The Aviation thread

[motomk]

Originally Posted by jaskel

where did you get the desk stand models from?? ive been searching for some various models for my desk at work..

These ones are die-cast Corgi models. Picked them up from a place online in the UK.
I know you can nearly get anything you want made from certain places for a price. Only place I know in Melbourne that sells a lot of model stuff.
http://www.camaust.com.au/
I am sure others on here will know places.

[Burnout]

Originally Posted by Burnout

A couple of popular quotes:

In his book, Sled Driver, SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes: "I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my backseater) and I were screaming across Southern California, 13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its groundspeed."

"90 knots" Center replied.

"Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same."

"120 knots," Center answered.

"We weren't the only ones proud of our groundspeed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, 'Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests groundspeed readout.'

"There was a slight pause, then the response, 525 knots on the ground, Dusty".

"Another silent pause. As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my backseater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison." "Center, Aspen 20, you got a groundspeed readout for us?"

There was a longer than normal pause…………..... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots"

"No further inquiries were heard on that frequency"


And further:

……."the plane was dripping, much like the misshapen model had assembled in my youth. Fuel was seeping through the joints, raining down on the hangar floor. At Mach 3, the plane would expand several inches because of the severe temperature, which could heat the leading edge of the wing to 1,100 degrees. To prevent cracking, expansion joints had been built into the plane. Sealant resembling rubber glue covered the seams, but when the plane was subsonic, fuel would leak through the joints."……

For a machine whose natural habitat that was supersonic, what a machine indeed!

Here's a couple more nail biters concerning the SR-71.


This is another really good story from "sled driver", about the slowest he's flown:

So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of my presentations, someone asked, “what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?” This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded of a story that I had never shared before, and relayed the following.

I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England , with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling over the North Sea , we proceeded to find the small airfield.

Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing.

Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically over the field—yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast.

Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us but in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it.. The longer we continued to peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point we weren't really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked observers on the tower

Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of ultimate knife-edge pass. Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to Mildenhall without incident. We didn't say a word for those next 14 minutes.

After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadet’s hats were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I both understood the concept of “breathtaking” very well that morning, and sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach.

As we retired to the equipment room to change from space suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn't spoken a word since “the pass.” Finally, Walter looked at me and said, “One hundred fifty-six knots.
What did you see?” Trying to find my voice, I stammered, “One hundred fifty-two.” We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, “Don’t ever do that to me again!” And I never did.

A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the Mildenhall Officer’s club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, “It was probably just a routine low approach; they're pretty impressive in that plane.” Impressive indeed.

And:

From Aviation Week & Space Technology

By Bill Weaver

Among professional aviators, there's a well-worn saying: Flying is
simply hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror. And
yet, I don't recall too many periods of boredom during my 30-year
career with Lockheed, most of which was spent as a test pilot.

By far, the most memorable flight occurred on Jan. 25, 1966. Jim
Zwayer, a Lockheed flight test reconnaissance and navigation systems
specialist, and I were evaluating those systems on an SR-71 Blackbird
test from Edwards AFB, Calif. We also were investigating procedures
designed to reduce trim drag and improve high-Mach cruise
performance. The latter involved flying with the center-of-gravity
(CG) located further aft than normal, which reduced the Blackbird's
longitudinal stability.

We took off from Edwards at 11:20 a.m. and completed the mission's
first leg without incident. After refueling from a KC-135 tanker, we
turned eastbound, accelerated to a Mach 3.2-cruise speed and climbed
to 78,000 ft., our initial cruise-climb altitude.

Several minutes into cruise, the right engine inlet's automatic
control system malfunctioned, requiring a switch to manual control.
The SR-71's inlet configuration was automatically adjusted during
supersonic flight to decelerate air flow in the duct, slowing it to
subsonic speed before reaching the engine's face. This was
accomplished by the inlet's center-body spike translating aft, and by
modulating the inlet's forward bypass doors. Normally, these actions
were scheduled automatically as a function of Mach number,
positioning the normal shock wave (where air flow becomes subsonic)
inside the inlet to ensure optimum engine performance.

Without proper scheduling, disturbances inside the inlet could result
in the shock wave being expelled forward--a phenomenon known as an
"inlet unstart." That causes an instantaneous loss of engine thrust,
explosive banging noises and violent yawing of the aircraft--like
being in a train wreck. Unstarts were not uncommon at that time in
the SR-71's development, but a properly functioning system would
recapture the shock wave and restore normal operation.


On the planned test profile, we entered a programmed 35-deg. bank
turn to the right. An immediate unstart occurred on the right engine,
forcing the aircraft to roll further right and start to pitch up. I
jammed the control stick as far left and forward as it would go. No
response. I instantly knew we were in for a wild ride.

I attempted to tell Jim what was happening and to stay with the
airplane until we reached a lower speed and altitude. I didn't think
the chances of surviving an ejection at Mach 3.18 and 78,800 ft. were
very good. However, g-forces built up so rapidly that my words came
out garbled and unintelligible, as confirmed later by the cockpit
voice recorder.

The cumulative effects of system malfunctions, reduced longitudinal
stability, increased angle-of-attack in the turn, supersonic speed,
high altitude and other factors imposed forces on the airframe that
exceeded flight control authority and the Stability Augmentation
System's ability to restore control.

Everything seemed to unfold in slow motion. I learned later the time
from event onset to catastrophic departure from controlled flight was
only 2-3 sec. Still trying to communicate with Jim, I blacked out,
succumbing to extremely high g-forces. The SR-71 then literally
disintegrated around us.

From that point, I was just along for the ride.

My next recollection was a hazy thought that I was having a bad
dream. Maybe I'll wake up and get out of this mess, I mused.
Gradually regaining consciousness, I realized this was no dream; it
had really happened. That also was disturbing, because I could not
have survived what had just happened. Therefore, I must be dead.
Since I didn't feel bad--just a detached sense of euphoria--I decided
being dead wasn't so bad after all.

AS FULL AWARENESS took hold, I realized I was not dead, but had
somehow separated from the airplane. I had no idea how this could
have happened; I hadn't initiated an ejection. The sound of rushing
air and what sounded like straps flapping in the wind confirmed I was
falling, but I couldn't see anything. My pressure suit's face plate
had frozen over and I was staring at a layer of ice.

The pressure suit was inflated, so I knew an emergency oxygen
cylinder in the seat kit attached to my parachute harness was
functioning. It not only supplied breathing oxygen, but also
pressurized the suit, preventing my blood from boiling at extremely
high altitudes. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but the suit's
pressurization had also provided physical protection from intense
buffeting and g-forces. That inflated suit had become my own escape
capsule.

My next concern was about stability and tumbling. Air density at high
altitude is insufficient to resist a body's tumbling motions, and
centrifugal forces high enough to cause physical injury could develop
quickly. For that reason, the SR-71's parachute system was designed
to automatically deploy a small-diameter stabilizing chute shortly
after ejection and seat separation. Since I had not intentionally
activated the ejection system--and assuming all automatic functions
depended on a proper ejection sequence--it occurred to me the
stabilizing chute may not have deployed.

However, I quickly determined I was falling vertically and not
tumbling. The little chute must have deployed and was doing its job.
Next concern: the main parachute, which was designed to open
automatically at 15,000 ft. Again, I had no assurance the
automatic-opening function would work.

I couldn't ascertain my altitude because I still couldn't see through
the iced-up face plate. There was no way to know how long I had been
blacked-out, or how far I had fallen. I felt for the
manual-activation D-ring on my chute harness, but with the suit
inflated and my hands numbed by cold, I couldn't locate it. I decided
I'd better open the face plate, try to estimate my height above the
ground, then locate that "D" ring. Just as I reached for the face
plate, I felt the reassuring sudden deceleration of main-chute
deployment.

I raised the frozen face plate and discovered its uplatch was broken.
Using one hand to hold that plate up, I saw I was descending through
a clear, winter sky with unlimited visibility. I was greatly relieved
to see Jim's parachute coming down about a quarter of a mile away. I
didn't think either of us could have survived the aircraft's breakup,
so seeing Jim had also escaped lifted my spirits incredibly.

I could also see burning wreckage on the ground a few miles from
where we would land. The terrain didn't look at all inviting--a
desolate, high plateau dotted with patches of snow and no signs of
habitation.

I tried to rotate the parachute and look in other directions. But
with one hand devoted to keeping the face plate up and both hands
numb from high-altitude, subfreezing temperatures, I couldn't
manipulate the risers enough to turn. Before the breakup, we'd
started a turn in the New Mexico-Colorado-Oklahoma-Texas border
region. The SR-71 had a turning radius of about 100 mi. at that speed
and altitude, so I wasn't even sure what state we were going to land
in. But, because it was about 3:00 p.m., I was certain we would be
spending the night out here.

At about 300 ft. above the ground, I yanked the seat kit's release
handle and made sure it was still tied to me by a long lanyard.
Releasing the hea vy kit ensured I wouldn't land with it attached to
my derriere, which could break a leg or cause other injuries. I then
tried to recall what survival items were in that kit, as well as
techniques I had been taught in survival training.

Looking down, I was startled to see a fairly large animal--perhaps an
antelope--directly under me. Evidently, it was just as startled as I
was because it literally took off in a cloud of dust.

My first-ever parachute landing was pretty smooth. I landed on fairly
soft ground, managing to avoid rocks, cacti and antelopes. My chute
was still billowing in the wind, though. I struggled to collapse it
with one hand, holding the still-frozen face plate up with the other.

"Can I help you?" a voice said.

Was I hearing things? I must be hallucinating. Then I looked up and
saw a guy walking toward me, wearing a cowboy hat. A helicopter was
idling a short distance behind him. If I had been at Edwards and told
the search-and-rescue unit that I was going to bail out over the
Rogers Dry Lake at a particular time of day, a crew couldn't have
gotten to me as fast as that cowboy-pilot had.

The gentleman was Albert Mitchell, Jr., owner of a huge cattle ranch
in northeastern New Mexico. I had landed about 1.5 mi. from his ranch
house--and from a hangar for his two-place Hughes helicopter. Amazed
to see him, I replied I was having a little trouble with my chute. He
walked over and collapsed the canopy, anchoring it with several
rocks. He had seen Jim and me floating down and had radioed the New
Mexico Highway Patrol, the Air Force and the nearest hospital.

Extracting myself from the parachute harness, I discovered the source
of those flapping-strap noises heard on the way down. My seat belt
and shoulder harness were still draped around me, attached and
latched. The lap belt had been shredded on each side of my hips,
where the straps had fed through knurled adjustment rollers. The
shoulder harness had shredded in a similar manner across my back. The
ejection seat had never left the airplane; I had been ripped out of
it by the extreme forces, seat belt and shoulder harness still
fastened.

I also noted that one of the two lines that supplied oxygen to my
pressure suit had come loose, and the other was barely hanging on. If
that second line had become detached at high altitude, the deflated
pressure suit wouldn't have provided any protection. I knew an oxygen
supply was critical for breathing and suit-pressurization, but didn't
appreciate how much physical protection an inflated pressure suit
could provide. That the suit could withstand forces sufficient to
disintegrate an airplane and shred heavy nylon seat belts, yet leave
me with only a few bruises and minor whiplash was impressive. I truly
appreciated having my own little escape capsule.

After helping me with the chute, Mitchell said he'd check on Jim. He
climbed into his helicopter, flew a short distance away and returned
about 10 min. later with devastating news: Jim was dead. Apparently,
he had suffered a broken neck during the aircraft's disintegration
and was killed instantly. Mitchell said his ranch foreman would soon
arrive to watch over Jim's body until the authorities arrived.

I asked to see Jim and, after verifying there was nothing more that
could be done, agreed to let Mitchell fly me to the Tucumcari
hospital, about 60 mi. to the south.

I have vivid memories of that helicopter flight, as well. I didn't
know much about rotorcraft, but I knew a lot about "red lines," and
Mitchell kept the airspeed at or above red line all the way. The
little helicopter vibrated and shook a lot more than I thought it
should have. I tried to reassure the cowboy-pilot I was feeling OK;
there was no need to rush. But since he'd notified the hospital staff
that we were inbound, he insisted we get there as soon as possible. I
couldn't help but think how ironic it would be to have survived one
disaster only to be done in by the helicopter that had come to my
rescue.

However, we made it to the hospital safely--and quickly. Soon, I was
able to contact Lockheed's flight test office at Edwards. The test
team there had been notified initially about the loss of radio and
radar contact, then told the aircraft had been lost. They also knew
what our flight conditions had been at the time, and assumed no one
could have survived. I briefly explained what had happened,
describing in fairly accurate detail the flight conditions prior to
breakup.

The next day, our flight profile was duplicated on the SR-71 flight
simulator at Beale AFB, Calif. The outcome was identical. Steps were
immediately taken to prevent a recurrence of our accident. Testing at
a CG aft of normal limits was discontinued, and trim-drag issues were
subsequently resolved via aerodynamic means. The inlet control system
was continuously improved and, with subsequent development of the
Digital Automatic Flight and Inlet Control System, inlet unstarts
became rare.

Investigation of our accident revealed that the nose section of the
aircraft had broken off aft of the rear cockpit and crashed about 10
mi. from the main wreckage. Parts were scattered over an area
approximately 15 mi. long and 10 mi. wide. Extremely high air loads
and g-forces, both positive and negative, had literally ripped Jim
and me from the airplane. Unbelievably good luck is the only
explanation for my escaping relatively unscathed from that
disintegrating aircraft

Two weeks after the accident, I was back in an SR-71, flying the
first sortie on a brand-new bird at Lockheed's Palmdale, Calif.,
assembly and test facility. It was my first flight since the
accident, so a flight test engineer in the back seat was probably a
little apprehensive about my state of mind and confidence. As we
roared down the runway and lifted off, I heard an anxious voice over
the intercom.

"Bill! Bill! Are you there?"

"Yeah, George. What's the matter?"

"Thank God! I thought you might have left." The rear cockpit of the
SR-71 has no forward visibility--only a small window on each
side--and George couldn't see me. A big red light on the
master-warning panel in the rear cockpit had illuminated just as we
rotated, stating, "Pilot Ejected." Fortunately, the cause was a
misadjusted microswitch, not my departure.

Bill Weaver flight tested all models of the Mach-2 F-104 Starfighter
and the entire family of Mach 3+ Blackbirds--the A-12, YF-12 and
SR-71. He subsequently was assigned to Lockheed's L-1011 project as
an engineering test pilot, became the company's chief pilot and
retired as Division Manager of Commercial Flying Operations. He still
flies Orbital Sciences Corp.'s L-1011, which has been modified to
carry a Pegasus satellite-launch vehicle (AW&ST Aug. 25, 2003, p.
56). An FAA Designated Engineering Representative Flight Test Pilot,
he's also involved in various aircraft-modification projects,
conducting certification flight tests.

[deesun]

Amazing stories and many more amazing photos. Fantastic thread. Thank you.

[Burnout]

B-25 J model:

[Falcon_Crazy]

Great thread..do love my flying all be it on commercial jets. I travel a fair bit and still love the sound of the two dings that we are ready for takeoff - that power...smile spreads across my face i tell ya.

Last year I had what would have to be the bumpiest ride from Syd to Darwin via Brisy. From Birsy, it was like driving along the Bruce highway - non stop bumps - big buggers. Poor guy was crook whole way - captain almost had to land in The Isa.

My mate was on that A380 that decided to go bang in the night. He has gone from a happy flyer to one that hears every move of flaps, ailerons....the fun has gone out of it all for him.

Me - well, i still thinks its amazing...and boy, I;d love to take off in one of the Virgin Blue Embraer 170 jets - those things go great guns! I was on last flight from Melbourne last year and we raced for the stupid Sydney curfew - Syd tp Melb in record time..Captain kept updating on how we were going to meet curfew...

[Burnout]

[smciner1]

Loved the Black Bird Storys.

[jaskel]

love the F15...the yanks are very lucky!

[Burnout]

[NC1183]

Just looked up the "Sled Driver" book, and there are 50 Limited Edition re-prints left starting at $495, OUCH

[Burnout]

Originally Posted by NC1183

Just looked up the "Sled Driver" book, and there are 50 Limited Edition re-prints left starting at $495, OUCH

Yeah, wonderful aint it. I tried to find a copy last year..... $500.00US then.
Very sought after...

[jaskel]

some pics i got in Sep

[Neale]

Some of you may have herd of the mission a few years ago to fly a almost perfectly preserved B-29 out of greenland that crashed there in 1947. It was so original the navigators coffee mug was still on the table where it was left in 1947

Here is its story, well worth watching & if you can get hold of the book"hunting warbirds" its about trying to get it arworthy & is a gripping read

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kee_Bird

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpR2S_gu5I8

[dracer]

my favorite aircraft was a dc4 i flew in, new guine in 1988, i was only 12 and the old man was overthere hunting, the fog was a white out and the pilots dove down to where they thought was the run way inbetween thousands of feet of mountains and about 50meters b4 the ground the cloud vanished, he pulled back and landed. very very tough aircraft, i flew in alot of aircraft when i was a kid, i wish i still had photos. when i was about 10 or 9 on the farm, i was outside playing in the garden when 5 or 6 of the craziest planes iv ever seen flew over a place called crowlands in victoria, iv tried to draw the planes but im a stick figure man, put it this way thay looked like bloody starwars things and 2 were zepplin looking, one had a prop at the front and rear but was shaped like a dinner plate, the other 2 i cant really remember that well, they were low as and very slow, i remember grandpa saying later that night a farmer had told him alot of heavy army type trucks had gone into a large goverment water catchment about 10kms away, but i never worked out how they could take off, by the time i was old enough to jump the fence it was all over grown. gran had photos of the planes flying over, i really didnt think it was such a big deal until i was older.

we also had an arvo anson crash into the mountain in the 40s that was a 15min walk from our highest paddock, i used to hike up there and look at the stuff left there, but now there is only a few metal bars left. gran was the first one there and also took alot of photos but them 2 are long gone.

[Burnout]

[LowEL2XR8]

Glad this thread is here now I can tell you a funny aviation story.

When I was working at Pearce RAAF base some 15 or 16 years ago I witnessed a stuff up on landing.

It was the Singaporean trainer Aermacchi S-211. It landed as per normal which I didn't see but in its travel down the runway after landing the undercarriage retracted and it ground to a halt. I was strapping in a RAAF pilot in his PC-9 and I turned my head to see this plane lower itself and tip to the left and grind to a halt.
I tapped my pilot on the shoulder and said "I don't think your going anywhere for a while". He turned around and we both saw the instructor in the back of the s211 remove his helmet and oxygen mask and beat the student in the front with it like a flail. I had a chuckle and so did my pilot.

From my understanding the student came in to make a landing with the emergency gear extension. After landing safely he was supposed to lower the normal gear handle and then reset the emergency. He just reset the emergency one and so the gear went up. There was no safety micros to prevent this. After this incident there was a modification to prevent gear up on emergency extension if it is reset.

[Spudz27]

Some new additions to my fleet

1:200 Qantas A300. It sits very nicely next to it's TAA cousin.





And then I have 2 more 1:400 scale MD-11's

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

Glad this thread is here now I can tell you a funny aviation story.

When I was working at Pearce RAAF base some 15 or 16 years ago I witnessed a stuff up on landing.

It was the Singaporean trainer Aermacchi S-211. It landed as per normal which I didn't see but in its travel down the runway after landing the undercarriage retracted and it ground to a halt. I was strapping in a RAAF pilot in his PC-9 and I turned my head to see this plane lower itself and tip to the left and grind to a halt.
I tapped my pilot on the shoulder and said "I don't think your going anywhere for a while". He turned around and we both saw the instructor in the back of the s211 remove his helmet and oxygen mask and beat the student in the front with it like a flail. I had a chuckle and so did my pilot.

From my understanding the student came in to make a landing with the emergency gear extension. After landing safely he was supposed to lower the normal gear handle and then reset the emergency. He just reset the emergency one and so the gear went up. There was no safety micros to prevent this. After this incident there was a modification to prevent gear up on emergency extension if it is reset.

Hehehe expensive mistake I'll bet!

In other news -

B-57E, a close cousin to the EE Canberras, with an unusual nose graft for Bomarc missile testing.



Kind of reminds me of the F5E used by NASA for sonic boom reduction testing....weird looking thing!

[motomk]

Originally Posted by jaskel

some pics i got in Sep

Cool planes!

Originally Posted by Puffin Fresh

Some new additions to my fleet

1:200 Qantas A300. It sits very nicely next to it's TAA cousin.

No Australian one?

Originally Posted by Puffin Fresh

And then I have 2 more 1:400 scale MD-11's

Only see freighter ones now at work. Fedex, UPS and Avient.

[Ghiagirl]

Hey guys, does anyone know if the Avalon airshow this year is actually going to have anything different from previous years, more specifically the F22 raptor which they've teased is with for years but never had there???

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by motomk

Cool planes!



No Australian one?



Only see freighter ones now at work. Fedex, UPS and Avient.

The Australian variant (which in my mind should of been next) is due in Feb or March. Then I will have VH-TAA in TAA livery, Australian and Qantas.

[jaskel]

Originally Posted by Ghiagirl

Hey guys, does anyone know if the Avalon airshow this year is actually going to have anything different from previous years, more specifically the F22 raptor which they've teased is with for years but never had there???

as far as I kn ow the F22 is not there..nothing new and exciting...otherwise id begoing.

Hey puffin, where u get those models from?

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by jaskel

as far as I kn ow the F22 is not there..nothing new and exciting...otherwise id begoing.

Hey puffin, where u get those models from?

Some are from a shop in Melbourne called Collectors Aircraft Models Australia

http://www.camaust.com.au/ Owners name is Terry really nice guy. Others I have sourced from Hong Kong, U.K, USA. Unforunately sometimes even with shipping it is cheaper than aus and in Aus there is obviously particular stuff you can't get. I also buy privately of a collectors forum. If you want to know more like brand, price size etc, PM me. I will actually have spares of the Qantas A300 and a V-Aus 777 in 1:200 scale full diecast, after I have my op.

[motomk]

Originally Posted by Ghiagirl

Hey guys, does anyone know if the Avalon airshow this year is actually going to have anything different from previous years, more specifically the F22 raptor which they've teased is with for years but never had there???

http://www.airshow.net.au/avalon2011...g-display.html

No idea if it will really be there or not.

[MAGPIE]

Don't see many black commercial airliners




Good build video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxjK-...layer_embedded

[Peuty]

Wow, that looks great. Great vid too

[Spudz27]

So guys here are my last 2 purchases for a very long time. Have to save so I can try and cover bills whilst I am off work for surgery. I am hoping to convince surgeon to hold off till the new financial year. Anyway on to the models. First is a 1:200 V-Australia 777-300, Second is an Ansett 737-200. If anyone is interested I do have a second V-Aus I can sell. Let me know via PM.





A shot of the size difference. Both are in 1:200 scale (excuse the dust on the table lol)



Finally a shot of my crowded desk with a full cabinet beside. I think I have far too many models some days, but I love looking at them.

[Fled74]

Very nice display. I do love those Ikea DETOLF glass cabinets!

[flappist]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Don't see many black commercial airliners




Good build video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxjK-...layer_embedded

Especially ones that are "All Black"

[Spudz27]

Does anybody watch ice pilots? I watched season 1 and am currently downloading season 2. I liked the old school aircraft they use. DC-3, C-46, DC-4 and an Electra. The boss is a grumpy old bastard lol.