A 1946 C18-S (former military C-45-F) has been spotted for sale. The listing states:

1946 C18-S. Non-ferriable. Located in Laconia NH. Former registration military N67929. Historical name “Spirit of West Point”. Three bladed, full feathered props.

The aircraft is currently available for US $35,000, although offers are also being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos.

Coming soon from MMPBooks and author Grzegorz Korcz is Polish Wings No. 41 Vickers Wellington I & II pt. 1 documenting the aircraft that became “the backbone of all four Polish bomber squadrons as well as the OTU training establishments.”

This volume in the Polish Wings series presents the history of the Vickers Wellington bombers in the Ic and II versions in Polish Air Force service in exile between 1940 and 1942. The first part covers Nos. 300 and 301 Squadrons and 18 OTU, while the second describes the combat operations of Nos. 304 and 305 Squadrons.

The book includes: a detailed history of the Polish Wellington crews in action, numerous archival photographs, many previously unpublished, colour profiles by Andrzej M. Olejniczak, comprehensive listings of operational sorties.

The 68 page title is currently available for pre-order with release slated for January 8.

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Airscale has released the first test photos for their new 3D printed Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib in 1/32 scale.

The new series of images reportedly show the model assembled straight from the sprues without filler, primer or sanding. As of this writing the dates for pre-order and final release have not yet been announced.

Click below to check out a selection of the new test build images.

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A 1949 Temco Swift has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

This 1949 Temco Swift, serial number 3719, has a total airframe time of 2,079 hours and is equipped with a Sensenich fixed‑pitch propeller. The currently installed upgrade engine is a Continental O‑300‑B with accessories, showing 2,880 total time and 1,835.8 hours since major overhaul, and it comes with logs along with two spare engines: a Continental C‑145 with accessories (2,022 total time, 791.35 SMOH) and a Continental C‑125 with accessories (2,079 total time, 645 SMOH). Additional features include a Hanlon Wilson exhaust system, Cleveland wheels and disc brakes, an Aero Matic air‑controlled automatic propeller, a Petersen auto fuel STC, and an auxiliary fuel tank. Tools and spares included are jacks for gear swing tests, two lower gear legs, one complete gear leg from trunnion to axle, various rebuild parts (bushings, seals, springs, and torque links), an engine mount, and Goodyear wheels and brakes. The last annual inspection and the last flight were both in 1990, and the logbooks are reported to be in good condition.

The aircraft is located in San Rafael, California and is currently available for US $28,000, although offers are also being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing.

A 1943 C-45H fuselage has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

We saved this Beech 18 from a forest in Norwalk Ohio where it sat for 45 years. This plane was built in 1943 as a AT-7 then converted to a C-45H. We do have the aircraft’s tail as well.

The aircraft is located in Cleveland, Ohio and is currently available for US $4,750 although offers are also being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes several additional photos.

The new book Midnight Flyboys: The American Bomber Crews and Allied Secret Agents Who Aided the French Resistance in World War II shares the untold history of a top-secret operation in the run-up to D-Day in which American flyers and Allied spies carried out some of the most daring cloak-and-dagger operations of World War II.

In 1943, the OSS—precursor to the CIA—came up with a plan to increase its support to the French resistance forces that were fighting the Nazis. To start, the OSS recruited some of the best American bomber pilots and crews to a secret airfield twenty miles west of London and briefed them on the intended mission. Given a choice to stay or leave, every airman volunteered for what became known as Operation Carpetbagger.

Their dangerous plan called for a new kind of flying: taking their B-24 Liberator bombers in the middle of the night across the English Channel and down to extremely low altitudes in Nazi-occupied France to find drop zones in dark fields. On the ground, resistance members waited to receive steel containers filled with everything from rifles and hand grenades to medicine and bicycle tires. Some nights, the flyers also dropped Allied secret agents by parachute to assist the French partisans.

Though their story remained classified for more than fifty years, the Carpetbaggers ultimately received a Presidential Unit Citation from the US military, which declared: “it is safe to say that no group of this size has made a greater contribution to the war effort.” Along with other members of the wartime OSS, they were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Based on exclusive research and interviews, the definitive story of these heroic flyers—and of the brave secret agents and resistance leaders they aided—can now be told. Written in Bruce Henderson’s “spellbinding” (USA TODAY) prose, Midnight Flyboys is an astonishing tale of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice. The 336 page book is available in hardcover, Kindle, audiobook and audio CD formats.

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ICM has released their new tool HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I in 1/48 scale.

The kit (48352) includes detailed rivets on surfaces, accurate geometry with detailed cockpit, various types of bombs and marking options for four aircraft, including the first production example. The company has also released an acrylic paint set (3090) for the kit, as well as a step by step build video which can be seen after the break.

Product Page (Hampden kit / eBay)
Product Page (Acrylic Paint Set / eBay)

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A 1963 Cessna 185 has been spotted for sale. The listing states:

This impressive 1963 Cessna 185 taildragger has been expertly converted from a 182G into an Exhibition EXPERIMENTAL aircraft, combining rugged backcountry capability with high-performance flight characteristics. It’s powered by a 260HP turbocharged, fuel-injected engine, delivering consistent power at altitude and cruise speeds up to 180 MPH. The aircraft was converted in 2015 with Murphy Moose heavy-duty gear, 26-inch bush tires, and double-caliper brakes, making it perfectly suited for unimproved or short field operations. It’s IFR and VFR legal, day or night, in any airspace (ADSB-equipped), with the only limitation being no commercial use. The engine has just 100 hours since major rework and 400 hours SMOH, with a freshly balanced and resealed prop at 1 hour SMOH. Other highlights include new tires, extended range 79-gallon fuel capacity, new exhaust system, fresh annual inspection, and new carpet, seats, and paint, giving this aircraft both show-quality appearance and backcountry toughness. This Cessna 185 is a fast, capable, and striking aircraft — ready to go high, go far, and go anywhere.

The aircraft is located in Idaho Falls, Idaho and offers are acurrently being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes several additional photos.

Readers who are familiar with our YouTube channel DX Modelworks will no doubt remember the build log for the Aero Graphics Sopwith Camel, which is (to date), the most popular video on the channel. This is a superb balsa model designed by Dave Causer in 1/16 scale. Now discontinued, the kit is extremely rare and difficult to find – however an example is currently available for bidding on eBay. The listing states:

Lovely model kit of the Sopwith Camel which builds into a very scale flying model, perfect for the indoor flying season. Kit includes laser cut parts and covering tissue. The vac formed cowel is undamaged and the decals are in perfect condition all parts are present and still bagged.

Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes several photos.