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Sword Announces Upcoming New Tool 1/72 TBM-3W “Guppy” Model Kits

Sword Models is reportedly working on a new tool example of the TBM-3W “Guppy” in 1/72 scale.

The machine, a conversion of the TBM-3 Avenger, was the first ship based airborne early warning control and relay platform with an APS-20 radar housed in a ventral radome. It appears that the kit will be available in two versions (SW72114 – TBM-3W “Guppy” and SW72115 – TBM-3W “Guppy” l´Aeronavale, Kon.Marine) and will include plastic sprues, waterslide decals and clear parts.

Pricing and a final release date have not yet been announced.

Click below to check out an additional image.

Continue reading Sword Announces Upcoming New Tool 1/72 TBM-3W “Guppy” Model Kits

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Fagen Fighters WW2 Museum Acquires F6F-5 Hellcat, Return to Flight Planned

Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota has reported the acquisition of F6F-5 Hellcat B/N 78645.

The aircraft was built by Grumman and delivered in March 1945, serving with VF-14 aboard USS Casablanca (2 tours), VF-80 at NAS Pensacola, FL and spending time at NART Squantum in Quincy, Massachusetts prior to retirement in August 1949. Following WW2 the aircraft was painted orange and used as a radio controlled drone, but it was eventually restored to its original condition and displayed at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.

Fagen Fighters reports that the Hellcat will undergo an extensive IRAN (Inspect Repair and Replace as Necessary) and will hopefully be flying by summer 2019.

(via Fagen Fighters WWII Museum Additional Information via Yanks Air Museum Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

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New Videos Detail Recent Progress on Kermit Weeks’ A-26 Project

Fantasy of Flight (FoF) owner Kermit Weeks has released a new two-part series detailing the ongoing work on his Douglas A-26.

The aircraft (S/N 41-39401) reportedly saw wartime service with the 9th Air Force and served with the Van Nuys Air National Guard before beginning civilian use as N3457G / “Whistler’s Mother.” Later acquired by Weeks, the A-26 was damaged during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and trucked to Chino, California in 1997, where it is now being restored by Carl Scholl and Tony Ritzman of Aero Trader.

The new videos, seen below, were filmed in January, three months after his last Kermie Cam series on the machine. Since then, the team has (among other things) returned the landing gear, wing flaps and flight controls to fully functioning condition and reworked wiring in the cockpit.

The machine will apparently be painted in olive drab and, like FoF’s B-25 and B-17, will feature nose art depicting Weeks’ wife, Teresa.

Continue reading New Videos Detail Recent Progress on Kermit Weeks’ A-26 Project

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Zoukei-Mura Releases New Details on Upcoming 1/32 Kawasaki Ki-45

Zoukei-Mura has released new details on their upcoming new tool 1/32 Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai “Toryu” model kit.

The representation of the WW2 Japanese twin-engine fighter will reportedly include short nose and long nose versions along with their different armaments. The newly released images are described as “a test-shot made with a 3D printer but it gives an idea of what the kit will be like.”

A final release date has not yet been announced, although it will be available sometime in 2018.

Click below to check out additional images.

Continue reading Zoukei-Mura Releases New Details on Upcoming 1/32 Kawasaki Ki-45

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World’s Oldest Original Flying Jet Heads to New Home in US, Oshkosh Demonstration Planned

The oldest original airworthy jet in the world has performed its final flight in the UK before moving on to a new owner in the US.

Glostor Meteor T7 “Queenie” (WA591/G-BWMF) was delivered to the RAF in 1949 and served as a training machine at a number of bases before becoming a gate guard at RAF Woodvale. In 1995 Meteor Flight began restoring the aircraft and it returned to the air at Kemble in 2011. In recent years it operated with Classic Air Force at Coventry, which closed down in 2016 following the retirement of its founder.

Last year, the Meteor was acquired by Detroit, Michigan-based World Heritage Air Museum (WHAM) and last week the machine performed its final flight in the UK, traveling from Coventry to Liverpool for shipment overseas.

WHAM states that they are on target to demonstrate the Meteor at Oshkosh this year. Additional details on this exciting development will reportedly be forthcoming.

Click below to check out a video of Queenie’s final UK flight.

Continue reading World’s Oldest Original Flying Jet Heads to New Home in US, Oshkosh Demonstration Planned

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Copper State Models Developing New Tool 1/32 Nieuport 17

Copper State Models has announced the development of a new tool Nieuport 17 model kit in 1/32 scale.

Few details have been reported about the upcoming kit, although a few renderings have been released. Click below to check out an additional example.

Continue reading Copper State Models Developing New Tool 1/32 Nieuport 17

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CAF SoCal Wing to Restore P-47N “Meat Chopper” to Airworthy Condition

The Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF SoCal) has reported that they have been selected to restore P-47N Thunderbolt N47TB.

The Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59B-powered aircraft (S/N 45-53436) was originally built by Republic Aviation in Evansville, Indiana and served with the Guatemalan Air Force in the 1950s before becoming part of the CAF collection in 1962.

In 2002, the aircraft, wearing the colors of “Meat Chopper” of the 464th FS/507th FG, suffered an engine fire which resulted in an emergency landing. Thankfully, the pilot walked away, but the aircraft itself sustained significant damage, including a collapsed undercarriage and broken wing.

To date, “tremendous” repair work has been carried out on the machine, but much remains before it is able to return to the air. It is currently in Dallas but will soon be transferred to the SoCal Wing’s facility at Camarillo Airport. As of this writing, a time frame for completion has not been reported.

Those wishing to contribute toward the project can do so here.

(via CAF SoCal Thanks, Pascal!)

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WW1 Aircraft to Commemorate Centennial at AirVenture 2018

This year’s EAA AirVenture fly-in will reportedly commemorate the final year of WW1 with period aircraft, flying displays and activities.

Related activities will reportedly take place throughout the week, with a special emphasis on Friday, July 27. Among the aircraft slated to appear at the event is a rare 1915 Bleriot reproduction in Royal Flying Corps colors, aircraft from the Kermit Weeks/Fantasy of Flight collection and a original Dayton-Wright DH.4 currently under restoration by the nonprofit “Friends of Jenny” along with Tennessee high school students.

The WWI programming will be primarily based in the vintage aircraft parking area on the AirVenture flightline. Along with the aircraft on display from the 1915-1918 era, there will be WWI re-enactors and static engine runs. In addition, WWI-era aircraft, aircraft owners, and historians will participate in forums and Vintage in Review session throughout the week. A number of the aircraft will also be displayed at various times on AirVenture’s showcase Boeing Plaza.

AirVenture 2018 is scheduled to take place from July 23-29 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Additional details will reportedly be announced as they are finalized.

(via EAA Top Photo: Kermit Weeks Hangar)

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World’s Only Flying Hawker Hurricane Mk IV Heading to New Home

Hawker Hurricane Mk IV (S/N KZ321/CF-TPM), formerly owned by Vintage Wings of Canada in Ottawa, has reportedly been sold and will be heading to its new home in Belgium.

As previously reported, the machine was built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. sometime after 1942 and delivered to No. 6 Squadron RAF in 1943, serving in Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia before the end of WW2. It was abandoned in Israel in 1947 and was recovered decades later from a Jaffa scrapyard by Warbirds of GB, Ltd., who returned it to the UK in 1983.

In 1991, the Hurricane was acquired by The Fighter Collection of the Imperial War Museum. Restoration by Hawker Restorations, Ltd. commenced in 2001 and the aircraft was returned to “zero hour condition” using original and refurbished parts. It performed its first post-restoration flight in 2003 and was operated by The Fighter Collection until acquisition by Vintage Wings of Canada in 2006. It is believed to be the only airworthy Mk IV in existence.

The Hurricane is the second machine from the Vintage Wings of Canada to be sold to a Belgium-based owner in 2018. Spitfire XVI SL721 was sold in February and has already arrived in the country. Future plans have not yet been announced.

(via Platinum Fighter Sales Photo: Peter Bakema via Wikimedia Commons)

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Collings Foundation’s Newly Acquired P-38 to Make Airshow Debut

The Collings Foundation has reported that their newly acquired P-38 Lightning will make its first airshow appearance at the Los Angeles County Airshow at Gen. William Fox Field in Lancaster, California on March 24-25.

As previously reported, The aircraft (S/N 44-53186) was intended for use in photo reconnaissance but was stored in Arizona following the end of WW2. After being declared surplus, it was acquired by a succession of companies, including Kargl Aerial Surveys, Aero Exploration Co and Mark Hurd Aerial Mapping, before being parked in 1963. Over the following years the P-38 passed through the hands of several additional owners before being acquired by Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, which restored the machine to pristine condition and placed it on display in 1997.

In 2014 the aircraft was offered for sale and was soon acquired by the Stow, Massachusetts-based Foundation. It has since undergone maintenance, flight evaluation, and preparation at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino.

The machine will reportedly be on static and flying display during the event and will be the only Collings Foundation aircraft in attendance.

(via Collings Foundation Photo: Articseahorse via Wikimedia Commons)