Jim Pearsall
Reviews By Author
|
Listening In - RAF Electronic Intelligence Gathering since 1945Published:
Since I spent a lot of time in Air Force radio, some time in AF intelligence, and being generally interested in communications (I have an extra-class Amateur Radio license) this book was right down my alley. Additionally, being interested in post WW2 British aircraft is also a plus with this book. The theme here is airborne ELINT, electronic intelligence. You can learn a lot by listening to what the other guy is saying on the radio when the fighters are up and practicing interceptions or tactical support. And that’s where the British started after World War 2. When you’re flying at 20,000 feet you can hear a lot more UHF and VHF signals because these frequencies are line-of-sight communications. The higher you are, the further you can see and hear. Up until about 1949,… more |
|
Su-24 Fencer Landing GearPublished:
Back in 2008 I built a Dragon Su-24, with the Zvezda nose to review Olimp’s Fencer decal sheet. In the ensuing years, the landing gear was broken on the kit. The Fencer was otherwise OK, but the nose gear was trashed. So when they offered Scale Aircraft Conversions’ new Su-24 metal landing gear for review, I jumped at the chance. What you get is a new nose gear leg, and two main landing gear legs. They’re nicely cast in white metal, and very easy to work with. I include a comparison photo of the Zvezda gear and the SAC gear. They’re identical, except the SAC gear will last a LOT longer. The ModelI removed the gear doors and plastic landing gear legs from the kit. I had to drill out one of the mounting holes for the main gear support strut. Otherwise,… more |
|
Harrier Vacu Canopy (Revell)Published:
Many of us have had the distinct displeasure of ruining a canopy. I once dropped one on the floor and stepped on it. There is also the great possibility of getting CA fumes on the inside or some other adhesive which will either melt, craze or deform the canopy into uselessness. And then there’s the one where you open a kit you bought at a swap meet to find no clear parts inside. You can find replacement canopies for “large scale” kits, including 1/32, 1/48 or 1/72, but there have been almost no canopies in 1/144. Brengun seems to be taking a position in this market. The canopy comes as a vac-formed item raised above the back plastic. I used decal scissors to remove the canopy from the backing. There is a pretty good indication of where to cut, so I didn’t worry much… more |
|
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and KC-97 StratofreighterPublished:
Every once in a while a book shows up on the “available for review” list which grabs my interest. This book is one of those. I was able to convince Dave Morrissette to send it to me because I have a personal interest in the KC-97. It was a KC-97 which took me on my first military flight, from Peoria Air National Guard Base to Lackland Air Force Base to begin basic training. I’ve had a lot of rides in various aircraft types since then, but there’s only one first one. Bill Yenne covers the entire life of the Boeing 367/377 series, from the first airliners to the C-97 to the KC-97, then back to the mature airliner and the mature KC-97, and the last of the series, the Guppies. He does a very good job of tracing the lineage of the series from the B-29 and the B-50. The 367 was the C… more |
|
Kawasaki OH-6J CayusePublished:
The AircraftHughes Aircraft originally developed the OH-6 series of helicopters. With corporate takeovers and sales, the MD 500 series is built in Mesa Arizona by MD Helicopters. The OH-6J was built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan. The original OH-6 was called the “Light Observation Helicopter”, which became “Loach”. The reason for the OH-6 was that in 1964 the US Army was ordered to turn all fixed wing aircraft over to the US Air Force. This meant the loss to the Army of the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog. The Loach was used as a replacement, utilized for forward observation, artillery spotting and air support with rocket pods, TOW or Hellfire, and gun pods available. The KitThe kit comes as one large sprue with the basic helo parts, one smaller sprue… more |
|
AV-8B Harrier II Units of Operation Enduring FreedomPublished:
This book is the third in Osprey’s series on the Marine Corps’ Harriers in combat. It is of great interest to me, as I spent over 20 years involved in the Tactical Air Control System, as a radio repairman and comm. maintenance officer. The Marines bought the AV-8 knowing it would be used for CAS (Close Air Support), and very little else. But that’s what they want and need. The Harrier IIs were involved in OEF from 2001 to 2013. There were only a few Harriers involved at any time, usually 8, either on an Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD) or ashore at Kandahar, Bagram or Camp Bastion. The STOVL (Short Takeoff Vertical Landing) ability of the Harrier IIs made it possible to operate off of runways that were in bad shape, often with crumbling paving and potholes. There were… more |
|
A-6E Vacu Canopy (Dragon)Published:
One of the most annoying problems I have run into in building aircraft models, almost any type, almost any scale, is losing or ruining the canopy. Windows can be fixed, small parts like wheels or gear legs can be faked in, but the canopy just can’t be fixed after it’s lost, broken or damaged. And here’s the fix for that problem. A replacement canopy. There are a number of available canopies in 1/72, 1/48 or 1/32, but 1/144??? Uh, no. The Brengun canopy starts with a classy feature. The aircraft kit it’s meant for is molded into the vac-formed base of the canopy. So this one says “Dragon”. I used an A-6 which I built a number of years ago. I removed the Dragon canopy for this project. I started out comparing the Brengun canopy with Dragon’s. The Brengun part… more |
|
RAF Canberra Units of the Cold WarPublished:
I knew that Canberras had been used in the 1956 Suez Campaign, the 1990-91 Gulf War, the 1995-96 Bosnia affair and the Operation Telic, the 2003 Iraq war. This book showed me a number of facets of the Canberra’s career as the longest lasting RAF aircraft, from the first production in 1951 to the retirement of the PR.9s in 2006. Yes, 55 years. The Canberra replaced Lancasters, Lincolns and Washingtons (B-29s) and was itself superseded by Jaguars and Tornadoes. There were actually three Canberra missions; tactical bomber, nuclear bomber and photo-reconnaissance. This book follows only the RAF Canberras, not the American (B-57), Argentina, Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, India, New Zealand, Peru, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela, West Germany, or… more |
|
Lockheed SR-71A BlackbirdPublished:
The AircraftThe SR-71 was a flying legend. Anyone who wasn’t directly involved with the aircraft knew little about it, and those who were involved weren’t talking. The aircraft’s existence was declassified in 1964, but not much else was said. The problem the SR-71 was created to solve was that the U-2 was too slow, and thus Soviet SAMs could reach it and shoot it down. The SR-71 was supposed to be so fast that SAMs couldn’t catch it. During this project, I had the help and advice of Ray Knight who lives on the next street over, on the same block as I do. Ray was a fuels man on SR-71s at Beale AFB back in the 80s. So how fast was the SR-71? Well, it set a world speed record for an air-breathing, piloted aircraft of 2194 mph (3530 km/h) in 1976. Rumor has it… more |
|
Yokosuka MXY7 OKHA Model 11Published:
The AircraftIn 1945, Japan had their backs against the wall. The Allies were about to invade Okinawa, part of Japan, and the situation was becoming desperate. In October of 1944 much of the Imperial Japanese Fleet had been destroyed at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Kamikaze suicide aircraft had been used during the Leyte Gulf battle, and it appeared that this might be the weapon that could turn the tide back to Japan’s favor. Coincidentally in October of 1944 a new suicide weapon had been developed, and flight testing took place in November. The Yokosuka MXY7 “Okha” (Cherry Blossom) was basically a 1,200 KG (2646 lb.) bomb with wings, tail and cockpit added. It was powered by three solid-fuel rocket engines, and could reach 600 mph in a dive. The Okha was ready for… more |