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This little whimsy inspired by the agonies documented in paulclarke.com/honestlyreal/2010/12/oh-christmas-tree/
Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2016 provides training across the spectrum of OCS readiness from requirements and development of warfighter staff integration and synchronization through contract execution supporting the Joint Force Commander. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder/Released)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and, with an engine installed, first flew on 26 October.
The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, giving it a much better performance that matched or bettered almost all of the Luftwaffe's fighters at altitude. The definitive version, the P-51D (Mustang Mk IV), was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.
The Mustang VI (later re-designated FR.6; the Mustang V was a lightweight fighter of which only one prototype reached England) was an indigenous, British project that was based on the P-51D. It was to meet Air Ministry Specification F.4 of 1940 for a high altitude fighter, designed to fight at extremely high altitudes, in the stratosphere.
Background was that Great Britain feared, with an ever increasing air superiority over the British Isles, that German bomber raids might come in at very high altitudes in the near future, staying out of reach from conventional defense measures. Earlier reconnaissance flights of Ju 86P aircraft had already shown that this was a realistic scenario. Additionally, the domestic development progress of pressurized cockpits for high altitude fighters convinced authorities that Germany would easily be on the same technical level, so that a high altitude interceptor was indeed needed.
While Westland and Vickers responded with twin-engined designs, North American was also requested to modify the relatively new Mustang (which was designed for medium to high altitudes) for extreme altitudes, as F.4/40 specification was revised into F.7/41 in early 1941. British pressurized cabin technology was to be incorporated, but the engine could be based on US technology.
North American was quick to respond and modified a P-51D airframe. This prototype was internally coded NA-73HK and ready for inspection in mid-late 1942.
The NA-73HK’s most obvious feature was the enormous high aspect ratio wing, achieved by extended wing tips, together with a fortified internal wing structure and weight saving measures (which had already been designed for the lightweight Mustang V). This new wing necessitated enlarged tail surfaces and a slightly elongated fuselage to provide a longer moment arm.
The aircraft was powered by a Packard V-1650-20 engine that delivered 1.233 hp (920 kW) at 35,000 ft (10,668 m). It was based on the Rolls Royce Merlin 76 (RM 16SM), but instead of the standard two-speed, two-stage supercharger it was coupled with a General Electric C-23 turbo-supercharger. The system was fitted with A.D.I and a General Electric ignition system with a tubular ignition harness developed by the Scinitilla company. A water injection system was added for short-term power boosting, too. The original Bendix-Stromberg carburetor was retained, even though optimized for lower air density use and a higher air mass flow. It drove a new, four-bladed propeller with increased diameter and enlarged single blade area.
Since the slender P-51 airframe did not allow the placement of the turbo-supercharger in front of the cockpit it was re-located into a large ventral fairing which replaced the original radiator tunnel – the basic layout resembled that of the P-47 Thunderbolt. But due to lack of internal space the system had to be connected through external exhaust pipes running along the fuselage flanks. This was a draggy arrangement, but it would not matter much anymore once the aircraft was at its intended operating altitude of 40.000 ft (~12.000m) and beyond.
The cockpit retained an aft-sliding bubble canopy, even though it had to be reinforced and was quickly recognizable through its stiffener bars. The cockpit pressurization system was driven by a separate Rotol supercharger attached to the engine, providing a constant pressure of 3.5 psi (24 kPa) over the exterior pressure. This resulted in an apparent cabin altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 m) when the aircraft was operating at its design altitude of 45,000 ft (14,000 m).
This cabin altitude was still too high for normal breathing, so the pilot had to wear an oxygen mask during flight. A rubber gasket filled with the pressurized air sealed the canopy when the system was turned on, and a valve ensured the pressure was controlled automatically. Moreover, the pilot also had to wear a high altitude suit as he might have been required to bail out at altitude.
Detail work turned into time-consuming process, though. For instance, the Mustang VI, how the type was called by the RAF, and “The White Horse” by its pilots and service drews, required a new, sophisticated electrical system. This was necessary in order to minimize the number of seals and points of entry into the cockpit for the controls and instrumentation. It worked, but it was complicated: it took an electrician experienced in the features of the Mustang VI almost four hours to undertake a pre-flight check of this system!
The armament was modified, too. The original six 0.5" machine guns were to be replaced by four long-barreled Hispano 20 mm cannon in the wings. These offered greater range and ensured more damage against the expected, big targets.
Five prototypes were used in the development process in early 1943. Despite its complexity the White Horse proved to be successful, as it easily reached 50.000 ft. (15.000 m) altitude and handled well. But production was delayed as the standard P-51D had priority and no immediate high altitude threat from Germany materialized.
Serial production eventually started in mid-1944, but at a much smaller scale than initially planned: the original production plan from late 1942 demanded no less than 500 specimen, but towards late 1943 this drastically reduced to 100, and eventually only a mere 50 of these aircraft actually reached its exclusive user, the Royal Air Force, until early 1945.
When the Mustang VI arrived at the frontline in January 1944, there was virtually no sign of high altitude aircraft to be intercepted – and there was hardly any other use for this specialized aircraft. As a consequence most of the almost new airframes were modified to carry cameras for high altitude reconnaissance missions. These machines were converted by the Forward Repair Unit (FRU) to have two camera compartments fitted: one behind the cockpit cabin, facing to port or starboard, with respective windows added behind the cockpit and above the turbocharger compartment, and another in the extension segment in front of the tail wheel, where up to two vertical cameras could be mounted (even though the location proved to be rather unsuitable, as hot air from the radiator and oil leaking from the turbocharger frequently obscured clear vision). These modified aircraft were re-designated Mustang PR.VI, which turned into FR.6 from late 1944 on.
After WWII hostilities ended, a small number of Mustang FR.6 was kept in RAF service and allocated to squadrons in Germany and in the Far East, where the aircraft were exclusively used for reconnaissance duties.
One of the type's last missions took place in 1951, when Hainan Island (People's Republic of China) was targeted at the behest of U.S. Naval Intelligence for RAF overflights. RAF Mustang FR.6 of 80 Squadron, based at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, were deployed, together with Spitfire PR.19 from 81 Squadron.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 34 ft (10,37 m)
Wingspan: 48 ft 9½ in (14.90 m)
Height: 14 ft 7½ in (4.46 m) w. tail wheel on ground & vertical propeller blade
Empty weight: 4,870 kg (10,737 lb)
Loaded weight: 5,100 kg (11,244 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 6,020 kg (13,272 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,200 l (264 imp gal)
Powerplant:
1 × Packard V-1650-20 liquid-cooled piston engine, rated at 1.233 hp (920 kW) at 35,000 ft (10,668 m)
Performance
Maximum speed: 420 km/h (261 mph; 227 kn) at sea level, 660 km/h (409 mph) at 15.000 m (49.130 ft)
Cruise speed: 362 mph (315 kn, 580 km/h)
Range: 460 km (286 mi; 248 nmi) at maximum continuous power with 595 l (131 imp gal) of fuel at sea level; 1,440 km (895 mi) with 1,200 l (264 imp gal) of fuel at 15.000 m (49.130 ft)
Service ceiling: 50.500 ft (15.420 m)
Maximum ceiling: 55,610 ft (16,950 m)
Rate of climb: 11.5 m/s (2,260 ft/min) at sea level, 3.92 m/s (13 ft/s) at 15.000 m (49.130 ft)
Armament
4× 0.787 caliber (20mm) Hispano cannons with 200 RPG in the outer wings; some aircraft only carried a pair or these or were completely unarmed to save weight
2× hardpoints for up to 2.000 lb (907 kg) of external ordnance under the wings, typically only two drop tanks were carried.
The kit and its assembly
I've always been a big fan of the Westland Welkin and its elegant high altitude livery in PRU Blue and Medium Sea Grey, but lacking a suitable kit this had always been just a plan - until you build a suitable aircraft on your own! The plan for a high altitude Mustang had also been lingering for some time, as I found good donation parts in the stash (see below).
So... why not combine these into a whif model? Specification F.4/40 was a good real world background, and maybe a single-engined aircraft in the style of the Bv 155 would have been a better answer than the twin-engined Welkin or its competitor, the Vickers 432?
The basis is the Hasegawa P-51D. It's a decent kit with good detail but only of average fit. It's an old casting, but for this conversion it was a very good basis.
Many things were changed in order to create the FR.6, though:
● Wing tips extended with parts from a HUMA Me 309 (leading and training edge sweep match perfectly!)
● Extended rear fuselage, with a 2C putty plug (about 1 cm) inserted
● Elongated fin, the upper half comes from a Special Hobby He 100D
● New stabilizers, taken OOB from an ART Model Bv 155
● New ventral fairing; it's a seriously trimmed radiator from the aforementioned ART Model Bv 155 with scratch parts
● New/larger carburetor air intake, from a Matchbox Martin Marauder
● Camera windows on the real fuselage - simply drilled holes, filled with black glass paint and Humbrol Clearfix
● New propeller; the spinner is OOB, the blades come from the ART Model Bv 155, too
● New canopy; it's a vacu piece, also leftover from the ART Model Bv 155 (it fits almost perfectly!)
● Long-barreled Hispano cannons from a late Spitfire kit from Special Hobby
Fortunately I had everything at hand, true spare-parts recycling. Building the thing was pretty straighforward, the biggest issue were the fuselage with its extension and the bulbous, dorsal fairing, and the extended fin.
The exhaust system was completely scratched from styrene profiles. I used the Bv155 and a P-47 explosion sketch as design benchmarks – but I give NO guarantee for realism! Some small details were added with white glue, which was also handy as a kind of fluid putty that would bridge some gaps in the piping.
Painting and markings
I had a clear benchmark, to my Mustang FR.6 ended up with upper sides in uniform Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) and lower sides in PRU Blue (Humbrol 230). Since the Mustang has a similar layout as the Spitfire, I went for a high waterline - I think that this makes the aircraft more interesting than an all-grey upper side?
The basic tones were later highlighted through dry-brushing with lighter shades (Humbrol 145 and 167) and a thin black ink wash.
The interior incl. the landing gear was painted in Interior Green (Humbrol 78). The complex exhaust system received special attention with some graphite, as I wanted to present the pipes as painted, yet totally scorched and worn from the hot gases inside, so that they stand out in front of the all-blue background.
The markings come from a Special Hobby Spitfire F.23 which contains markings for several RAF 80 Squadron machines based in Hong Kong. I kept the aircraft rather sober, with minimal markings and just the 80 Squadron ‘Bell’ badge as individual highlight.
After some additional dry-brushing with medium grey overall, the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
A quick one and everything was kept very simple and straightforward, even though it might appear different. In the end the modified Mustang looks very nice and elegant, despite the extra plumbing and slightly distorted proportions. It actually looks like the illegitimate offspring between a P-51D and a Bv 155 in a dark night over the Channel...?
State contract
State Treaty: Foreign Minister L. Figl shows the signed contract from the balcony of the Belvedere in Vienna.
© Copyright Votava, Vienna, for AEIOU.
Regarding the reestablishment of an independent and democratic Austria, concluded between the Allied Powers USSR, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, USA and France on the one hand and Austria on the other hand, signed on 15. 5. 1955 by the foreign ministers of the signatory powers WM Molotow, JF Dulles, H. Macmillan and A. Pinay and the Austrian Foreign Minister Leopold Figl at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. The State Treaty concluded at the 354th Session of the Delegations of the Allied Powers coming into force on July 27, 1955, 12 years after the Moscow Declaration of October 30, 1943, in which the United Kingdom, the USSR and the USA aspired the liberation of Austria from the German rule, since Austria was considered the first victim of Hitler's attack policy.
Closely related to the State Treaty is the Federal Constitutional Law on the Neutrality of Austria on the model of Switzerland, which was adopted after the withdrawal of the occupation soldiers from Austria by the Austrian Parliament on October 26, 1955. After the Soviet Union had dropped the coupling of the German question with Austria for many years, the Moscow Memorandum of 15 April 1955 settled controversial points between the Soviet Union and Austria, which made it possible to conclude the State Treaty.
The main political provisions relate to the restoration of Austria as a free and independent state, the preservation of Austria's independence and territorial integrity by the Allies and the recognition of Austria's independence by Germany. In addition, the political provisions include the ban on the political or economic unification of Austria and Germany (ban on connection), the recognition of human rights and the rights of Slovene and Croat minorities. The commitment to the preservation of democratic institutions stands in the face of the dissolution of Nazi and fascist organizations and the prevention of reactivation.
The State Treaty consists of a preamble and 9 parts
political and territorial provisions
military and aviation regulations
withdrawal of the Allied forces
claims arising from the war
property, rights and interest
general economic relations
settlement of disputes
different economic provisions
final provisions
Staatsvertrag
Staatsvertrag: Außenminister L. Figl zeigt den unterzeichneten Vertrag vom Balkon des Belvedere in Wien.
© Copyright Votava, Wien, für AEIOU.
Betreffend die Wiederherstellung eines unabhängigen und demokratischen Österreichs, abgeschlossen zwischen den Alliierten Mächten UdSSR, Großbritannien und Nordirland, USA und Frankreich einerseits sowie Österreich andererseits, unterzeichnet am 15. 5. 1955 von den Außenministern der Signatarmächte W. M. Molotow, J. F. Dulles, H. Macmillan und A. Pinay sowie dem österreichischen Außenminister Leopold Figl im Schloss Belvedere in Wien. Der in der 354. Sitzung der Delegationen der Alliierten Mächte abgeschlossene Staatsvertrag trat am 27. 7. 1955 in Kraft, 12 Jahre nach der Moskauer Deklaration vom 30. 10. 1943, in der Großbritannien, die UdSSR und die USA die Befreiung Österreichs von der deutschen Herrschaft anstrebten, da Österreich als erstes Opfer der Angriffspolitik Hitlers betrachtet wurde.
In enger Verbindung mit dem Staatsvertrag steht das Bundesverfassungsgesetz über die Neutralität Österreichs nach dem Muster der Schweiz, das nach Abzug der Besatzungssoldaten aus Österreich vom österreichischen Parlament am 26. 10. 1955 beschlossen wurde. Nachdem die Sowjetunion die jahrelange Koppelung der deutschen Frage mit Österreich fallengelassen hatte, regelte das Moskauer Memorandum vom 15. 4. 1955 strittige Punkte zwischen der Sowjetunion und Österreich, was den Abschluss des Staatsvertrags ermöglichte.
Die wichtigsten politischen Bestimmungen beziehen sich auf die Wiederherstellung Österreichs als freien und unabhängigen Staat, die Wahrung der Unabhängigkeit und territorialen Unversehrtheit Österreichs durch die Alliierten und die Anerkennung der Unabhängigkeit Österreichs durch Deutschland. Außerdem enthalten die politischen Bestimmungen das Verbot der politischen oder wirtschaftlichen Vereinigung von Österreich und Deutschland (Anschlussverbot), die Anerkennung der Menschenrechte und die Rechte slowenischer und kroatischer Minderheiten. Dem Bekenntnis zur Wahrung demokratischer Einrichtungen steht das Gebot gegenüber, nazistische und faschistische Organisationen aufzulösen und die Wiederbetätigung zu unterbinden.
Der Staatsvertrag besteht aus einer Präambel und 9 Teilen
politische und territoriale Bestimmungen
militärische und Luftfahrtbestimmungen
Zurückziehung der Alliierten Streitkräfte
aus dem Krieg herrührende Ansprüche
Eigentum, Rechte und Interesse
allgemeine Wirtschaftsbeziehungen
Regelung von Streitfällen
verschiedene wirtschaftliche Bestimmungen
Schlussbestimmungen
austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Chronik_%C3%96ster...
Torres Contracting Forest fire crew National Wildfire Suppression Association NWSA Anaheim California
A Trailways terminal employee pickets the facility at 12th and New York Avenue NW November 11, 1970 after the union called a strike to obtain a first contract.
The terminal employees, including ticket agents, clerks and baggage handlers were organized five months previously into Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1112.
The main issue in the strike was over a union security clause that would have required all workers in the unit to join the unit or pay an agency fee. The union had signed-up 86 of the 92 workers.
Operations were not significantly affected as supervisors filled in and drivers were under a separate contract with a no-strike clause.
The strike lasted until November 14th when workers gave up on the issue of obtaining a union shop.
The Washington Star quoted a union representative as saying the settlement was a “reasonably good economic package” and added that the workers dropped their union shop demand after “threatening” letters were sent to strikers.”
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHskvA3joq
Photo by Pete Copeland. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection © Washington Post.
Billy Fury, born Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 - 28 January 1983), was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death. An early British rock and roll (and film) star, he equalled The Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s, and spent 332 weeks on the UK charts, without a chart-topping single or album. Allmusic journalist, Bruce Eder, stated, "His mix of rough-hewn good looks and unassuming masculinity, coupled with an underlying vulnerability, all presented with a good voice and some serious musical talent, helped turn Fury into a major rock and roll star in short order". Others have suggested that Fury's rapid rise to prominence was due to his "Elvis Presley-influenced, hip-swivelling, and at times highly suggestive stage act."
Wycherley was born at Smithdown Hospital (later Sefton General Hospital, now demolished), Smithdown Road, Liverpool. He commenced music lessons on the piano before he was a teenager, and was bought his first guitar by the age of 14. Wycherley fronted his own group in 1955, but simultaneously worked full-time on a tugboat and later as a stevedore. He entered and won a talent competition, and by 1958 had started composing his own songs. Wycherley first attended a concert in Birkenhead, run by impresario Larry Parnes, in the hope of interesting famous singer Marty Wilde in some of the songs he had written. Instead, in an episode that has become pop music legend, Parnes pushed young Wycherley up on stage right away. He was such an immediate success that Parnes signed him, added him to the tour, and renamed him 'Billy Fury'. However, his early sexual and provocative stage performances received censure, and he was forced to tone them down. In October 1959, the UK music magazine, NME, commented that Fury's stage antics had been drawing much press criticism.[6]
He released his first hit single for Decca, "Maybe Tomorrow", in 1959. He also appeared in a televised play Strictly For Sparrows, and subsequently on Oh Boy! By March 1960, he reached #9 in the UK Singles Chart with his own composition "Colette", followed by "That's Love" and his first album The Sound of Fury (1960),which featured a young Joe Brown on lead guitar, with backup vocals by The Four Jays.
After securing more hits and jettisoning his band The Blue Flames, Parnes held auditions in Liverpool for a new group. Among those who failed were The Beatles, who for the first time called themselves The Silver Beetles. They were offered the job for £20 a week on condition that they sacked their bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. John Lennon refused and the band left after Lennon had secured Fury's autograph.[citation needed] The Tornados were recruited as his backing band and toured and recorded with Fury from January 1962 to August 1963.
Fury concentrated less on rock and roll and more on mainstream ballads, such as "Halfway to Paradise" and "Jealousy" (which reached #3 and #2 respectively in the UK Singles Chart in 1961). Fury confessed to the NME that "I wanted people to think of me simply as a singer - and not, more specifically, as a rock singer. I'm growing up, and I want to broaden my scope. I shall continue to sing rock songs, but at the same time my stage act is not going to be as wild in the future". It was Decca's decision to mould Fury into a teen idol after his last self-penned song, "My Christmas Prayer", had failed to chart. 1962 and 1963 were Fury's best years chartwise. In 1962 Fury appeared in his first film, Play It Cool, modelled on the Elvis movies. It featured Helen Shapiro, Danny Williams, Shane Fenton and Bobby Vee, who appeared with The Vernons Girls. The hit single from the film was "Once Upon a Dream". There were other notable performances by several British actors and performers such as Richard Wattis, Lionel Blair and Dennis Price.
Fury's We Want Billy! (1963) was one of the first live albums in UK rock history and featured renditions of his hits and cover versions of several R&B songs such as "Unchain My Heart".
In 1965 he appeared in the film I've Gotta Horse, which also featured The Bachelors, Michael Medwin and Jon Pertwee. The album from the film was made available in stereo. Fury left Decca Records in 1966, after signing to a five year recording contract with Parlophone.
Having had more UK hits, such as "It's Only Make Believe" and "I Will" (written by Dick Glasser, not to be confused with the Paul McCartney song), both in 1964, and "In Thoughts of You" (1965), Fury began a lengthy absence from the charts in 1967, and underwent surgery for heart problems in 1972 and 1976 which led to his abandoning touring. Despite spending many weeks on the charts, Fury never achieved a number one single, but he remained popular even after his hits stopped. "I Will" became a U.S. hit for Dean Martin (1965) and for Ruby Winters (1977).
A TRUE LIVERPOOL SON
LIVERPOOL CITY CENTRE APRIL 2012
For more and various confidentiality contracts visit: www.samplecontracts.org/confidentiality-contracts.html
twitter.com/KeltruckLtd/status/977299182372474880
New #Scania 80 ton S580 #V8 tag joins the Scania only Tom Prichard Contracting fleet #TomPrichard #TomPrichardContacting #Llantrisant #Wales #SouthWales #Cymru #CF72 #ScaniaV8
Cracking job, Peter Harris!
#SuppliedByKeltruck keltruckscania.com/suppliedbykeltruck
When it comes to addictions of any form it's as if you're singing a contract in blood. There are unhealthy habits that I have tried to escape from and it definitely feels like I have signed a lifetime contract with my habits. We all have something that we are trying to deal with or change, but the journey of doing so is definitely not an easy one. Sometimes the trials the journey holds keeps us from pursuing our desire to change, which sucks.
Life. . .
malden, massachusetts
1959
rowe contracting company
part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf
© the Nick DeWolf Foundation
Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com
Carrying Globus contract livery is City Circle, 82, a Neoplan Tourliner coach which was seen visiting Edinburgh Castle.
Beck Cottage on the grounds of the former Riseholme Hall and now Riseholme College, on Riseholme Road, Riseholme, West Lindesey, Lincolnshire.
The Riseholme Hall was built in the middle of the 18th century by the Chaplin family. Formal tree planting and the lake were already in place by 1779, but by the early-19th century the south park had become more informal. In 1840 the estate was sold to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to become the Palace for the Bishop of Lincoln. The hall and park were re-modelled and a new church was built. The estate was sold in 1887. It was later bought by the County Council in 1945.
The site was converted into Riseholme Farm Institute in 1949, before becoming in 1966 the Lindsey College of Agriculture. In 1980, the Lindsey College merged with its counterparts in the parts of Holland and Kesteven, and the combined county-wide college of agriculture was taken over by De Montfort University in 1994, before transferring to the University of Lincoln in 2001. The University of Lincoln announced that it would not be renewing its further education contract at Riseholme College after August 2012. Bishop Burton College then took over the site to deliver courses for post-16 students.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In 1964 the Royal Air Force specified a requirement (Air Staff Target (AST) 362) for a new fast jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat. The SEPECAT Jaguar was originally intended for this role, but it was soon realized that it would be too complex an aircraft for fast jet training and only a small number of two-seat versions were purchased. Accordingly, in 1968, Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA) began studies for a simpler aircraft, initially as special project (SP) 117. The design team was led by Ralph Hooper.
This project was funded by the company as a private venture, in anticipation of possible RAF interest. The design was conceived of as having tandem seating and a combat capability in addition to training, as it was felt the latter would improve export sales potential. By the end of the year HSA had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defense based on the design concept, and in early 1970 the RAF issued Air Staff Target (AST) 397 which formalized the requirement for new trainers of this type. The RAF selected the HS.1182 for their requirement on 1 October 1971 and the principal contract, for 175 aircraft, was signed in March 1972.
Design of the Hawk was conventional by any approach. The two-seat crew - made up of an instructor in the rear cockpit and his student pilot in the front - sat in tandem under a wide field-of-view canopy. Controls at each position were redundant with the instructor having the ability to override student functions as needed. The cockpit was situated well-forward in the design behind a pointed, sloped-down nose assembly. Intakes to aspirate the single engine mounting came in the form of two half-circle openings to either side of the rear cockpit. The turbofan engine was buried deep within the short fuselage which was streamlined with a certain engineering elegance common to British military aircraft.
The intake ducts bulged out at the fuselage sides but were absorbed into the fuselage proper to continue the aircraft's smooth design layout. Wings were fitted amidships and sported modest sweep along the leading edge and lesser sweep along the trailing edge. They were also low-mounted assemblies along the fuselage to help increased expediency for ground operation. The empennage was traditional with a single vertical tail fin flanked by a pair of downward-canted horizontal tail planes. The tail planes were all-moving surfaces to add to the Hawk's agility. Small ventral strakes were noted along the empennage base. The undercarriage was conventional in layout and consisted of two main single-wheeled landing gear legs and a single-wheeled nose leg. The main legs retracted inwards towards centerline while the nose leg retracted forwards.
Standard armament for the Hawk was an optional gun pod commonly fitted to the centerline hard point under the fuselage (there were, in effect, five total hard points). The gun pod housed a 30mm ADEN series cannon for close-in work but remained an optional fixture. There were originally two underwing hard points (later expanded to four) cleared for the carrying of external munitions including guided/homing missiles, rocket pods and conventional drop bombs with the two inner-most hard points plumbed to accept fuel from external drop tanks. Up to 6,800lbs of external stores could be lifted by the Hawk airframe.
The prototype aircraft first flew on 21 August 1974. All development aircraft were built on production jigs; the program remained on time and to budget throughout. The Hawk T1 entered RAF service in late 1976. The first export Hawk 50 flew on 17 May 1976. This variant had been specifically designed for the dual-role of lightweight fighter and advanced trainer. It had a greater weapons capacity than the T.1, featured a total of five hard points, avionics improvements, the ability to carry larger drop tanks of 590 liter (156 US gallon) capacity, and an uprated engine which made the Hawk 50 qualified for 30% greater takeoff weight than the RAF's Hawk T.1.
One of the initial foreign customers was the Finnish Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat). In January 1978, Britain and Finland announced a deal to in which the Finnish Air Force was to receive 50 Hawk Mk. 51s in 1980. The Finnish Hawk 51s had a unique avionics fit, used a Saab RS-2 gunsight, and were fitted with a VKT 12.7 millimeter gun pod instead of the 30 millimeter Aden cannon pod provided with the T.1. Interestingly, Finnish Hawks are in some cases fitted with the Russian R-60 (AA-8) AAM, and they are also used for reconnaissance, carrying Vinten optical-infrared camera pods. The first four Hawks in the Finnish order were built in the UK, with the other 46 assembled from kits by Valmet of Finland.
These aircraft were built in Finland under licence by Valtion lentokonetehdas. At that time. the Finnish Air Force was still limited to 60 first-line fighter aircraft by the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947. But by acquiring Hawks, which counted as trainers rather than fighters, capacity could be increased while continuing treaty compliance. These conditions were nullified during the 1990s by the break-up of the Soviet Union, though.
Seven additional Mk. 51As were delivered in 1993–94 to make up for losses, and due to rising levels of metal fatigue, a major structural reinforcement program was carried out to extend the operational life of Finland's Hawks during the 1990s.
More variants of the Hawk followed and common improvements to the base design typically include increased range, more powerful engines, redesigned wing and undercarriage, the addition of radar and forward-looking infrared (FLIR), GPS navigation, and night vision compatibility. Later models were manufactured with a great variety in terms of avionics and system compatibility to suit the individual customer nation. Cockpit functionality was often rearranged and programmed, too, in order to be common to an operator's main fighter fleet to increase the Hawk's training value.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2: student, instructor
Length: 12.43 m (40 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.98 m (13 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 16.70 m2 (179.64 ft²)
Empty weight: 4,480 kg (9,880 lb)
Useful load: 3,000 kg (6,600 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 9,100 kg (20,000 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Adour Mk. 851 non-afterburning turbofan with 23,1 kN (5.200 lbf) static thrust
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 0.84 (1,028 km/h, 638 mph) at altitude
Range: 2,520 km (1,360 nmi, 1,565 mi)
Service ceiling: 13,565 m (44,500 ft)
Rate of climb: 47 m/s (9,300 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.65
Armament:
No internal armament, but an optional VKT 12.7 millimeter gun in a centerline pod;
Up to 2.200 lb (1.000 kg) of weapons on four underwing hard points, including 4× AAMs like
AIM-9 Sidewinder or R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid'), bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber, unguided rocket
pods, drop tanks or reconnaissance pods with cameras
The kit and its assembly:
A simple build, sparked from a short-notice inspiration when I did online legwork for paint schemes. Then I stumbled upon profiles of fictional Finnish MiG-29 and Su-27, posted in 2011 by fellow member Wenzel from the CZ What if SIG a.k.a. PantherG at whatifmodelers.com, featuring interesting, fictional four-tone splinter schemes:
i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww303/PoorWhistler/Doodles/Su...
i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww303/PoorWhistler/Doodles/Mi...
These got me thinking, but instead of building one of the Russian fighters I wondered how this camouflage concept would look on a smaller aircraft already in Ilmavoimat service. This led directly to the Hawk 51!
Thankfully, there are several kits available for this aircraft, and I settled upon the relatively new Airfix kit from 2007. It's main selling point was that it actually contains parts and decals for a Finnish aircraft, esp. a set of the modern, very tiny roundels.
Good experience with recent Airfix offerings were confirmed. Effectively, the Airfix Hawk is a nice and simple build, done in just one and a half day. One of the kit’s positive features is the crew: there are actually two modern and well-sculpted pilot figures included, a rarity these days.
The kit was mostly built OOB, only mods are a cover inside of the ventral air brake (which can be built into open position, but this leaves an ugly seam visible) and some extra antennae. Fit is good (not perfect, though), and only little PSR was needed - biggest issue was the ventral wing/fuselage intersection, esp. its rear end.
One truly tricky feat is the mounting of the protective clear separating screen between the cockpit seats – the clear wall has (somehow) to be glued into the clear canopy, without any reference where to actually place it. Altogether a risky business, and I was lucky to get the wall into place with only a little white glue so that a total mess could be avoided. The positive thing about this construction is that you can mount the canopy in open position with the wall inside.
The engraved panel lines appear a little massive at first glance (far from Matchbox' trenches on the Hawk 200, though!), but once you add paint the kit this evens out and looks much better than on the sprues. A nice and literally simple kit!
Painting and markings:
The more challenging part of the build - and I stuck closely to the inspiring profiles and their color choice, choosing a pattern of diagonal "splinter stripes" in rather unique tones:
• FS 35042 (USN Sea Blue; Humbrol 181)
• FS 34227 (Intermediate Green; Humbrol 120)
• FS 30118 (US Field Drab; Humbrol 142)
• FS 35622 (IDF Pale Blue; Humbrol 122), which was also used for the undersides
Painting was done free-handedly, with brushes and some tape for masking, and I stuck to the original color suggestions except for the pure FS35622 on the upper surfaces: I toned it slightly down with a little RLM76 (Humbrol 247), but it is still very bright and the contrast between all colors is really harsh.
Anyway, painting the splinter scheme was easier than it seems, since the areas of each of the four upper side tones was rather small, so that the straight lines were rather short. Only the tight edges needed some corrections, but that was mostly mended during the washing/shading process.
As a design twist, the drop tanks (taken OOB, these are the bigger tanks for the Hawk's export versions) and their respective pylons received the colors of the standard Ilmavoimat Hawks: the pylons were painted in a light olive green (Humbrol 159) while the tanks were painted in a murky, dark brown (a mix of Humbrol 10 and 66) with pale grey (Humbrol 166) undersides.
The cockpit interior was painted in Gull Gray (FS 36231), while other interior surfaces and the landing gear were kept in lighter RAF Aircraft Grey.
For the markings I relied upon the OOB decal sheet; deviating from the inspiring profiles I stuck to the OOB tiny Finnish roundels that were introduced in the Nineties, and they go well with this experimental scheme. Otherwise, markings are rather minimal, just a lot of stencils were applied, the Airfix OOB sheet is pretty exhaustive (with a zillion of stencils, merely 1x1mm in size… There are even decals to be placed on landing gear joints!? Seriously?). As a side benefit, the OOB Finnish aircraft comes with low-viz stencils, placed on a green background. On the fictional splinter livery of my build they blend well into the overall look, the whole aircraft looks very natural (but still original).
In order to emphasize the engraved panel line the kit received a black ink wash and some panel shading through dry-brushing on the upper surfaces, with only slightly lighter tones (e. g. RAL 5008 on the dark blue and RAF Cockpit Green on the FS 34227). I just wanted a subtle effect. Finally, after the decals had been applied, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
A quick and pleasant build, and it's actually a relaxing experience to build something OOB, without transplants, major, Frankenstein-ish surgery and endless PSR sessions. In fact, the Airfix Bae Hawk kit makes it easy for the builder to create a decent model with little effort. You see that some thought went into the moulds and the kit’s construction.
The fictional four-tone splinter scheme looks really weird, though, almost like an anniversary scheme? O.K., it is, according to its creator, actually based/inspired by a pre-WWII Fokker D.VII fighter in Finnish service, but this real life version was created from different and less “loud” colors! Anyway, this Hawk is colorful in a certain way, even though I have doubts concerning its camouflage’s effectiveness? However, it’s a nice, bright addition to the whif collection. :D
Before graduating on Saturday, December 15th with their MA in Culturally Responsive Leadership and Instruction from Drake University, the second cohort of DMPS BLUE contract teachers showcased their classroom-based research projects at the Drake University Collier Scripps building on December 14th.
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Another #TomPrichardContracting #Scania delivery. A bit wet for driver training but all went ahead and the sweeping begins #KeepWalesTidy #Sweeper #TomPrichard #Llantrisant #Wales #SouthWales #Cymru #CF72
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Imagine a law that encourages the Federal government to partner with local businesses? A law that would create a partnership to do things such as restoring our forests, improving fish and wildlife habitat, removing noxious weeds, and creating healthy rivers. On top of these benefits to the environment, this law also improves the economies of rural communities. Sound too good to be true? Think again.
With the adoption of stewardship contracting authority (public law 108-7) in 2003, BLM has been able to offset forest product values against service costs, select “best value” contracts and award 10-year agreements with communities. Stewardship contracts may be used to improve, maintain or restore forests, rangelands, water quality and habitat. They can also be used to reduce hazardous fuels that pose risks. Since its inception, BLM has issued over 170 awards, covering over 51,000 acres.
Simply said, these contracts are a legal agreement to be “stewards” on Federally-managed lands. In real life this translates to a variety of projects from removing encroaching juniper trees and grinding them up to be used in a variety of ways, to restore native grasslands by cutting small confiers and selling them as Christmas trees, to thinning stands to increase forest health.
In the Lakeview District, stewardship contracting has allowed for maximum biomass utilization of forest and woodland products. Trees cut from the projects have been used for fuelwood, “hogfuel” chips burned to make renewable electricity, clean chips that are ground up and used to make hardboard and an array of juniper products like post and poles. Thousands of tons of BLM-sourced juniper has supplied the local Juniper Mill at REACH in Klamath Falls thanks to the Gerber Stewardship Contract. This contract has allowed for over 6,000 acres of forests and woodlands to be restored through treatments under this project. This unique mill is a non-profit organization that specializes creative utilization of juniper, finding uses for nearly all parts of the tree. On top of that, the REACH mill is an active participant in vocational-rehabilitation programs that focus on employing individuals with disabilities.
Thanks to the Gerber Stewardship, juniper byproducts that would have been previously burned can be used to foster community partnerships and stimulate the local economy.
The Medford District is also creatively implementing stewardship contracts to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems. Last year, the district awarded the Landing Pile Biomass Utilization Contract, an interagency contract in support of the Southwest Oregon Interagency biomass strategy. This contract allows landing piles from the BLM’s Medford District to be used locally rather than being burned.
As a result, the contract reduces open burning, improves air quality,and also stimulates local woody biomass markets—a good deal for everyone involved.
Stewardship contracting provides the BLM with the authority to implement landscape scale treatments that meet local and community needs. These contracts can include such activities as hazardous fuels reduction, fish and wildlife habitat improvements, forest health treatments, removal of noxious weeds, and stream restoration, to name a few.
As a result, stewardship projects make our public lands more resilient to natural disturbances, like wildfires and climate change.
The process is a unique one for several reasons, some of which include: First, the process requires collaboration. The collaborative process fosters community partnerships and stimulates local economies; particularly those whose economies depend on resources from nearby federal lands – such as timber or forage.
Second, contracts solicited under the stewardship authority are awarded on “best value,” allowing the BLM to thoroughly evaluate contractors’ proposals, and award contracts based on factors other than price or revenue generation. Conversely, a timber sale contract is always awarded to the highest bidder. Stewardship contracting allows BLM and communities to define other contracting attributes they also value.
And third, the stewardship authority allows BLM to exchange goods for services within a single contract. This means that BLM can essentially “trade” the cost of services received for the value of the treatment’s byproduct. All of these factors help increase efficiencies, which is good business for both the BLM and the contractors.
contract note on board. You are allowed to use this image on your website. If you do, please link back to my site as the source: creditscoregeek.com/
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Mike Cohen
Since I'm home sick, I might as well make myself look how horrible I feel. I used alcohol activated paints and different eyeshadows and highlighters to make this makeup look. I will be putting this into photoshop later.
Imagine a law that encourages the Federal government to partner with local businesses? A law that would create a partnership to do things such as restoring our forests, improving fish and wildlife habitat, removing noxious weeds, and creating healthy rivers. On top of these benefits to the environment, this law also improves the economies of rural communities. Sound too good to be true? Think again.
With the adoption of stewardship contracting authority (public law 108-7) in 2003, BLM has been able to offset forest product values against service costs, select “best value” contracts and award 10-year agreements with communities. Stewardship contracts may be used to improve, maintain or restore forests, rangelands, water quality and habitat. They can also be used to reduce hazardous fuels that pose risks. Since its inception, BLM has issued over 170 awards, covering over 51,000 acres.
Simply said, these contracts are a legal agreement to be “stewards” on Federally-managed lands. In real life this translates to a variety of projects from removing encroaching juniper trees and grinding them up to be used in a variety of ways, to restore native grasslands by cutting small confiers and selling them as Christmas trees, to thinning stands to increase forest health.
In the Lakeview District, stewardship contracting has allowed for maximum biomass utilization of forest and woodland products. Trees cut from the projects have been used for fuelwood, “hogfuel” chips burned to make renewable electricity, clean chips that are ground up and used to make hardboard and an array of juniper products like post and poles. Thousands of tons of BLM-sourced juniper has supplied the local Juniper Mill at REACH in Klamath Falls thanks to the Gerber Stewardship Contract. This contract has allowed for over 6,000 acres of forests and woodlands to be restored through treatments under this project. This unique mill is a non-profit organization that specializes creative utilization of juniper, finding uses for nearly all parts of the tree. On top of that, the REACH mill is an active participant in vocational-rehabilitation programs that focus on employing individuals with disabilities.
Thanks to the Gerber Stewardship, juniper byproducts that would have been previously burned can be used to foster community partnerships and stimulate the local economy.
The Medford District is also creatively implementing stewardship contracts to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems. Last year, the district awarded the Landing Pile Biomass Utilization Contract, an interagency contract in support of the Southwest Oregon Interagency biomass strategy. This contract allows landing piles from the BLM’s Medford District to be used locally rather than being burned.
As a result, the contract reduces open burning, improves air quality,and also stimulates local woody biomass markets—a good deal for everyone involved.
Stewardship contracting provides the BLM with the authority to implement landscape scale treatments that meet local and community needs. These contracts can include such activities as hazardous fuels reduction, fish and wildlife habitat improvements, forest health treatments, removal of noxious weeds, and stream restoration, to name a few.
As a result, stewardship projects make our public lands more resilient to natural disturbances, like wildfires and climate change.
The process is a unique one for several reasons, some of which include: First, the process requires collaboration. The collaborative process fosters community partnerships and stimulates local economies; particularly those whose economies depend on resources from nearby federal lands – such as timber or forage.
Second, contracts solicited under the stewardship authority are awarded on “best value,” allowing the BLM to thoroughly evaluate contractors’ proposals, and award contracts based on factors other than price or revenue generation. Conversely, a timber sale contract is always awarded to the highest bidder. Stewardship contracting allows BLM and communities to define other contracting attributes they also value.
And third, the stewardship authority allows BLM to exchange goods for services within a single contract. This means that BLM can essentially “trade” the cost of services received for the value of the treatment’s byproduct. All of these factors help increase efficiencies, which is good business for both the BLM and the contractors.
Originally built for use as a battery or overhead Electric locomotive and later converted for battery operation only this locomotive was built in December 1944 and delivered to Upper Boat Power Station in South Wales. The locomotive was built by Baguley of Burton under contract from English Electric. The locomotive later went to Back o'th Bank Power Station in Bolton. The loco is now at the Manchester Museum of Science and Technology and had a new set of batteries in 2012 at a cost of £12,000
Winner: Mainroad Mid-Island Contracting LP
Project: Orange Bridge Project
Category: Community Service
The B.C. Transportation Contractor of the Year Awards of Excellence recognizes excellence in the delivery of transportation infrastructure projects. Transportation contractors make seismic upgrades to keep our roads safe, build relationships with local communities to minimize traffic flow disruption during construction, respond to emergency situations and work within short construction windows and sometimes adverse conditions to ensure our roads and bridges are safe and reliable.
The Contractor of the Year Awards recognizes the outstanding achievement and commitment to the development and promotion of a culture of excellence in the road building industry. The awards for 2021 and 2022 will be presented at the Contractor of the Year Awards ceremony in December 2022.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some Background:
The Royal Libyan Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي الليبي , Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Malakiya al Libiyya) was established in September 1962 by a decision of the minister of defense Abd al-Nabi Yunis. Lt. Col. al-Hadi Salem al-Husomi was assigned to lead the new force. It was originally equipped with a small number of transports and trainers. In May 1967, the Kingdom of Libya reached an agreement with the United States to supply Northrop F-5A and Bs to the Royal Libyan Air Force and more advanced trainers, in the form of six Cessna T-37C trainers.
The Cessna T-37 Tweet (designated Model 318 by Cessna) was a small, economical twin-engined jet trainer type which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force (USAF) and in the air forces of several other nations. It was a response to the USAF’s request for proposals for a "Trainer Experimental (TX)" program in 1952, specifying a lightweight, two-seat basic trainer for introducing USAF cadets to jet aircraft. Cessna responded to the TX request with a twin-jet design with side-by-side seating. The USAF liked the Cessna design and the side-by-side seating since it let the student and instructor interact more closely than with tandem seating. In the spring of 1954, the USAF awarded Cessna a contract for three prototypes of the Model 318, and a contract for a single static test aircraft. The Air Force designated the type as XT-37.
The XT-37 had a low, straight wing, with the engines buried in the wing roots, a clamshell-type canopy hinged to open vertically to the rear, a control layout similar to that used on board of contemporary operational USAF aircraft, ejection seats, and tricycle landing gear with a wide track of 14 ft (4.3 m). It first flew on 12 October 1954. The wide track and a steerable nosewheel made the aircraft easy to handle on the ground, and the short landing gear avoided the need for access ladders and service stands. The aircraft was designed to be simple to maintain, with more than 100 access panels and doors. An experienced ground crew could change an engine in about half an hour.
The XT-37 was aerodynamically clean, so much so that a speed brake was fitted behind the nosewheel doors to help increase drag for landing and for use in other phases of flight. Since the short landing gear placed the engine air intakes close to the ground, screens pivoted over the intakes from underneath when the landing gear was extended, to prevent foreign object damage.
The XT-37 was fitted with two Continental-Teledyne J69-T-9 turbojet engines, French Turbomeca Marboré engines built under license, with 920 lbf (4.1 kN) thrust each. The engines had thrust attenuators to allow them to remain spooled-up (i.e. rotating at speeds above idle) during landing approach, permitting shorter landings while still allowing the aircraft to easily make another go-around in case something went wrong. Empty weight of the XT-37 was 5,000 lb (2,300 kg).
Tests showed the XT-37 had a maximum speed of 390 mph (630 km/h) at altitude, with a range of 935 mi (1,505 km). The aircraft had a service ceiling of 35,000 feet (10,700 m) but was unpressurized and was therefore limited to an operational ceiling of 25,000 feet (7,600 m) by USAF regulations.
The production T-37A was similar to the XT-37 prototypes, except for minor changes to fix problems revealed by the flight-test program. The first T-37A was completed in September 1955 and flew later that year. The T-37A was very noisy, even by the standards of jet aircraft. The intake of air into its small turbojets emitted a high-pitched shriek that led some to describe the trainer as the "Screaming Mimi", the "6,000 pound dog whistle" or "Converter" (= converts fuel and air into noise and smoke). The piercing whistle quickly gave the T-37 its name, the "Tweety Bird", or just "Tweet". The Air Force spent a lot of time and money soundproofing buildings at bases where the T-37 was stationed, and ear protection remains mandatory for all personnel when near an operating aircraft.
The USAF ordered 444 T-37As, with the last produced in 1959. In 1957, the US Army evaluated three T-37As for battlefield observation and other combat support roles, but eventually procured the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk instead. However, the Air Force liked the T-37A, but considered it to be underpowered; consequently, they ordered an improved version, the T-37B, with uprated J-69-T-25 engines. The new engines provided about 10% more thrust and were more reliable. Improved avionics were also specified for the new variant. A total of 552 newly built T-37Bs was constructed through 1973, and all surviving T-37As were eventually upgraded to the T-37B standard as well.
The T-37A and T-37B had no built-in armament and no stores pylons for external armament. In 1961, Cessna began developing a modest enhancement of the T-37 for use as a weapons trainer. This new variant, the T-37C, was primarily intended for export and could be used for light attack duties if required. The respective changes included stronger wings, with a pylon under each wing outboard of the main landing gear well, and the T-37C could also be fitted with wingtip fuel tanks, each with a capacity of 65 US gal (245 l), that could be dropped in an emergency. A computing gunsight and gun camera were added, too, and the T-37C could also be fitted with a reconnaissance camera mounted inside the fuselage.
The primary armament of the T-37C was the General Electric "multipurpose pod" with a .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun with 200 rounds, two 70 mm (2.75 in) folding-fin rocket pods, and four practice bombs. Other stores, such as folding-fin rocket pods or even IR-guided Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, could be carried, too. However, the changes increased the weight of the T-37C by 1,430 lb (650 kg). As the engines were not upgraded, this reduced top speed to 595 km/h (370 mph), though the optional wingtip tanks increased maximum range to 1,770 km (1,100 mi). A total of 273 T-37Cs were exported until T-37 production stopped in 1975.
The F-5s and the T-37s were the first dedicated combat aircraft for the young Libyan Air Force, which only operated six Douglas C-47 transports and three Lockheed T-33A trainers at the time. Fifty-six personnel underwent training at bases in the US, pilots at Williams Air Force Base; a US Survey Team on Expansion came to Libya in August 1968 to supervise the introduction of the new jet aircraft and service them. The first aircraft arrived at Wheelus Air Base, a former US facility about 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) from Tripoli and local training started immediately.
Despite this enthusiastic start, the Royal Libyan Air Force and its small stock of aircraft did not last long because the government was overthrown in a coup d’état in 1969. The USA left Libya in 1970 and the air force changed its name to the Libyan Arab Republic Air Force (LARAF), and Wheelus Air Base was subsequently renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base, becoming the LARAF’s headquarter.
During the following months, Libya distanced itself from the United Kingdom and the United States and the serviceability of the older American aircraft quickly declined, especially the F-5s were affected. Eight F-5 single-seaters and two two-seaters had been delivered until then, as well as four T-37Cs - the rest of the order was cancelled. Educated service personnel for these aircraft was initially loaned from Greece as an emergency measure, but this did not help much, and most were eventually sold to Turkey (the F-5s) and Greece (the T-37Cs). Instead, close ties were developed with France, and, accordingly, an order for 110 Dassault Mirage 5s fighter bombers, twelve Fouga Magisters, ten Aérospatiale Alouette IIIs and nine Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelons was signed in December 1969, and in 1971 the LARAF still received eight C-130Hs from the United States. Negotiations for the purchase of Soviet military aircraft only started in 1973, in the light of the experiences of the Yom Kippur War, but relations with France were maintained.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 29 ft 3 in (8.92 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 99.3 in (12.581 m)
Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
Wing area: 201 sq ft (18.7 m²)
Aspect ratio: 6.2:1
Airfoil: NACA 2418 at root, NACA 2412 at tip
Empty weight: 5,484 lb (2.490 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 8,000 lb (3.632 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Continental-Teledyne J69-T-25 turbojets, 1,025 lbf (4.56 kN) thrust each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 595 km/h (370 mph)
Cruise speed: 360 mph (580 km/h, 310 kn) at 35,000 ft (11,000 m)
Stall speed: 85 mph (137 km/h, 74 kn)
Range: 932 mi (1,500 km, 810 nmi) with internal fuel
Service ceiling: 38,700 ft (11,800 m)
Rate of climb: 3,370 ft/min (17.1 m/s)
Armament:
2 underwing pylons for stores up to 500 lb (227 kg) each
The kit and its assembly:
This small but exotic what-if model was inspired by decals for an RLAF F-5A from a Colorado Decals sheet – and I had stumbled upon these rather hapless aircraft that only served for a few months under this flag in a F-5 book. I found the historic time slot interesting and wondered about other aircraft that could have been introduced in 1968 and found that Libya might have needed some more and more modern jet trainers than the three T-33 it had. My first choice was the British Jet Provost, but since Libya procured the equipment from US sources, a Hasegawa A-37 kit from a lot (and without any plan for it yet) came to the rescue.
At first I wanted to build the Tweet OOB, but found that the A-37 was a little “too much” for Libya’s needs, so I decided to retrograde it to a T-37C – a light trainer, but still armed. Biggest changes were the omission of the refueling probe, the gun port was faired over, and I left away the optional tip tanks and replaced them with scratched wing tips, made from styrene. A small dorsal antenna fairing “hump” was added, a smaller one that the A-37s feature. Even though they were not necessary to represent the real aircraft I added styrene tube dummies to the exhaust ports - the gaping OOB holes did not convince me.
The underwing hardpoints were reduced to just a pair of pylons, and the light armament now consist only of a pair of LAU-7 unguided missile launchers (from the Italeri NATO weapons set). The single-piece canopy was cut into two parts for open display, in the cockpit two gunsights, seat belts and a hydraulic piston for the open canopy were added.
Painting and markings:
The RLAF F-5s were the benchmark, and they carried a rather simple/dry livery: the were painted overall in a dull silver lacquer (not NMF), similar to the USAF prototypes, with a black anti-glare panel. Finding a good paint for this look/finish was not easy, though, and I eventually settled for Humbrol 11 (Silver) with a light black ink washing and post-panel-shading with Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum metallizer (27002).
The cockpit interior became medium grey while landing gear and air intakes became white. The LAU-7 pods became very light grey.
To emphasize the Tweet’s trainer role I pimped the uniform silver livery with dayglo orange markings, procured from an Airfix Jet Provost sheet. National markings were taken from the aforementioned Colorado Decals F-5 sheet, even though its national markings are wrong: they lack green, they were just printed in 2C. To mend this flaw, I just added a thin green decal stripe to the flag on the fin, and the roundels, which are pretty small on the F-5, were completely replaced with bigger alternatives: Albanian air force markings from an Antonov An-2 (Balkan Models sheet), with a small green decal circle added to their center. Simple, but effective, and in combination with the orange stripes the whole aircraft looks quite attractive. The tactical codes were taken from a Myanmar MiG-29 (Caracal Models sheet). Most stencils were taken from the OOB sheet, with some more added from the 1/72 A-37 aftermarket sheet from PrintScale.
After a light treatment with graphite around the jet nozzles the model was sealed overall with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri), and this IMHO comes pretty close to the real world RLAF F-5 finish.
A small project, even though the tank-less wing tips were quite challenging. However, the Libyan Tweet looks very convincing, and with the high-viz trainer markings the whole package even has a stylish touch. The early Libyan roundels are also quite exotic, since they were only used for a couple of months
Coventry depot have a contract monday to friday to provide a park and ride service for Jaguar /Land Rover from Coventry to Gaydon requireing 4 coaches and 2 buses ...And i am on it for the rest of the week...today i had no 28 MJI8428 a Mercedes Benz Touro C49FT...my first drive of one... photo taken at the park and ride sight 18/09/13
www.flickriver.com/photos/juddersstuffok/
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The Hawk 128 is the new Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) for the RAF and Royal Navy. The Mk. 128 includes modern LCD displays instead of conventional instrumentation, and allows preparation for flying modern fighter aircraft, particularly the all "glass" Typhoon. It uses the Rolls-Royce Adour 951 engine. The UK Ministry of Defence awarded a Design and Development Contract to BAE Systems on 22 Dec 2004,[20] building on the design of the Australian Mk. 127 and the South African Mk. 120s. A £450 million contract was signed in October 2006 for the production of 28 Hawk 128s.[21] The MoD had originally announced its intention to order 20 aircraft with options for 24 more. The aircraft's maiden flight occurred on 27 July 2005 from BAE Systems' Warton Aerodrome and lasted for 1 hour 18 minutes.[22]
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