hull at an angle of incidence of 5.5 degrees (angles a + b).

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AIR Modeller Issue 54

In 1961 the Swiss Air Force decided on a serious upgrade of their aerial defence capabilities and ordered the Marcel Dassault Mirage III. With the Doppler terrain following radar, Mach 2 capability and the IBIS fire control system the Mirage was cutting edge technology in 1961. 100 of these supersonic fighters were ordered in 1961 but they had to be customised to fit special Swiss requirements. These alterations were structural and so extensive that the Swiss Air Force received a very different version, which was known as the MIRAGE III S. The changes included a complete new radar and fire control system, the HUGHES TARAN 18, which could fire the AIM 26B Falcon and the SIDEWINDER missiles instead of the French MATRA 530. Further alterations included an extendable nose gear, strengthening of the airframe, leading edges, landing gear and the adaption of JATO bottles. The original Doppler radar had only limited use in a mountainous region and takeoffs and landings in this environment put a special strain on the airframes and landing gear. The aircraft also were stored in mountain caverns and the extended nose gear helped in lowering the tail fin in order to pass the low entrances of these caverns. Once in service however, the Swiss Mirages performed outstandingly, were loved by the pilots and remained in Service until 1988. In 1980 all aircraft underwent an extensive midlife update, which featured the addition of canard wings and the adoption of a two tone Low-Viz grey paint scheme as the most recognisable features. Beside the MIRAGE III S the Swiss Air Force also operated the Recon version III R with the camera nose and the III B trainer version, in total 61 machines, of which only three were lost due to accidents.

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