History

The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engined aircraft designed for both fighter and attack missions. The initial versions, the A and B (two seat) entered operation in 1981. The F/A-18C was a visually similar but had a number of improvements related to avionics and weapon carrying capability. It started production in 1987 and has proven successful in the various roles. The Hornet participated in Operation Desert Storm and proved very successful in combat situations. The Hornet is also operated by the Air Forces of Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain and Switzerland.

Attached to the front of the powerful Pratt & Whitney 2000 horsepower R-2800 that moved the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat was a thirteen foot, one inch Hamilton Standard propeller. This new release from Quickboost provides a replacement for the kit-provided propeller, and is a nice upgrade for the Cyber Hobby kit. The detail set comes with a single runner with the four parts attached, as well as the tool used to set the proper pitch on the propeller blades. If you have some experience in working with resin, this will be an easy upgrade to put to use, and if you have little or no experience with resin, this could be a good item to start with.

Many decades ago when I became initially fascinated with early aviation and the adventure of WWI fliers in particular, the aircraft that symbolized that era and fascination was, and still is for me, the Fokker Eindecker. Like most modelers interested in WWI aviation, I considered the Eindecker a favorite kit. Unfortunately, until Eduard began producing quality plastic injection kits, a good, accurate, and relatively easy to build Eindecker was hard to find – and one in the larger scales, almost impossible. Accurate information was equally difficult to come by. Most information in depth was to be found on a few enthusiast WWI aviation sites, and even then, contention was rife and misinformation common. This led to the occasional and mainly entertaining flame wars which would flare up, burn brightly for a time, then die down only to lie smoldering until the next ‘expert’ pronouncement was made.

History – The Hellenic F-16 Demo Team was created in February, 2010, continuing the legacy of the former Aerobatic Teams of the Hellenic Air Force: “Carrè of Aces”, “Acro Team”, “Hellenic Flame”, “New Hellenic Flame”, and the T-6A Demo Team.

In November, 2010, the first official performance of the F-16 Demo Team of the Hellenic Air Force was made during the Open Days of the HAF at Tanagra Air Base. The aircraft used was the #534 and the pilot was Captain Karachalios.

The current team comprises personnel from the 340 and 343 Squadrons, both of which are based at Souda Air Base. The team consists of two display pilots, two safety observers, one narrator, one camera man and three crew chiefs. The team uses an F-16 Block 52+ configured with Conformal Fuel Tanks.

Team's call sign during the demo flights is “Zeus”, representing the father of the Olympian Gods of the Ancient Greek mythology.

Every once in a while a kit comes along that you feel you must do, only to be disappointed. This is one of those kits.

I happen to love P-38 Lightnings and “Yippee” in particular. “Yippee” was the 5000th P-38 built, and Lockheed decided to make it special. They painted it bright orange (not red, as many thought). On the bottom of the wing they painted “Yippee” in large white letters. I thought I would love to make a model of this aircraft and when Minicraft released it in Sept. 2012, I just jumped at the chance to review it.