View allAll Photos Tagged GPS-System
A semitruck is stuck on a U.S. Forest Service road after erroneously following directions provided by a GPS system. At least one GPS system indicates erroneously that LoLo Pass Road (using U.S. Forest Service roads FR1828 and FR18) is an alternative route from Portland, Ore., to Hood River over Mount Hood, to avoid the usual truck routes U.S. 26 and OR 35 or I-84. It is not. U.S. Forest Service roads FR1828 and FR18 are not maintained for winter travel. Taking this route in a big truck is dangerous, as the drivers of this rig found out. No one was hurt, but they had to hike out several miles to get help.
ISS031-E-067404 (24 May 2012) --- The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft approaches the International Space Station on May 24, 2012 for a series of tests to clear it for its final rendezvous and grapple on May 25. At 3:58 a.m. (EDT), Dragon performed a height adjust burn to bring it to a path 2.4 kilometers below the station. During this “fly-under,” Dragon established UHF communication with the station using its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Ultra-high frequency Communication Unit (CUCU). Dragon performed a test of its Relative GPS system, which uses the relative positions of the spacecraft to the space station to determine its location. On May 25, Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the supply ship about 8:06 a.m., with the berthing to the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node following about 11:20 a.m. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years. In 1971, Iran purchased 202 examples of an improved AH-1J, named "AH-1J International", from the United States. This improved Cobra featured an uprated P&WC T400-WV-402 engine and a stronger drivetrain, so that it would have a better performance under “hot & high” conditions. Recoil damping gear was fitted to the 20 mm M197 gun turret, and the gunner was given a stabilized sight and a stabilized seat, too. Of the AH-1Js delivered to the Shah's Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, 62 were TOW-capable.
Iranian AH-1Js participated in the Iran–Iraq War—which saw the most intensive use of helicopters in any conventional war. Iranian AH-1Js (particularly the TOW-capable ones) were "exceptionally effective" in anti-armor warfare, inflicting heavy losses on Iraqi armored and vehicle formations. In operations over the barren terrain in Khuzestan and later in southern Iraq, beside the standard tactics, Iranian pilots developed special, effective tactics, often in the same manner as the Soviets did with their Mi-24s. Due to the post-Revolution weapons sanctions, Iranians had to make do with what was at hand: lacking other guided ordnance they equipped the AH-1Js with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in several operations. About half of the AH-1Js were lost during the conflict to combat, accidents, and simple wear and tear –the rest of the fleet was kept operational and busy during the following years.
However, time and use took their toll on the Iranian Cobras, for which no replacement could be found. In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, called ‘Panha’ in Iran). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first of these refurbished AH-1Js was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile, the “Towfan”, while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001. This marked the start of an ongoing but slow modernization program for the remaining Iranian Cobra fleet.
IHSRC also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras, in a project known as “Panha-2091”. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of new fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version. Under a project named HESA-2091, both helicopters were thoroughly modernized and equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Internal avionics were revamped with the addition of a GPS system in the nose, and a warning radar with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage was integrated, too. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.
These two helicopters were ultimately named ‘Tiztak-2091’ and became prototypes for a larger modernization project for 102 remaining AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. However, in total, the cost of this bold conversion projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001, and this resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program just a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were revamped and delivered to frontline units between 2003 and 2005. However, further conversions have only be done sparingly since then, due to the lack of funds and material.
Despite these limitations, the IAAF immediately began working on upgrade projects to further increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of Cobra helicopters. The Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while others received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
After the formation of the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. IRGCAA today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). IRGCAA had also been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, the Qaem-114 (outwardly almost identical to the American AGM-119 Hellfire), but this did not proceed beyond prototype stage.
Despite the active Iranian AH-1J fleet’s relatively small size after 2001, the Cobras were extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran. Both the IAAF and now the IRGCAA had always had two fire support teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan, to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran had two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport had two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one armed with B8M1 rocket pods as a heavy fire support gunship.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m) with both rotors turning
45 ft 9 in (14 m) for fuselage only
Width: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) for stub wings only
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Main rotor diameter: 43 ft 11 in (13.39 m)
Main rotor area: 1,514.97 sq ft (140.745 m²)
Empty weight: 2,802 kg (6,177 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,530 kg (9,987 lb)
Powerplant:
2× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engines, coupled to produce 1,530 shp
(1,140 kW; de-rated from 1,800 shp (1,342 kW) for drivetrain limitations)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in M97 chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the sub wings for 2.75” (70 mm) Mk 40 or Hydra 70 rockets in 7 or 19 rounds
pods; up to 16 5” (127 mm) Zuni rockets in 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers, up to eight Toophan
ATGM in a dual or quad launcher on each wing, AIM-9 Sidewinder or Misagh-2 anti-aircraft
missiles (1 mounted on each hardpoint)
The kit and its assembly:
This is the counterpart to another modified Fujimi AH-1 model, actually a kit bashing of the AH-1S and the AH-1J model to produce something that comes close to the real IAMI HESA-2091 helicopter, an upgraded/re-built AH-1J International of the Iranian Army Air Force. The “leftover” parts were used to create an (Indonesian) AH-1G – even though the HESA-2091 was the “core project”.
To create this Iranian variant, the AH-1J was taken as the basis and the nose as well as the flat-window canopy from the AH-1S were transplanted. While the nose with the TOW sensor turret was just an optional part that fits naturally on the fuselage (even though not without some PSR), the clear parts was more challenging, because the flat canopy is shorter than the original. In this case I had to fill some triangular gaps between the hood and the engine section, and this was done with 1.5 mm styrene sheet wedges and some more PSR to blend the parts that were not meant to be combined into each other.
The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the pilot figures that come with the kit. I also retained the original all-metal main rotor because the Iranian Cobras AFAIK were never upgraded with composite material blades?
To set the HESA-2091 further apart from the original AH-1J I changed the sensor turret in the nose and scratched a ball-shaped fairing that resembles the indigenous RU-290 thermal camera – it’s actually the ball joint from a classic clear Matchbox kit display, with a base scratched from 0.5mm styrene sheet. The “ball” turned out to be a bit too large, but the overall look is O.K., since I wanted a non-TOW AH-1J. For a “different-than-a-stock-AH-1J” look A small radome for a missile guidance antenna was added to the nose above the sensor turret, too. Another personal addition are the small end plates on the stabilizers – inspired by similar installations on Bell’s early twin-engine AH-1s, even though these later disappeared and were technically replaced by a ventral fin extension and a longer fuselage; the Iranian AH-1Js retained the short, original fuselage of the single-engine Cobra variants, though. The end plates were cut from leftover rotor blades from the scrap box, IIRC they belong to a Matchbox Dauphin 2.
Being part of the historical Zahedan fire support team I gave the Cobra an armament consisting of a nineteen round 70mm Hydra unguided missile pods (OOB), a pair of AGM-65 Maverick missiles (an ordnance actually deployed by Iranian Cobras), together with their respective launch rails, and I added launch tubes for indigenous Misagh-2 anti-aircraft missiles (which are actually MANPADS) to the stub wings’ tips as a self-defense measure. These were scratched from 2mm styrene rods.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable paint scheme was not easy. A conservative choice would have been an early mid-stone/earth scheme or a tri-color scheme consisting of sand, earth and dark green. However, while doing WWW research I came across some more exotic and contemporary specimen, carrying a kind of leopard-esque mottle scheme or even a “high resolution” fractal/digital cammo consisting of three shades of beige/brown/grey – even though I am not certain if the latter was a “real” camouflage for operational helicopters or just a “show and shine” propaganda livery?
Re-creating the latter from scratch would have been prohibitively complex, because the pixelized mottles were really fine, maybe just 2” wide each in real life. But I used this scheme as an inspiration for a simplified variant, also kept in three shades of brown, even though the result was a kind of compromise due to the limited material options to create it.
The base became an overall coat with Tamiya XF-57 (Buff), plus very light grey (RAL 7035; Humbrol 196) undersides. A light black ink washing was applied, and panels were post-shaded to create a more vivid surface.
Then came the pixelized mottles in two contrast colors: first came a layer in RAL 1015 (Hellelfenbein/Light Ivory) and then a second in RAL 8011 (Nussbraun/Nut Brown) in a 1:1 ratio, slightly overlapping and letting the Buff base shine through. These mottles were not painted but rather created with square bits from generic decal stripe material in various widths from TL Modellbau. While not as sophisticated as the original camouflage, effect and look are quite similar, and add to the unique look of this HESA-2091(-ish) model. And even though I was sceptical, esp. because of the reddish Nussbraun, the blurring effect of the scheme is surprisingly good – esp. when you put the model in front of a dry mountain background! I’ll keep the concept in the back of my head for further what-if models. All those single pixels were a lot of work, but the result looks really good.
Another detail from many real late Iranian Cobras was taken over, too: a black tail rotor drive shaft cover that extends up onto the fin’s leading edge – probably a measure to hide exhaust soot stains on the tail boom? A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen, too, and the rotor blades became medium grey (Humbrol 165, Medium Sea Grey) except for the main rotor blades’ undersides, which became black. The cockpit interior was uniformly painted in a very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the pilots received khaki jumpsuits and modern grey and olive drab “bone domes”.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. The Iranian roundels came from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet, registration numbers and fin flashes from an Iranian F-5. The IAAF abbreviation was created with single black 4 mm letters.
Graphite was used to weather the model, esp. the area on top of the tail boom, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish overall.
An exotic model – the Iranian home-brew HESA-2091 looks familiar, but it’s a unique combination of classic Cobra elements. More spectacular is the pixelated paint scheme, and the attempt to generate it with the help of square decal bits worked (and looks) better than expected! This might also work well in grey as a winter camouflage? Hmmm….
ISS031-E-067328 (24 May 2012) --- The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft approaches the International Space Station on May 24, 2012 for a series of tests to clear it for its final rendezvous and grapple on May 25. At 3:58 a.m. (EDT), Dragon performed a height adjust burn to bring it to a path 2.4 kilometers below the station. During this “fly-under,” Dragon established UHF communication with the station using its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Ultra-high frequency Communication Unit (CUCU). Dragon performed a test of its Relative GPS system, which uses the relative positions of the spacecraft to the space station to determine its location. On May 25, Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the supply ship about 8:06 a.m., with the berthing to the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node following about 11:20 a.m. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval.
I was tagged by the lovely Kellie . Don't you just wanna live inside some people's photostreams? When those people ask, you do. I'll attempt to make it different from my first go-round.
1. I hate gum. I hate when people chew it. I hate when they leave the wrappers around. Blow bubbles. Pull it from their mouth. I will never give my kids a piece or even encourage it. No, I didn't have a bad Gum in the Hair incident. I just hate it.
2. I loathe when people are late. I'm a nutcase about being on time & I can't understand why some people are always late.
3. I have a potty mouth. Like a filthiest sailor you've ever met. Sometimes when I comment on Flickr I wonder if there's any rule on cussing, so I just play it safe. Even though we don't cuss in front of our children, it slips out. I'm amazed that we've only had one S-word & one D-word pop out of Cooper's mouth. And he tried to cover up the S-word by telling me he said, "Shut". He was a little over 2. I'm also amazed that I didn't cuss during his labor & delivery. I did poop on the nurse, so I didn't really class it up.
4. "Fancy" by Reba McIntrye is the greatest song ever written & preformed.
5. I've been known to listen to the same song 17 times in a row. If it's a diva song with lots of bravado, I'll sing along & beat my chest like a good diva. Don't be fooled. I sing like a dying cow. I am insanely jealous of Drag Queens.
6. I have had some weird crushes. Eddie Rabbitt, Ray Walston, Tim Robbins, & now Jay Z.
7. My MIL confirmed something I realized shortly after having a boy. Just this past weekend she said, "One day you'll realize that you'll come second to the other mother." Part of me likes this aspect of having a boy. Part of me fear this.
8. Growing up, I constantly got lost driving in our tiny neighborhood. My parents still laugh that I have a job that forces me to drive across three states. I rarely get lost & just got a GPS system for Christmas. They got it for me.
9. I think it's sad when people say they hate being alone. My job has taught me to be very comfortable being alone. I drive alone. Eat alone. Watch tv in hotels alone. It isn't always ideal, but I can handle it.
10. I'm self conscious about my writing. Not the content. That's me being honest. But about the properness of it all. Are there words missing? Is the comma being used incorrectly? What about an adverb or ending with a preposition? My sister is an English teacher so I know that she's correcting every single thing I've typed. (What's the total of wrong or missing in this one?"
That was fun all over again!
If you wanna try, let me know. But I'm tagging a few I haven't seen.
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II A-10C (nickname ‘Warthog’) 78-0651 /DM (cn A10-0271), United States Air Force, 354th Fighter Squadron (‘Bulldogs’) arriving at Fairford UK (FFD) on the Thursday before RIAT 2015 (photo xxxx-x).
Two YA-10 prototypes were built in the Republic factory in Farmingdale, New York and first flew on 10 May 1972 by pilot Howard "Sam" Nelson. Production A-10's were built at Fairchild in Hagerstown, Maryland. After trials and a fly-off against the YA-9 (the Northrop build contender), on 18 January 1973, the USAF announced the YA-10's selection for production. The first production A-10 flew in October 1975, and deliveries commenced in March 1976. In total, 715 airplanes were produced, the last delivered in 1984.
The A-10 has received many upgrades over the years such as the addition of a laser receiver pod, inertial navigation system, ground-collision warning system, night vision goggle compatibility, GPS system and a multi-function display. In 2005, the entire A-10 fleet began receiving the Precision Engagement upgrades that include an improved fire control system (FCS), electronic countermeasures (ECM), and smart bomb targeting. Aircraft which received this upgrade are redesignated A-10C. In 2007, the A-10 was subject to a service life extension program (SLEP) containing a re-winging program. In November the first two A-10s flew with new wings fitted. The program has survived the recurring A-10 retirement plans.
The A-10's official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support. The A-10 is more commonly known by its nicknames "Warthog" or "Hog". Its secondary mission is to provide forward air controller - airborne (FAC-A) support, by directing other aircraft in attacks on ground targets. Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10.
Sources: www.scramble.nl en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
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12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
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Agriculture - Industry - Marine Survey & Inspection Group (AIM Control) in Viet Nam and Worldwide. AIM Control is an independent inspection company acting globally and providing a complete range of inspection, quality goods control and consulting service to trade and industry as well as governmental buying organizations.
ACTIVITIES:
Certification
Inspection & Survey, Superintendence
Quality Goods Control Inspection & Adjuster
Third Party Inspection & Laboratory Services
Technical Consultancy & Engineering Control
Diving and Underwater Works
BUSINESS LINES:
Agriculture - Industry – Marine Operations
Consumer - Manufacture Testing
Governments and Institutions
Minerals
Oil gas - Chemical - Offshore
Systems and Service Certification
Outsourcing
Risk Management
It would be very happy for AIM Control to be nominated as independent Agency & Inspection, Survey Company and/ or Representative on behalf of your company in Vietnam and worldwide. We would like to take the opportunity to sign in co-operation with your company with an Agent Agreement Contract.
It is pleasure to introduce ourselves to you, our Group: Agriculture - Industry - Marine Survey & Inspection Group (AIM Control), Vietnam and Worldwide
1. Background
1.1. Agriculture – Industry – Marine Inspection and Survey Group (AIM Control), Our Group was founded with 30% share capital from the Multinational Group holdings and its business operated under Business Register Certificate No. 4103003457 to meet the requirements of our clients and comply with the requirements of the Vietnam Government and International Rules for Survey, Inspection, and Consultant & Superintendence.
1.2. As from its foundation, AIM Control has provided a full range of survey, inspection and superintendence services to domestic and foreign clients since 1993 via its prompt and accurate for commodities, non-commodities, others and as well consultant, property appraisal in Industry, Marine and Agriculture fields. Most important of all, we offer a high level of attention to the needs of our customers.
1.3. Our experienced surveyors/inspectors are committed to understanding each client's particular situation and survey/inspection objectives. We do our best to provide the kind of information, analysis and advice that will assist our clients in making informed and comfortable decisions.
1.3. AIM Control has established and applied Quality Management System in conformity with ISO 9001: 2000 by BVQI London. The scope of services offered and the techniques and procedures applied are constantly adapted to the demands of the market place. The company is member of IFIA, GAFTA, FOSFA, THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION and corresponding associations and has been certified for ISO 45001, 45004, 45012 ( ISO 17020, 17025 ).
1.4. The Logo of AIM Control was registered at National Office of Industrial Property belonging directly to Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment.
1.5. Our Mission promotes improvements in quality, health, safety, and environmental and technical standards through the publication of guidance and information notes, codes of practice, and by other appropriate means to our staff and the Vietnamese community.
1.6. AIM Control provides inspection & survey services by National & International Inspector, Surveyor who meet the qualifications of the Inspector, Surveyors. The term Inspector, Surveyor refers to a National & International Commissioned Inspector, Surveyor as defined in this document.
1.7. Administrative Criteria of AIM Control demonstrates exclusive administrative and technical supervision of the surveyor, inspector's activities.
1.8. Independence, Impartiality and Integrity
General: The personnel of AIM Control shall be free from any financial and other pressures which might affect their judgment. Procedures shall be implemented to ensure that persons or organizations external to AIM Control; cannot influence the results of inspections carried out.
Independence: AIM Control shall be independent to the extent that is required with regard to the conditions under which it performs its services. It shall meet the criteria described: shall be independent of the parties involved; its staff responsible for carrying out the inspection, survey shall not be the designer, manufacturer or supplier of the items which they inspect, nor the authorized representative of any of these parties; shall not engage in any activities that may conflict with their independence of judgment and integrity in relation to their inspection, survey activities.
1.9. Organization and Management
AIM Control has the capability to perform its technical functions satisfactorily, as described in Paragraph 1.10.
AIM Control defines and document the responsibilities and reporting structure of the organization.
In some case of the inspection, survey, AIM Control shall employ one or more high-technology supervisor(s)/technical manager(s) and equipment(s)/device(s) however named, who have the overall responsibility for carrying out inspection activities in accordance with this document, and to monitor the performance of the inspector, surveyor. The supervisor/technical manager shall provide instructions to Inspectors, Surveyors specifying their respective duties and responsibilities, including the duty to perform inspections in accordance with department requirements.
1.10. Technical Management
Management controls to ensure development and implementation of a quality process.
Verify its technical capability with respect to inspection, examination, repair, alteration or other core competencies.
Provide for initial and ongoing training to maintain the competence of its personnel.
1.11. Evaluation for Membership Certificate of AIM Control
Membership required a survey at a location or locations where the applicant's inspection activities are controlled. The applicant shall specify the location(s) at which the quality program will be fully demonstrated. The applicant must provide the formal name of the agency and under what department it was formed. It is not necessary to survey each regional office or location covered by the same program provided documentation is made available to the survey team. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the applicant's quality program including its implementation.
1.12. Issuance of Certificate and/or Report
The Certificate and/or Report will be promptly completed to the client upon request.
2. Members
2.1 Membership of AIM Control is available to companies and organizations active in the survey, inspection, consultant profession. The company's service organization is present in all major countries of all continents either with own Branch Offices or through Team Offices and is co-ordinated by the Head Offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam:
Toa Consultant Co., Ltd. in Marine Consultants & Ship Designs and of Panama Marine Survey & Certificate Services Inc, (PMSCS) – Malta Flag in Japan
Cesmec WSS S.A. Group in Chile
Overseas Associate Surveyors Brazil Ltd.
BASE SPA in Italy
Henderson International Iran Ltd
International Goods Inspection Company
Asian Divers & Equipment Sdn. Bhd.
VDL Marine Services (Pty) Ltd in Seychelles
Carsurin Co., Ltd, and PT. Andisha Sompa Co. in Indonesia
Global Surveyors & Inspectors Ltd. in Korea
Triumph Marine S.A. in Bulgaria
M/s J.C Gupta & Co., Pvt. Ltd. in India
Asian Divers & Equipment SDN BHD. in Malaysia
Hyopsung Surveyors & Adjusters Group in Korea
International Register of Shipping in USA
Eurogal Surveys Co., Ltd. (ESC) in Cambodia
MACOSNAR GROUP in Panama
BroadPulsee Group in North America
European Operations Group (“GMG”) in U.K
P & F S.r.l. (STCR) in Italy
BULCARGO Ltd.,7, VasilDrumev Str., BG-9002 Varna, Bulgaria
2.2 Our Clients are Ship Owners, Cargo, Shippers, Consignees, Chatterers, P&I, H&M & Cargo Underwriters, Banks, Lawyers, Shipyards, Enterprises, Group, Group, Shippers, Consignees, and some Government and Official bodies and the International Associations and any of its clients.
3. Personnel
3.1 Staff of the office is variously Members or Fellows of the Institute of Marine Engineers, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, The Nautical Institute and The Society of Consulting Marine Engineers & Ship Surveyors, in The Marine Technical Consultants’ Association, having the Professional Qualifications Marine, Diver, Construction & Architecture, Environment, Design, and Industrial & Electrical Engineers.
3.2 Key of our personnel, CEO. Nguyen Te Nhan, Master Ha Van Truong and Marine Pilot, Eng. Tran Duc Nhat, Capt. Nguyen An Thanh, Marine Chief Electrical Eng. Le Quang Dat, Electrical Industry Eng. Nguyen Hai Phong, Marine Dive Master Nguyen Hoang Hung, Master of Architecture Pham Ngoc Thao, Construction Eng. Nguyen Van Khoa, Construction Eng. Tran Duy An, Business Accountant Management Dang Viet Ha, Business Economical Management Nguyen Sy Huy, Master-Engineer Officer Nguyen Ngoc Phu, Chief Engineer Nguyen Dinh Hung.
4. Equipment
4.1 In Marine, Industry Fields, We carry equipment for shipping casualty investigations such as the normal still & motion picture photography including digital photography for transferring photographs of casualties to Clients direct over the Internet. Ultrasonic steel plate thickness gauging tools, refrigeration spear thermometers, grain temperature, moisture & humidity meters, Dynamometers, Pyrometers, Binoculars, The Ocean Imaging System Digital, GPS System, Corrosion Testing Equipment, In-Plan Quality Control Thin Film, Coating Thickness Meters, Electronic Spray Gun Testing, Temperature Dew point, Hydrometer, Amperemeters, Electrodynamometer, Mega-Ohm Meters and measurement Devices, are also carried. An ultra-sonic cargo hatch cover tightness instrument which permits testing of hatch covers with cargo on board and a digital fan-wheel anemometer for measuring air flows through cargo holds prior to loading perishable products are some more of our equipment, NTD. Furthermore a chromium steel tank contents’ sampling device suitable to obtain samples from any level is available for use.
4.2 In Diving & Offshore Field, survey and working : Chamber, Diver Gas Recovery System, Diver Gas Reclaim Helmet, Membrane Gas Separation System, Bell Gas Management Panel, High Flow Big Mask, Cuttings Rods, Cutting/Welding Torch, Battery Operated Sets, Ultra weld, Cox Submarine Gun, Underwater Video System, Pins, Hand lamps, wetsuits, hot water suits and accessories, Marker Lights, Diver Communication, Pressure Testing Gause, Decompression Chambers, Container Diving System, Built-in Compressor and Gas Storage, Bell Survival Suit, Underwater Digital Photography, Video Camera, Underwater Radio Communication.
4.4 Our Laboratory: Testing products & Material Lab Analysis.
Pursuant to the mottos:
Accurate
Unprejudiced
Prompt
We dedicate ourselves to continually improving the quality of our services by focusing on skills of the specialized staff and technique to and hope to obtain close cooperation with you all soon in the spirit of equality and bilateral benefit.
Thanks your help and your attention would be highly appreciated,
Thanks & Best regards,
Dr Capt Nguyen
Tel: +848-3832-7204; Fax: +848-3832-8393
Cell: +8490-3615-612
Skype: aimcontrol
E-mail: aimcontrol@vnn.vn; aimcontrol@hotmail.com
Agriculture - Industry - Marine Survey & Inspection Group (AIM Control) in Viet Nam and Worldwide. AIM Control is an independent inspection company acting globally and providing a complete range of inspection, quality goods control and consulting service to trade and industry as well as governmental buying organizations.
ACTIVITIES:
Certification
Inspection & Survey, Superintendence
Quality Goods Control Inspection & Adjuster
Third Party Inspection & Laboratory Services
Technical Consultancy & Engineering Control
Diving and Underwater Works
BUSINESS LINES:
Agriculture - Industry – Marine Operations
Consumer - Manufacture Testing
Governments and Institutions
Minerals
Oil gas - Chemical - Offshore
Systems and Service Certification
Outsourcing
Risk Management
It would be very happy for AIM Control to be nominated as independent Agency & Inspection, Survey Company and/ or Representative on behalf of your company in Vietnam and worldwide. We would like to take the opportunity to sign in co-operation with your company with an Agent Agreement Contract.
It is pleasure to introduce ourselves to you, our Group: Agriculture - Industry - Marine Survey & Inspection Group (AIM Control), Vietnam and Worldwide
1. Background
1.1. Agriculture – Industry – Marine Inspection and Survey Group (AIM Control), Our Group was founded with 30% share capital from the Multinational Group holdings and its business operated under Business Register Certificate No. 4103003457 to meet the requirements of our clients and comply with the requirements of the Vietnam Government and International Rules for Survey, Inspection, and Consultant & Superintendence.
1.2. As from its foundation, AIM Control has provided a full range of survey, inspection and superintendence services to domestic and foreign clients since 1993 via its prompt and accurate for commodities, non-commodities, others and as well consultant, property appraisal in Industry, Marine and Agriculture fields. Most important of all, we offer a high level of attention to the needs of our customers.
1.3. Our experienced surveyors/inspectors are committed to understanding each client's particular situation and survey/inspection objectives. We do our best to provide the kind of information, analysis and advice that will assist our clients in making informed and comfortable decisions.
1.3. AIM Control has established and applied Quality Management System in conformity with ISO 9001: 2000 by BVQI London. The scope of services offered and the techniques and procedures applied are constantly adapted to the demands of the market place. The company is member of IFIA, GAFTA, FOSFA, THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION and corresponding associations and has been certified for ISO 45001, 45004, 45012 ( ISO 17020, 17025 ).
1.4. The Logo of AIM Control was registered at National Office of Industrial Property belonging directly to Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment.
1.5. Our Mission promotes improvements in quality, health, safety, and environmental and technical standards through the publication of guidance and information notes, codes of practice, and by other appropriate means to our staff and the Vietnamese community.
1.6. AIM Control provides inspection & survey services by National & International Inspector, Surveyor who meet the qualifications of the Inspector, Surveyors. The term Inspector, Surveyor refers to a National & International Commissioned Inspector, Surveyor as defined in this document.
1.7. Administrative Criteria of AIM Control demonstrates exclusive administrative and technical supervision of the surveyor, inspector's activities.
1.8. Independence, Impartiality and Integrity
General: The personnel of AIM Control shall be free from any financial and other pressures which might affect their judgment. Procedures shall be implemented to ensure that persons or organizations external to AIM Control; cannot influence the results of inspections carried out.
Independence: AIM Control shall be independent to the extent that is required with regard to the conditions under which it performs its services. It shall meet the criteria described: shall be independent of the parties involved; its staff responsible for carrying out the inspection, survey shall not be the designer, manufacturer or supplier of the items which they inspect, nor the authorized representative of any of these parties; shall not engage in any activities that may conflict with their independence of judgment and integrity in relation to their inspection, survey activities.
1.9. Organization and Management
AIM Control has the capability to perform its technical functions satisfactorily, as described in Paragraph 1.10.
AIM Control defines and document the responsibilities and reporting structure of the organization.
In some case of the inspection, survey, AIM Control shall employ one or more high-technology supervisor(s)/technical manager(s) and equipment(s)/device(s) however named, who have the overall responsibility for carrying out inspection activities in accordance with this document, and to monitor the performance of the inspector, surveyor. The supervisor/technical manager shall provide instructions to Inspectors, Surveyors specifying their respective duties and responsibilities, including the duty to perform inspections in accordance with department requirements.
1.10. Technical Management
Management controls to ensure development and implementation of a quality process.
Verify its technical capability with respect to inspection, examination, repair, alteration or other core competencies.
Provide for initial and ongoing training to maintain the competence of its personnel.
1.11. Evaluation for Membership Certificate of AIM Control
Membership required a survey at a location or locations where the applicant's inspection activities are controlled. The applicant shall specify the location(s) at which the quality program will be fully demonstrated. The applicant must provide the formal name of the agency and under what department it was formed. It is not necessary to survey each regional office or location covered by the same program provided documentation is made available to the survey team. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the applicant's quality program including its implementation.
1.12. Issuance of Certificate and/or Report
The Certificate and/or Report will be promptly completed to the client upon request.
2. Members
2.1 Membership of AIM Control is available to companies and organizations active in the survey, inspection, consultant profession. The company's service organization is present in all major countries of all continents either with own Branch Offices or through Team Offices and is co-ordinated by the Head Offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam:
Toa Consultant Co., Ltd. in Marine Consultants & Ship Designs and of Panama Marine Survey & Certificate Services Inc, (PMSCS) – Malta Flag in Japan
Cesmec WSS S.A. Group in Chile
Overseas Associate Surveyors Brazil Ltd.
BASE SPA in Italy
Henderson International Iran Ltd
International Goods Inspection Company
Asian Divers & Equipment Sdn. Bhd.
VDL Marine Services (Pty) Ltd in Seychelles
Carsurin Co., Ltd, and PT. Andisha Sompa Co. in Indonesia
Global Surveyors & Inspectors Ltd. in Korea
Triumph Marine S.A. in Bulgaria
M/s J.C Gupta & Co., Pvt. Ltd. in India
Asian Divers & Equipment SDN BHD. in Malaysia
Hyopsung Surveyors & Adjusters Group in Korea
International Register of Shipping in USA
Eurogal Surveys Co., Ltd. (ESC) in Cambodia
MACOSNAR GROUP in Panama
BroadPulsee Group in North America
European Operations Group (“GMG”) in U.K
P & F S.r.l. (STCR) in Italy
BULCARGO Ltd.,7, VasilDrumev Str., BG-9002 Varna, Bulgaria
2.2 Our Clients are Ship Owners, Cargo, Shippers, Consignees, Chatterers, P&I, H&M & Cargo Underwriters, Banks, Lawyers, Shipyards, Enterprises, Group, Group, Shippers, Consignees, and some Government and Official bodies and the International Associations and any of its clients.
3. Personnel
3.1 Staff of the office is variously Members or Fellows of the Institute of Marine Engineers, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, The Nautical Institute and The Society of Consulting Marine Engineers & Ship Surveyors, in The Marine Technical Consultants’ Association, having the Professional Qualifications Marine, Diver, Construction & Architecture, Environment, Design, and Industrial & Electrical Engineers.
3.2 Key of our personnel, CEO. Nguyen Te Nhan, Master Ha Van Truong and Marine Pilot, Eng. Tran Duc Nhat, Capt. Nguyen An Thanh, Marine Chief Electrical Eng. Le Quang Dat, Electrical Industry Eng. Nguyen Hai Phong, Marine Dive Master Nguyen Hoang Hung, Master of Architecture Pham Ngoc Thao, Construction Eng. Nguyen Van Khoa, Construction Eng. Tran Duy An, Business Accountant Management Dang Viet Ha, Business Economical Management Nguyen Sy Huy, Master-Engineer Officer Nguyen Ngoc Phu, Chief Engineer Nguyen Dinh Hung.
4. Equipment
4.1 In Marine, Industry Fields, We carry equipment for shipping casualty investigations such as the normal still & motion picture photography including digital photography for transferring photographs of casualties to Clients direct over the Internet. Ultrasonic steel plate thickness gauging tools, refrigeration spear thermometers, grain temperature, moisture & humidity meters, Dynamometers, Pyrometers, Binoculars, The Ocean Imaging System Digital, GPS System, Corrosion Testing Equipment, In-Plan Quality Control Thin Film, Coating Thickness Meters, Electronic Spray Gun Testing, Temperature Dew point, Hydrometer, Amperemeters, Electrodynamometer, Mega-Ohm Meters and measurement Devices, are also carried. An ultra-sonic cargo hatch cover tightness instrument which permits testing of hatch covers with cargo on board and a digital fan-wheel anemometer for measuring air flows through cargo holds prior to loading perishable products are some more of our equipment, NTD. Furthermore a chromium steel tank contents’ sampling device suitable to obtain samples from any level is available for use.
4.2 In Diving & Offshore Field, survey and working : Chamber, Diver Gas Recovery System, Diver Gas Reclaim Helmet, Membrane Gas Separation System, Bell Gas Management Panel, High Flow Big Mask, Cuttings Rods, Cutting/Welding Torch, Battery Operated Sets, Ultra weld, Cox Submarine Gun, Underwater Video System, Pins, Hand lamps, wetsuits, hot water suits and accessories, Marker Lights, Diver Communication, Pressure Testing Gause, Decompression Chambers, Container Diving System, Built-in Compressor and Gas Storage, Bell Survival Suit, Underwater Digital Photography, Video Camera, Underwater Radio Communication.
4.4 Our Laboratory: Testing products & Material Lab Analysis.
Pursuant to the mottos:
Accurate
Unprejudiced
Prompt
We dedicate ourselves to continually improving the quality of our services by focusing on skills of the specialized staff and technique to and hope to obtain close cooperation with you all soon in the spirit of equality and bilateral benefit.
Thanks your help and your attention would be highly appreciated,
Thanks & Best regards,
Dr Capt Nguyen
Tel: +848-3832-7204; Fax: +848-3832-8393
Cell: +8490-3615-612
Skype: aimcontrol
E-mail: aimcontrol@vnn.vn; aimcontrol@hotmail.com
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years. In 1971, Iran purchased 202 examples of an improved AH-1J, named "AH-1J International", from the United States. This improved Cobra featured an uprated P&WC T400-WV-402 engine and a stronger drivetrain, so that it would have a better performance under “hot & high” conditions. Recoil damping gear was fitted to the 20 mm M197 gun turret, and the gunner was given a stabilized sight and a stabilized seat, too. Of the AH-1Js delivered to the Shah's Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, 62 were TOW-capable.
Iranian AH-1Js participated in the Iran–Iraq War—which saw the most intensive use of helicopters in any conventional war. Iranian AH-1Js (particularly the TOW-capable ones) were "exceptionally effective" in anti-armor warfare, inflicting heavy losses on Iraqi armored and vehicle formations. In operations over the barren terrain in Khuzestan and later in southern Iraq, beside the standard tactics, Iranian pilots developed special, effective tactics, often in the same manner as the Soviets did with their Mi-24s. Due to the post-Revolution weapons sanctions, Iranians had to make do with what was at hand: lacking other guided ordnance they equipped the AH-1Js with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in several operations. About half of the AH-1Js were lost during the conflict to combat, accidents, and simple wear and tear –the rest of the fleet was kept operational and busy during the following years.
However, time and use took their toll on the Iranian Cobras, for which no replacement could be found. In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, called ‘Panha’ in Iran). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first of these refurbished AH-1Js was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile, the “Towfan”, while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001. This marked the start of an ongoing but slow modernization program for the remaining Iranian Cobra fleet.
IHSRC also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras, in a project known as “Panha-2091”. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of new fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version. Under a project named HESA-2091, both helicopters were thoroughly modernized and equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Internal avionics were revamped with the addition of a GPS system in the nose, and a warning radar with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage was integrated, too. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.
These two helicopters were ultimately named ‘Tiztak-2091’ and became prototypes for a larger modernization project for 102 remaining AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. However, in total, the cost of this bold conversion projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001, and this resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program just a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were revamped and delivered to frontline units between 2003 and 2005. However, further conversions have only be done sparingly since then, due to the lack of funds and material.
Despite these limitations, the IAAF immediately began working on upgrade projects to further increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of Cobra helicopters. The Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while others received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
After the formation of the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. IRGCAA today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). IRGCAA had also been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, the Qaem-114 (outwardly almost identical to the American AGM-119 Hellfire), but this did not proceed beyond prototype stage.
Despite the active Iranian AH-1J fleet’s relatively small size after 2001, the Cobras were extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran. Both the IAAF and now the IRGCAA had always had two fire support teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan, to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran had two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport had two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one armed with B8M1 rocket pods as a heavy fire support gunship.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m) with both rotors turning
45 ft 9 in (14 m) for fuselage only
Width: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) for stub wings only
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Main rotor diameter: 43 ft 11 in (13.39 m)
Main rotor area: 1,514.97 sq ft (140.745 m²)
Empty weight: 2,802 kg (6,177 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,530 kg (9,987 lb)
Powerplant:
2× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engines, coupled to produce 1,530 shp
(1,140 kW; de-rated from 1,800 shp (1,342 kW) for drivetrain limitations)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in M97 chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the sub wings for 2.75” (70 mm) Mk 40 or Hydra 70 rockets in 7 or 19 rounds
pods; up to 16 5” (127 mm) Zuni rockets in 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers, up to eight Toophan
ATGM in a dual or quad launcher on each wing, AIM-9 Sidewinder or Misagh-2 anti-aircraft
missiles (1 mounted on each hardpoint)
The kit and its assembly:
This is the counterpart to another modified Fujimi AH-1 model, actually a kit bashing of the AH-1S and the AH-1J model to produce something that comes close to the real IAMI HESA-2091 helicopter, an upgraded/re-built AH-1J International of the Iranian Army Air Force. The “leftover” parts were used to create an (Indonesian) AH-1G – even though the HESA-2091 was the “core project”.
To create this Iranian variant, the AH-1J was taken as the basis and the nose as well as the flat-window canopy from the AH-1S were transplanted. While the nose with the TOW sensor turret was just an optional part that fits naturally on the fuselage (even though not without some PSR), the clear parts was more challenging, because the flat canopy is shorter than the original. In this case I had to fill some triangular gaps between the hood and the engine section, and this was done with 1.5 mm styrene sheet wedges and some more PSR to blend the parts that were not meant to be combined into each other.
The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the pilot figures that come with the kit. I also retained the original all-metal main rotor because the Iranian Cobras AFAIK were never upgraded with composite material blades?
To set the HESA-2091 further apart from the original AH-1J I changed the sensor turret in the nose and scratched a ball-shaped fairing that resembles the indigenous RU-290 thermal camera – it’s actually the ball joint from a classic clear Matchbox kit display, with a base scratched from 0.5mm styrene sheet. The “ball” turned out to be a bit too large, but the overall look is O.K., since I wanted a non-TOW AH-1J. For a “different-than-a-stock-AH-1J” look A small radome for a missile guidance antenna was added to the nose above the sensor turret, too. Another personal addition are the small end plates on the stabilizers – inspired by similar installations on Bell’s early twin-engine AH-1s, even though these later disappeared and were technically replaced by a ventral fin extension and a longer fuselage; the Iranian AH-1Js retained the short, original fuselage of the single-engine Cobra variants, though. The end plates were cut from leftover rotor blades from the scrap box, IIRC they belong to a Matchbox Dauphin 2.
Being part of the historical Zahedan fire support team I gave the Cobra an armament consisting of a nineteen round 70mm Hydra unguided missile pods (OOB), a pair of AGM-65 Maverick missiles (an ordnance actually deployed by Iranian Cobras), together with their respective launch rails, and I added launch tubes for indigenous Misagh-2 anti-aircraft missiles (which are actually MANPADS) to the stub wings’ tips as a self-defense measure. These were scratched from 2mm styrene rods.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable paint scheme was not easy. A conservative choice would have been an early mid-stone/earth scheme or a tri-color scheme consisting of sand, earth and dark green. However, while doing WWW research I came across some more exotic and contemporary specimen, carrying a kind of leopard-esque mottle scheme or even a “high resolution” fractal/digital cammo consisting of three shades of beige/brown/grey – even though I am not certain if the latter was a “real” camouflage for operational helicopters or just a “show and shine” propaganda livery?
Re-creating the latter from scratch would have been prohibitively complex, because the pixelized mottles were really fine, maybe just 2” wide each in real life. But I used this scheme as an inspiration for a simplified variant, also kept in three shades of brown, even though the result was a kind of compromise due to the limited material options to create it.
The base became an overall coat with Tamiya XF-57 (Buff), plus very light grey (RAL 7035; Humbrol 196) undersides. A light black ink washing was applied, and panels were post-shaded to create a more vivid surface.
Then came the pixelized mottles in two contrast colors: first came a layer in RAL 1015 (Hellelfenbein/Light Ivory) and then a second in RAL 8011 (Nussbraun/Nut Brown) in a 1:1 ratio, slightly overlapping and letting the Buff base shine through. These mottles were not painted but rather created with square bits from generic decal stripe material in various widths from TL Modellbau. While not as sophisticated as the original camouflage, effect and look are quite similar, and add to the unique look of this HESA-2091(-ish) model. And even though I was sceptical, esp. because of the reddish Nussbraun, the blurring effect of the scheme is surprisingly good – esp. when you put the model in front of a dry mountain background! I’ll keep the concept in the back of my head for further what-if models. All those single pixels were a lot of work, but the result looks really good.
Another detail from many real late Iranian Cobras was taken over, too: a black tail rotor drive shaft cover that extends up onto the fin’s leading edge – probably a measure to hide exhaust soot stains on the tail boom? A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen, too, and the rotor blades became medium grey (Humbrol 165, Medium Sea Grey) except for the main rotor blades’ undersides, which became black. The cockpit interior was uniformly painted in a very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the pilots received khaki jumpsuits and modern grey and olive drab “bone domes”.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. The Iranian roundels came from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet, registration numbers and fin flashes from an Iranian F-5. The IAAF abbreviation was created with single black 4 mm letters.
Graphite was used to weather the model, esp. the area on top of the tail boom, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish overall.
An exotic model – the Iranian home-brew HESA-2091 looks familiar, but it’s a unique combination of classic Cobra elements. More spectacular is the pixelated paint scheme, and the attempt to generate it with the help of square decal bits worked (and looks) better than expected! This might also work well in grey as a winter camouflage? Hmmm….
HB-HOT - Junkers JU-52/3mg4e - JU-Air (RIMOWA special colour scheme)
at Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF)
The GPS-system looks somewhat strange here!
crashed 04/08/2018 - performing a flight from Locarno to Dubendorf (Switzerland) with 17 passengers and 3 crew, impacted terrain near N46.9022 E9.2247 and came to rest at an elevation of about 2540 meters/8330 feet near Martinsloch/Piz Segnas (Switzerland) at about 16:50L (14:50Z). A Rescue and Recovery operation has been initiated. No survivors.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Field trip with West Valley College's Photography Dept. to Death Valley National Park.
Our first sunrise shoot with the class was supposed to be the on Sat. the 26th at Zabriskie Point. So rising at 4AM to meet the group and have plenty of time to set up for sunrise we left our lodging in Beatty, NV at 5AM.
We plugged in the coordinates in the GPS system to Zabriskie Pt. and it promptly rejected them. Downhill Dali had written down 2 sets of coordinates so we plugged in the second set which took and off we went. One hour and 15 minutes later we were climbing up to Dante's View! Which was the second shooting location on this morning. With no time to make it over to Zabriskie Pt before sunrise we opted to stay at Dante's View and make up the sunrise at Zabriskie Pt on Weds. the day we would be on our own.
This is Zabriskie Pt. looking toward Twenty Mule Team Canyon. It was really cold and windy here on this morning. This is after sunrise I had finished taking all the shots I wanted and was walking down the tarmac hill to the parking lot when the light on these ridges caught my eye. I love the colors, and the way the ridges fan out through this canyon.
NIkon D700| Nikkor 17-35mm @35mm| f8| 1/125sec| ISO 125| Manual Mode| Tripod| Self Timer
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years. In 1971, Iran purchased 202 examples of an improved AH-1J, named "AH-1J International", from the United States. This improved Cobra featured an uprated P&WC T400-WV-402 engine and a stronger drivetrain, so that it would have a better performance under “hot & high” conditions. Recoil damping gear was fitted to the 20 mm M197 gun turret, and the gunner was given a stabilized sight and a stabilized seat, too. Of the AH-1Js delivered to the Shah's Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, 62 were TOW-capable.
Iranian AH-1Js participated in the Iran–Iraq War—which saw the most intensive use of helicopters in any conventional war. Iranian AH-1Js (particularly the TOW-capable ones) were "exceptionally effective" in anti-armor warfare, inflicting heavy losses on Iraqi armored and vehicle formations. In operations over the barren terrain in Khuzestan and later in southern Iraq, beside the standard tactics, Iranian pilots developed special, effective tactics, often in the same manner as the Soviets did with their Mi-24s. Due to the post-Revolution weapons sanctions, Iranians had to make do with what was at hand: lacking other guided ordnance they equipped the AH-1Js with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in several operations. About half of the AH-1Js were lost during the conflict to combat, accidents, and simple wear and tear –the rest of the fleet was kept operational and busy during the following years.
However, time and use took their toll on the Iranian Cobras, for which no replacement could be found. In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, called ‘Panha’ in Iran). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first of these refurbished AH-1Js was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile, the “Towfan”, while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001. This marked the start of an ongoing but slow modernization program for the remaining Iranian Cobra fleet.
IHSRC also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras, in a project known as “Panha-2091”. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of new fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version. Under a project named HESA-2091, both helicopters were thoroughly modernized and equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Internal avionics were revamped with the addition of a GPS system in the nose, and a warning radar with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage was integrated, too. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.
These two helicopters were ultimately named ‘Tiztak-2091’ and became prototypes for a larger modernization project for 102 remaining AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. However, in total, the cost of this bold conversion projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001, and this resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program just a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were revamped and delivered to frontline units between 2003 and 2005. However, further conversions have only be done sparingly since then, due to the lack of funds and material.
Despite these limitations, the IAAF immediately began working on upgrade projects to further increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of Cobra helicopters. The Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while others received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
After the formation of the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. IRGCAA today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). IRGCAA had also been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, the Qaem-114 (outwardly almost identical to the American AGM-119 Hellfire), but this did not proceed beyond prototype stage.
Despite the active Iranian AH-1J fleet’s relatively small size after 2001, the Cobras were extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran. Both the IAAF and now the IRGCAA had always had two fire support teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan, to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran had two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport had two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one armed with B8M1 rocket pods as a heavy fire support gunship.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m) with both rotors turning
45 ft 9 in (14 m) for fuselage only
Width: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) for stub wings only
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Main rotor diameter: 43 ft 11 in (13.39 m)
Main rotor area: 1,514.97 sq ft (140.745 m²)
Empty weight: 2,802 kg (6,177 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,530 kg (9,987 lb)
Powerplant:
2× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engines, coupled to produce 1,530 shp
(1,140 kW; de-rated from 1,800 shp (1,342 kW) for drivetrain limitations)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in M97 chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the sub wings for 2.75” (70 mm) Mk 40 or Hydra 70 rockets in 7 or 19 rounds
pods; up to 16 5” (127 mm) Zuni rockets in 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers, up to eight Toophan
ATGM in a dual or quad launcher on each wing, AIM-9 Sidewinder or Misagh-2 anti-aircraft
missiles (1 mounted on each hardpoint)
The kit and its assembly:
This is the counterpart to another modified Fujimi AH-1 model, actually a kit bashing of the AH-1S and the AH-1J model to produce something that comes close to the real IAMI HESA-2091 helicopter, an upgraded/re-built AH-1J International of the Iranian Army Air Force. The “leftover” parts were used to create an (Indonesian) AH-1G – even though the HESA-2091 was the “core project”.
To create this Iranian variant, the AH-1J was taken as the basis and the nose as well as the flat-window canopy from the AH-1S were transplanted. While the nose with the TOW sensor turret was just an optional part that fits naturally on the fuselage (even though not without some PSR), the clear parts was more challenging, because the flat canopy is shorter than the original. In this case I had to fill some triangular gaps between the hood and the engine section, and this was done with 1.5 mm styrene sheet wedges and some more PSR to blend the parts that were not meant to be combined into each other.
The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the pilot figures that come with the kit. I also retained the original all-metal main rotor because the Iranian Cobras AFAIK were never upgraded with composite material blades?
To set the HESA-2091 further apart from the original AH-1J I changed the sensor turret in the nose and scratched a ball-shaped fairing that resembles the indigenous RU-290 thermal camera – it’s actually the ball joint from a classic clear Matchbox kit display, with a base scratched from 0.5mm styrene sheet. The “ball” turned out to be a bit too large, but the overall look is O.K., since I wanted a non-TOW AH-1J. For a “different-than-a-stock-AH-1J” look A small radome for a missile guidance antenna was added to the nose above the sensor turret, too. Another personal addition are the small end plates on the stabilizers – inspired by similar installations on Bell’s early twin-engine AH-1s, even though these later disappeared and were technically replaced by a ventral fin extension and a longer fuselage; the Iranian AH-1Js retained the short, original fuselage of the single-engine Cobra variants, though. The end plates were cut from leftover rotor blades from the scrap box, IIRC they belong to a Matchbox Dauphin 2.
Being part of the historical Zahedan fire support team I gave the Cobra an armament consisting of a nineteen round 70mm Hydra unguided missile pods (OOB), a pair of AGM-65 Maverick missiles (an ordnance actually deployed by Iranian Cobras), together with their respective launch rails, and I added launch tubes for indigenous Misagh-2 anti-aircraft missiles (which are actually MANPADS) to the stub wings’ tips as a self-defense measure. These were scratched from 2mm styrene rods.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable paint scheme was not easy. A conservative choice would have been an early mid-stone/earth scheme or a tri-color scheme consisting of sand, earth and dark green. However, while doing WWW research I came across some more exotic and contemporary specimen, carrying a kind of leopard-esque mottle scheme or even a “high resolution” fractal/digital cammo consisting of three shades of beige/brown/grey – even though I am not certain if the latter was a “real” camouflage for operational helicopters or just a “show and shine” propaganda livery?
Re-creating the latter from scratch would have been prohibitively complex, because the pixelized mottles were really fine, maybe just 2” wide each in real life. But I used this scheme as an inspiration for a simplified variant, also kept in three shades of brown, even though the result was a kind of compromise due to the limited material options to create it.
The base became an overall coat with Tamiya XF-57 (Buff), plus very light grey (RAL 7035; Humbrol 196) undersides. A light black ink washing was applied, and panels were post-shaded to create a more vivid surface.
Then came the pixelized mottles in two contrast colors: first came a layer in RAL 1015 (Hellelfenbein/Light Ivory) and then a second in RAL 8011 (Nussbraun/Nut Brown) in a 1:1 ratio, slightly overlapping and letting the Buff base shine through. These mottles were not painted but rather created with square bits from generic decal stripe material in various widths from TL Modellbau. While not as sophisticated as the original camouflage, effect and look are quite similar, and add to the unique look of this HESA-2091(-ish) model. And even though I was sceptical, esp. because of the reddish Nussbraun, the blurring effect of the scheme is surprisingly good – esp. when you put the model in front of a dry mountain background! I’ll keep the concept in the back of my head for further what-if models. All those single pixels were a lot of work, but the result looks really good.
Another detail from many real late Iranian Cobras was taken over, too: a black tail rotor drive shaft cover that extends up onto the fin’s leading edge – probably a measure to hide exhaust soot stains on the tail boom? A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen, too, and the rotor blades became medium grey (Humbrol 165, Medium Sea Grey) except for the main rotor blades’ undersides, which became black. The cockpit interior was uniformly painted in a very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the pilots received khaki jumpsuits and modern grey and olive drab “bone domes”.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. The Iranian roundels came from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet, registration numbers and fin flashes from an Iranian F-5. The IAAF abbreviation was created with single black 4 mm letters.
Graphite was used to weather the model, esp. the area on top of the tail boom, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish overall.
An exotic model – the Iranian home-brew HESA-2091 looks familiar, but it’s a unique combination of classic Cobra elements. More spectacular is the pixelated paint scheme, and the attempt to generate it with the help of square decal bits worked (and looks) better than expected! This might also work well in grey as a winter camouflage? Hmmm….
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years. In 1971, Iran purchased 202 examples of an improved AH-1J, named "AH-1J International", from the United States. This improved Cobra featured an uprated P&WC T400-WV-402 engine and a stronger drivetrain, so that it would have a better performance under “hot & high” conditions. Recoil damping gear was fitted to the 20 mm M197 gun turret, and the gunner was given a stabilized sight and a stabilized seat, too. Of the AH-1Js delivered to the Shah's Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, 62 were TOW-capable.
Iranian AH-1Js participated in the Iran–Iraq War—which saw the most intensive use of helicopters in any conventional war. Iranian AH-1Js (particularly the TOW-capable ones) were "exceptionally effective" in anti-armor warfare, inflicting heavy losses on Iraqi armored and vehicle formations. In operations over the barren terrain in Khuzestan and later in southern Iraq, beside the standard tactics, Iranian pilots developed special, effective tactics, often in the same manner as the Soviets did with their Mi-24s. Due to the post-Revolution weapons sanctions, Iranians had to make do with what was at hand: lacking other guided ordnance they equipped the AH-1Js with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in several operations. About half of the AH-1Js were lost during the conflict to combat, accidents, and simple wear and tear –the rest of the fleet was kept operational and busy during the following years.
However, time and use took their toll on the Iranian Cobras, for which no replacement could be found. In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, called ‘Panha’ in Iran). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first of these refurbished AH-1Js was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile, the “Towfan”, while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001. This marked the start of an ongoing but slow modernization program for the remaining Iranian Cobra fleet.
IHSRC also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras, in a project known as “Panha-2091”. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of new fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version. Under a project named HESA-2091, both helicopters were thoroughly modernized and equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Internal avionics were revamped with the addition of a GPS system in the nose, and a warning radar with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage was integrated, too. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.
These two helicopters were ultimately named ‘Tiztak-2091’ and became prototypes for a larger modernization project for 102 remaining AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. However, in total, the cost of this bold conversion projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001, and this resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program just a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were revamped and delivered to frontline units between 2003 and 2005. However, further conversions have only be done sparingly since then, due to the lack of funds and material.
Despite these limitations, the IAAF immediately began working on upgrade projects to further increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of Cobra helicopters. The Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while others received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
After the formation of the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. IRGCAA today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). IRGCAA had also been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, the Qaem-114 (outwardly almost identical to the American AGM-119 Hellfire), but this did not proceed beyond prototype stage.
Despite the active Iranian AH-1J fleet’s relatively small size after 2001, the Cobras were extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran. Both the IAAF and now the IRGCAA had always had two fire support teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan, to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran had two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport had two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one armed with B8M1 rocket pods as a heavy fire support gunship.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m) with both rotors turning
45 ft 9 in (14 m) for fuselage only
Width: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) for stub wings only
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Main rotor diameter: 43 ft 11 in (13.39 m)
Main rotor area: 1,514.97 sq ft (140.745 m²)
Empty weight: 2,802 kg (6,177 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,530 kg (9,987 lb)
Powerplant:
2× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engines, coupled to produce 1,530 shp
(1,140 kW; de-rated from 1,800 shp (1,342 kW) for drivetrain limitations)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in M97 chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the sub wings for 2.75” (70 mm) Mk 40 or Hydra 70 rockets in 7 or 19 rounds
pods; up to 16 5” (127 mm) Zuni rockets in 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers, up to eight Toophan
ATGM in a dual or quad launcher on each wing, AIM-9 Sidewinder or Misagh-2 anti-aircraft
missiles (1 mounted on each hardpoint)
The kit and its assembly:
This is the counterpart to another modified Fujimi AH-1 model, actually a kit bashing of the AH-1S and the AH-1J model to produce something that comes close to the real IAMI HESA-2091 helicopter, an upgraded/re-built AH-1J International of the Iranian Army Air Force. The “leftover” parts were used to create an (Indonesian) AH-1G – even though the HESA-2091 was the “core project”.
To create this Iranian variant, the AH-1J was taken as the basis and the nose as well as the flat-window canopy from the AH-1S were transplanted. While the nose with the TOW sensor turret was just an optional part that fits naturally on the fuselage (even though not without some PSR), the clear parts was more challenging, because the flat canopy is shorter than the original. In this case I had to fill some triangular gaps between the hood and the engine section, and this was done with 1.5 mm styrene sheet wedges and some more PSR to blend the parts that were not meant to be combined into each other.
The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the pilot figures that come with the kit. I also retained the original all-metal main rotor because the Iranian Cobras AFAIK were never upgraded with composite material blades?
To set the HESA-2091 further apart from the original AH-1J I changed the sensor turret in the nose and scratched a ball-shaped fairing that resembles the indigenous RU-290 thermal camera – it’s actually the ball joint from a classic clear Matchbox kit display, with a base scratched from 0.5mm styrene sheet. The “ball” turned out to be a bit too large, but the overall look is O.K., since I wanted a non-TOW AH-1J. For a “different-than-a-stock-AH-1J” look A small radome for a missile guidance antenna was added to the nose above the sensor turret, too. Another personal addition are the small end plates on the stabilizers – inspired by similar installations on Bell’s early twin-engine AH-1s, even though these later disappeared and were technically replaced by a ventral fin extension and a longer fuselage; the Iranian AH-1Js retained the short, original fuselage of the single-engine Cobra variants, though. The end plates were cut from leftover rotor blades from the scrap box, IIRC they belong to a Matchbox Dauphin 2.
Being part of the historical Zahedan fire support team I gave the Cobra an armament consisting of a nineteen round 70mm Hydra unguided missile pods (OOB), a pair of AGM-65 Maverick missiles (an ordnance actually deployed by Iranian Cobras), together with their respective launch rails, and I added launch tubes for indigenous Misagh-2 anti-aircraft missiles (which are actually MANPADS) to the stub wings’ tips as a self-defense measure. These were scratched from 2mm styrene rods.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable paint scheme was not easy. A conservative choice would have been an early mid-stone/earth scheme or a tri-color scheme consisting of sand, earth and dark green. However, while doing WWW research I came across some more exotic and contemporary specimen, carrying a kind of leopard-esque mottle scheme or even a “high resolution” fractal/digital cammo consisting of three shades of beige/brown/grey – even though I am not certain if the latter was a “real” camouflage for operational helicopters or just a “show and shine” propaganda livery?
Re-creating the latter from scratch would have been prohibitively complex, because the pixelized mottles were really fine, maybe just 2” wide each in real life. But I used this scheme as an inspiration for a simplified variant, also kept in three shades of brown, even though the result was a kind of compromise due to the limited material options to create it.
The base became an overall coat with Tamiya XF-57 (Buff), plus very light grey (RAL 7035; Humbrol 196) undersides. A light black ink washing was applied, and panels were post-shaded to create a more vivid surface.
Then came the pixelized mottles in two contrast colors: first came a layer in RAL 1015 (Hellelfenbein/Light Ivory) and then a second in RAL 8011 (Nussbraun/Nut Brown) in a 1:1 ratio, slightly overlapping and letting the Buff base shine through. These mottles were not painted but rather created with square bits from generic decal stripe material in various widths from TL Modellbau. While not as sophisticated as the original camouflage, effect and look are quite similar, and add to the unique look of this HESA-2091(-ish) model. And even though I was sceptical, esp. because of the reddish Nussbraun, the blurring effect of the scheme is surprisingly good – esp. when you put the model in front of a dry mountain background! I’ll keep the concept in the back of my head for further what-if models. All those single pixels were a lot of work, but the result looks really good.
Another detail from many real late Iranian Cobras was taken over, too: a black tail rotor drive shaft cover that extends up onto the fin’s leading edge – probably a measure to hide exhaust soot stains on the tail boom? A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen, too, and the rotor blades became medium grey (Humbrol 165, Medium Sea Grey) except for the main rotor blades’ undersides, which became black. The cockpit interior was uniformly painted in a very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the pilots received khaki jumpsuits and modern grey and olive drab “bone domes”.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. The Iranian roundels came from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet, registration numbers and fin flashes from an Iranian F-5. The IAAF abbreviation was created with single black 4 mm letters.
Graphite was used to weather the model, esp. the area on top of the tail boom, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish overall.
An exotic model – the Iranian home-brew HESA-2091 looks familiar, but it’s a unique combination of classic Cobra elements. More spectacular is the pixelated paint scheme, and the attempt to generate it with the help of square decal bits worked (and looks) better than expected! This might also work well in grey as a winter camouflage? Hmmm….
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years. In 1971, Iran purchased 202 examples of an improved AH-1J, named "AH-1J International", from the United States. This improved Cobra featured an uprated P&WC T400-WV-402 engine and a stronger drivetrain, so that it would have a better performance under “hot & high” conditions. Recoil damping gear was fitted to the 20 mm M197 gun turret, and the gunner was given a stabilized sight and a stabilized seat, too. Of the AH-1Js delivered to the Shah's Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, 62 were TOW-capable.
Iranian AH-1Js participated in the Iran–Iraq War—which saw the most intensive use of helicopters in any conventional war. Iranian AH-1Js (particularly the TOW-capable ones) were "exceptionally effective" in anti-armor warfare, inflicting heavy losses on Iraqi armored and vehicle formations. In operations over the barren terrain in Khuzestan and later in southern Iraq, beside the standard tactics, Iranian pilots developed special, effective tactics, often in the same manner as the Soviets did with their Mi-24s. Due to the post-Revolution weapons sanctions, Iranians had to make do with what was at hand: lacking other guided ordnance they equipped the AH-1Js with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in several operations. About half of the AH-1Js were lost during the conflict to combat, accidents, and simple wear and tear –the rest of the fleet was kept operational and busy during the following years.
However, time and use took their toll on the Iranian Cobras, for which no replacement could be found. In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, called ‘Panha’ in Iran). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first of these refurbished AH-1Js was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile, the “Towfan”, while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001. This marked the start of an ongoing but slow modernization program for the remaining Iranian Cobra fleet.
IHSRC also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras, in a project known as “Panha-2091”. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of new fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version. Under a project named HESA-2091, both helicopters were thoroughly modernized and equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Internal avionics were revamped with the addition of a GPS system in the nose, and a warning radar with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage was integrated, too. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.
These two helicopters were ultimately named ‘Tiztak-2091’ and became prototypes for a larger modernization project for 102 remaining AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. However, in total, the cost of this bold conversion projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001, and this resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program just a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were revamped and delivered to frontline units between 2003 and 2005. However, further conversions have only be done sparingly since then, due to the lack of funds and material.
Despite these limitations, the IAAF immediately began working on upgrade projects to further increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of Cobra helicopters. The Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while others received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
After the formation of the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. IRGCAA today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). IRGCAA had also been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, the Qaem-114 (outwardly almost identical to the American AGM-119 Hellfire), but this did not proceed beyond prototype stage.
Despite the active Iranian AH-1J fleet’s relatively small size after 2001, the Cobras were extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran. Both the IAAF and now the IRGCAA had always had two fire support teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan, to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran had two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport had two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one armed with B8M1 rocket pods as a heavy fire support gunship.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m) with both rotors turning
45 ft 9 in (14 m) for fuselage only
Width: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) for stub wings only
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Main rotor diameter: 43 ft 11 in (13.39 m)
Main rotor area: 1,514.97 sq ft (140.745 m²)
Empty weight: 2,802 kg (6,177 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,530 kg (9,987 lb)
Powerplant:
2× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engines, coupled to produce 1,530 shp
(1,140 kW; de-rated from 1,800 shp (1,342 kW) for drivetrain limitations)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in M97 chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the sub wings for 2.75” (70 mm) Mk 40 or Hydra 70 rockets in 7 or 19 rounds
pods; up to 16 5” (127 mm) Zuni rockets in 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers, up to eight Toophan
ATGM in a dual or quad launcher on each wing, AIM-9 Sidewinder or Misagh-2 anti-aircraft
missiles (1 mounted on each hardpoint)
The kit and its assembly:
This is the counterpart to another modified Fujimi AH-1 model, actually a kit bashing of the AH-1S and the AH-1J model to produce something that comes close to the real IAMI HESA-2091 helicopter, an upgraded/re-built AH-1J International of the Iranian Army Air Force. The “leftover” parts were used to create an (Indonesian) AH-1G – even though the HESA-2091 was the “core project”.
To create this Iranian variant, the AH-1J was taken as the basis and the nose as well as the flat-window canopy from the AH-1S were transplanted. While the nose with the TOW sensor turret was just an optional part that fits naturally on the fuselage (even though not without some PSR), the clear parts was more challenging, because the flat canopy is shorter than the original. In this case I had to fill some triangular gaps between the hood and the engine section, and this was done with 1.5 mm styrene sheet wedges and some more PSR to blend the parts that were not meant to be combined into each other.
The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the pilot figures that come with the kit. I also retained the original all-metal main rotor because the Iranian Cobras AFAIK were never upgraded with composite material blades?
To set the HESA-2091 further apart from the original AH-1J I changed the sensor turret in the nose and scratched a ball-shaped fairing that resembles the indigenous RU-290 thermal camera – it’s actually the ball joint from a classic clear Matchbox kit display, with a base scratched from 0.5mm styrene sheet. The “ball” turned out to be a bit too large, but the overall look is O.K., since I wanted a non-TOW AH-1J. For a “different-than-a-stock-AH-1J” look A small radome for a missile guidance antenna was added to the nose above the sensor turret, too. Another personal addition are the small end plates on the stabilizers – inspired by similar installations on Bell’s early twin-engine AH-1s, even though these later disappeared and were technically replaced by a ventral fin extension and a longer fuselage; the Iranian AH-1Js retained the short, original fuselage of the single-engine Cobra variants, though. The end plates were cut from leftover rotor blades from the scrap box, IIRC they belong to a Matchbox Dauphin 2.
Being part of the historical Zahedan fire support team I gave the Cobra an armament consisting of a nineteen round 70mm Hydra unguided missile pods (OOB), a pair of AGM-65 Maverick missiles (an ordnance actually deployed by Iranian Cobras), together with their respective launch rails, and I added launch tubes for indigenous Misagh-2 anti-aircraft missiles (which are actually MANPADS) to the stub wings’ tips as a self-defense measure. These were scratched from 2mm styrene rods.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable paint scheme was not easy. A conservative choice would have been an early mid-stone/earth scheme or a tri-color scheme consisting of sand, earth and dark green. However, while doing WWW research I came across some more exotic and contemporary specimen, carrying a kind of leopard-esque mottle scheme or even a “high resolution” fractal/digital cammo consisting of three shades of beige/brown/grey – even though I am not certain if the latter was a “real” camouflage for operational helicopters or just a “show and shine” propaganda livery?
Re-creating the latter from scratch would have been prohibitively complex, because the pixelized mottles were really fine, maybe just 2” wide each in real life. But I used this scheme as an inspiration for a simplified variant, also kept in three shades of brown, even though the result was a kind of compromise due to the limited material options to create it.
The base became an overall coat with Tamiya XF-57 (Buff), plus very light grey (RAL 7035; Humbrol 196) undersides. A light black ink washing was applied, and panels were post-shaded to create a more vivid surface.
Then came the pixelized mottles in two contrast colors: first came a layer in RAL 1015 (Hellelfenbein/Light Ivory) and then a second in RAL 8011 (Nussbraun/Nut Brown) in a 1:1 ratio, slightly overlapping and letting the Buff base shine through. These mottles were not painted but rather created with square bits from generic decal stripe material in various widths from TL Modellbau. While not as sophisticated as the original camouflage, effect and look are quite similar, and add to the unique look of this HESA-2091(-ish) model. And even though I was sceptical, esp. because of the reddish Nussbraun, the blurring effect of the scheme is surprisingly good – esp. when you put the model in front of a dry mountain background! I’ll keep the concept in the back of my head for further what-if models. All those single pixels were a lot of work, but the result looks really good.
Another detail from many real late Iranian Cobras was taken over, too: a black tail rotor drive shaft cover that extends up onto the fin’s leading edge – probably a measure to hide exhaust soot stains on the tail boom? A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen, too, and the rotor blades became medium grey (Humbrol 165, Medium Sea Grey) except for the main rotor blades’ undersides, which became black. The cockpit interior was uniformly painted in a very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the pilots received khaki jumpsuits and modern grey and olive drab “bone domes”.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. The Iranian roundels came from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet, registration numbers and fin flashes from an Iranian F-5. The IAAF abbreviation was created with single black 4 mm letters.
Graphite was used to weather the model, esp. the area on top of the tail boom, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish overall.
An exotic model – the Iranian home-brew HESA-2091 looks familiar, but it’s a unique combination of classic Cobra elements. More spectacular is the pixelated paint scheme, and the attempt to generate it with the help of square decal bits worked (and looks) better than expected! This might also work well in grey as a winter camouflage? Hmmm….
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years. In 1971, Iran purchased 202 examples of an improved AH-1J, named "AH-1J International", from the United States. This improved Cobra featured an uprated P&WC T400-WV-402 engine and a stronger drivetrain, so that it would have a better performance under “hot & high” conditions. Recoil damping gear was fitted to the 20 mm M197 gun turret, and the gunner was given a stabilized sight and a stabilized seat, too. Of the AH-1Js delivered to the Shah's Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, 62 were TOW-capable.
Iranian AH-1Js participated in the Iran–Iraq War—which saw the most intensive use of helicopters in any conventional war. Iranian AH-1Js (particularly the TOW-capable ones) were "exceptionally effective" in anti-armor warfare, inflicting heavy losses on Iraqi armored and vehicle formations. In operations over the barren terrain in Khuzestan and later in southern Iraq, beside the standard tactics, Iranian pilots developed special, effective tactics, often in the same manner as the Soviets did with their Mi-24s. Due to the post-Revolution weapons sanctions, Iranians had to make do with what was at hand: lacking other guided ordnance they equipped the AH-1Js with AGM-65 Maverick missiles and used them with some success in several operations. About half of the AH-1Js were lost during the conflict to combat, accidents, and simple wear and tear –the rest of the fleet was kept operational and busy during the following years.
However, time and use took their toll on the Iranian Cobras, for which no replacement could be found. In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, called ‘Panha’ in Iran). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first of these refurbished AH-1Js was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile, the “Towfan”, while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001. This marked the start of an ongoing but slow modernization program for the remaining Iranian Cobra fleet.
IHSRC also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras, in a project known as “Panha-2091”. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of new fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version. Under a project named HESA-2091, both helicopters were thoroughly modernized and equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Internal avionics were revamped with the addition of a GPS system in the nose, and a warning radar with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage was integrated, too. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.
These two helicopters were ultimately named ‘Tiztak-2091’ and became prototypes for a larger modernization project for 102 remaining AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. However, in total, the cost of this bold conversion projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001, and this resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program just a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were revamped and delivered to frontline units between 2003 and 2005. However, further conversions have only be done sparingly since then, due to the lack of funds and material.
Despite these limitations, the IAAF immediately began working on upgrade projects to further increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of Cobra helicopters. The Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while others received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
After the formation of the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. IRGCAA today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). IRGCAA had also been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, the Qaem-114 (outwardly almost identical to the American AGM-119 Hellfire), but this did not proceed beyond prototype stage.
Despite the active Iranian AH-1J fleet’s relatively small size after 2001, the Cobras were extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran. Both the IAAF and now the IRGCAA had always had two fire support teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan, to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran had two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport had two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one armed with B8M1 rocket pods as a heavy fire support gunship.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 53 ft 5 in (16.28 m) with both rotors turning
45 ft 9 in (14 m) for fuselage only
Width: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) for stub wings only
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Main rotor diameter: 43 ft 11 in (13.39 m)
Main rotor area: 1,514.97 sq ft (140.745 m²)
Empty weight: 2,802 kg (6,177 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,530 kg (9,987 lb)
Powerplant:
2× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engines, coupled to produce 1,530 shp
(1,140 kW; de-rated from 1,800 shp (1,342 kW) for drivetrain limitations)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 km/h (147 mph, 127 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
Rate of climb: 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in M97 chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the sub wings for 2.75” (70 mm) Mk 40 or Hydra 70 rockets in 7 or 19 rounds
pods; up to 16 5” (127 mm) Zuni rockets in 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers, up to eight Toophan
ATGM in a dual or quad launcher on each wing, AIM-9 Sidewinder or Misagh-2 anti-aircraft
missiles (1 mounted on each hardpoint)
The kit and its assembly:
This is the counterpart to another modified Fujimi AH-1 model, actually a kit bashing of the AH-1S and the AH-1J model to produce something that comes close to the real IAMI HESA-2091 helicopter, an upgraded/re-built AH-1J International of the Iranian Army Air Force. The “leftover” parts were used to create an (Indonesian) AH-1G – even though the HESA-2091 was the “core project”.
To create this Iranian variant, the AH-1J was taken as the basis and the nose as well as the flat-window canopy from the AH-1S were transplanted. While the nose with the TOW sensor turret was just an optional part that fits naturally on the fuselage (even though not without some PSR), the clear parts was more challenging, because the flat canopy is shorter than the original. In this case I had to fill some triangular gaps between the hood and the engine section, and this was done with 1.5 mm styrene sheet wedges and some more PSR to blend the parts that were not meant to be combined into each other.
The cockpit was taken OOB, together with the pilot figures that come with the kit. I also retained the original all-metal main rotor because the Iranian Cobras AFAIK were never upgraded with composite material blades?
To set the HESA-2091 further apart from the original AH-1J I changed the sensor turret in the nose and scratched a ball-shaped fairing that resembles the indigenous RU-290 thermal camera – it’s actually the ball joint from a classic clear Matchbox kit display, with a base scratched from 0.5mm styrene sheet. The “ball” turned out to be a bit too large, but the overall look is O.K., since I wanted a non-TOW AH-1J. For a “different-than-a-stock-AH-1J” look A small radome for a missile guidance antenna was added to the nose above the sensor turret, too. Another personal addition are the small end plates on the stabilizers – inspired by similar installations on Bell’s early twin-engine AH-1s, even though these later disappeared and were technically replaced by a ventral fin extension and a longer fuselage; the Iranian AH-1Js retained the short, original fuselage of the single-engine Cobra variants, though. The end plates were cut from leftover rotor blades from the scrap box, IIRC they belong to a Matchbox Dauphin 2.
Being part of the historical Zahedan fire support team I gave the Cobra an armament consisting of a nineteen round 70mm Hydra unguided missile pods (OOB), a pair of AGM-65 Maverick missiles (an ordnance actually deployed by Iranian Cobras), together with their respective launch rails, and I added launch tubes for indigenous Misagh-2 anti-aircraft missiles (which are actually MANPADS) to the stub wings’ tips as a self-defense measure. These were scratched from 2mm styrene rods.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable paint scheme was not easy. A conservative choice would have been an early mid-stone/earth scheme or a tri-color scheme consisting of sand, earth and dark green. However, while doing WWW research I came across some more exotic and contemporary specimen, carrying a kind of leopard-esque mottle scheme or even a “high resolution” fractal/digital cammo consisting of three shades of beige/brown/grey – even though I am not certain if the latter was a “real” camouflage for operational helicopters or just a “show and shine” propaganda livery?
Re-creating the latter from scratch would have been prohibitively complex, because the pixelized mottles were really fine, maybe just 2” wide each in real life. But I used this scheme as an inspiration for a simplified variant, also kept in three shades of brown, even though the result was a kind of compromise due to the limited material options to create it.
The base became an overall coat with Tamiya XF-57 (Buff), plus very light grey (RAL 7035; Humbrol 196) undersides. A light black ink washing was applied, and panels were post-shaded to create a more vivid surface.
Then came the pixelized mottles in two contrast colors: first came a layer in RAL 1015 (Hellelfenbein/Light Ivory) and then a second in RAL 8011 (Nussbraun/Nut Brown) in a 1:1 ratio, slightly overlapping and letting the Buff base shine through. These mottles were not painted but rather created with square bits from generic decal stripe material in various widths from TL Modellbau. While not as sophisticated as the original camouflage, effect and look are quite similar, and add to the unique look of this HESA-2091(-ish) model. And even though I was sceptical, esp. because of the reddish Nussbraun, the blurring effect of the scheme is surprisingly good – esp. when you put the model in front of a dry mountain background! I’ll keep the concept in the back of my head for further what-if models. All those single pixels were a lot of work, but the result looks really good.
Another detail from many real late Iranian Cobras was taken over, too: a black tail rotor drive shaft cover that extends up onto the fin’s leading edge – probably a measure to hide exhaust soot stains on the tail boom? A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen, too, and the rotor blades became medium grey (Humbrol 165, Medium Sea Grey) except for the main rotor blades’ undersides, which became black. The cockpit interior was uniformly painted in a very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the pilots received khaki jumpsuits and modern grey and olive drab “bone domes”.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. The Iranian roundels came from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet, registration numbers and fin flashes from an Iranian F-5. The IAAF abbreviation was created with single black 4 mm letters.
Graphite was used to weather the model, esp. the area on top of the tail boom, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish overall.
An exotic model – the Iranian home-brew HESA-2091 looks familiar, but it’s a unique combination of classic Cobra elements. More spectacular is the pixelated paint scheme, and the attempt to generate it with the help of square decal bits worked (and looks) better than expected! This might also work well in grey as a winter camouflage? Hmmm….
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
A tranquilized grizzly bear is monitored closely by field biologists while measurements are taken and a radio collar is attached.
Radio collars are invaluable tools which allow bear researchers and managers to gather survival and reproductive data on individual bears. Once enough data, approximately 100 "bear years", is accumulated it becomes possible to mathematically estimate trends in the grizzly population. A "bear year" is gathered through monitoring a single bear over the course of one year. Thus, a sample of 25 collared bears tracked for 4 years would yield 100 bear years of data.
Managers of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (of which Glacier National Park is a part) are striving to keep 25 bears (primarily females with cubs) radio collared with state-of-the-art GPS/ARGOS collars. These collars locate themselves through the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and then transmit their location to researchers through the ARGOS satellite system. This provides bear researchers and managers with invaluable data, including near real-time location information about individual bears.
Stanley - DARPA Challenge winner 2005 (VW Toureg) (2005)
VOLKSWAGEN SET
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623738785355...
Stanley is an autonomous car created by Stanford University's Stanford Racing Team in cooperation with the Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL). It won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge earning the team $ 2 million dollars.
Stanley's original frame was a standard European diesel model Volkswagen Touareg provided by Volkswagen's ERL for the competition. It was chosen by the team, for its "drive by wire" control system which could be adapted to be run directly from an on-board computer, the steering wheel was driven by an electric motor and the gear shifting accomplished with a hydraulic piston. To navigate, Stanley used five roof mounted Sick AG LIDAR units to build a 3-D map of the environment, supplementing the position sensing GPS system. An internal guidance system utilizing gyroscopes and accelerometers monitored the orientation of the vehicle and also served to supplement GPS and other sensor data.. Additional guidance data was provided by a video camera used to observe driving conditions Stanley also had sensors installed in a wheel well to record a pattern imprinted on the tire and to act as an odometer in case of loss of signal (such as when driving through a tunnel).
The Grand Challenge was the first long distance competition for driverless cars in the world innaugrated in 2004, when was held on March 13, 2004 in the Mojave Desert region of the United States, along a 150-mile (240 km) route None of the robot vehicles finished the route.with the furthest travelling vehicle covering only 11,78km no prize was awarded.
The Stanford University team entered for the first time in 2005 with Stanley. Five vehicles successfully completed the 212 km (132 mi) course:with the course passing through three narrow tunnels negotiating over 100 sharp left right turns and concluded on a narrow winding mountain pass with sheer drops
Many thanks for a fantabulous
49,002,740 view
Shot 20.08.2010 iat the Smithsonian Institutes National Museum of American History, Washington DC REF 113-010
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
Date and Time
The time can be adjusted for different timezones and daylight savings time
More information and source code available at: www.seancarney.ca/projects/arduino-gps-receiver/arduino-g...
On my way home from Queensland after picking up our new All Terrain Caravan, a Tuff Roder (Part of the Aussimate Series) crafted by Royal Flair. Tare is 2245 kg and ATM 2645 kg, my trusty Colorado tows the rig with ease.
I have decided to concentrate on my hobby of photography since the sad loss of my Jackie. Will use the van to get to out of way (wilderness) places away from tourists. The rig is fully self contained including Twin Solar panels, 315Ah Batteries, 12v Compressor 2 Door Refrigerator and Gen Set. Nov 2010
Lieutenant (Navy) (Lt (N)) Teri Mullins, a Maritime Surface and Sub-Surface (MARSS) Officer on HMCS Charlottetown uses a sextant that is used to determine the ships current location on a map. Although rarely used, MARSS Officers are still required to be able to operate sextants in case of emergencies. Sextants have been replaced with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Systems.
Le Lieutenant de vaisseau (Ltv) Teri Mullins, officier de marine de surface et de fond à bord du NCSM CHARLOTTETOWN, se sert d’un sextant pour déterminer la position du navire sur une carte. Bien que les sextants soient rarement utilisés, les officiers de marine de surface et de fond doivent quand même pouvoir les utiliser au cas où une urgence surviendrait. Les sextants ont été remplacés par les systèmes de positionnement global (GPS).
Photo : Cpl Chris Ringius
HS2011-E024-005
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
Do you like complicated watches? This is one of the most complicated watch on planet. But, it's worth it! Because, this watch has two beautiful things. (1). You won't need battery change forever! You will only need light (Any light). (2). You will get SUPERIOR ACCURACY by atomic radio controlled wave.
CITIZEN JY0005-50E Commercial ....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yPyG_XuZZo
Japan Only Version:....
www.vagsg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34130
This is CITIZEN SKYHAWK A-T "BLACK EAGLE" Watch for men. Designed for Pilots. Bezel has slide rule. Eco-Drive Power with Atomic Radio Controlled feature. Also has orange color LED light for digital displays. Battery status dial feature. Luminous hands & hour markers can glowing longtime in the dark and easy to read the time.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Model: JY0005-50E
Movement Caliber/ Module: U600
Case Caliber: S053030
Model Name: SKYHAWK A-T "BLACK EAGLE"
Case Diameter: 46mm
Lug Size: 22mm
Lug to Lug: 49mm
Thickness: 12mm
Case Material: Solid Stainless Steel
Band Material: Solid Stainless Steel
Plating: YES, Black Ion Plated
Crystal: Mineral Domed Crystal
Crystal Scratch Resistant: NO
Water Resistant: YES (200Meter/ 20Bars)
Light/ Illuminate: YES (Orange Color LED Light)
Features:
(1 ). Atomic Timekeeping with radio-controlled superior accuracy
(2). Light-Powered Eco-Drive Japanese Quartz movement charges in natural or indoor light.
This is a multi-functionals Eco-Drive watch, which is equipped with a solar power function for powering the watch by converting light energy into electric energy.
Never needs battery change!
(3). Power reserve Indicator dial/ Charge Level display function.
This function displays the charge level in four grades, to give an approximate indication of how much the rechargeable cell is charged.
(4). Atomic Radio Reception source meter
Automatic Reception:
The watch will automatically receive the radio wave up to three times a day, at 2:00AM, 3:00AM, and 4:00AM., and adjust the time and date accordingly. However, note that if the watch successfully receives the radio wave at 2:00AM., it will not perform automatic reception again at the later times.
On demand reception:
The radio wave can be received at anytime of the day to adjust the time and date. In the event that a radio signal cannot be received, the watch can be manually set and will operate keeping time within +/-15 seconds per month.
(5). Low-Charge warning/ Insufficient Charge Warning Function.
(6). Overcharging Prevention Function.
When the rechargeable cell becomes fully charged by exposing the watch face to light, the overcharging prevention function is automatically activated to prevent the battery from being charged further.
No matter how much the watch is charged, it will not affect the rechargeable cell, timekeeping, functions or performance of the watch.
(7). Perpetual calendar which automatically adjusts between odd and even months, until the year 2100.
(8). World Time (43 cities)
UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), the time and date of 43 cities [or regions] from around the world and one city [any can be set] can be displayed and easily called up. It is convenient when traveling overseas on business or vacation. Daylight saving time can also be set.
(9). 99-minutes countdown timer
Setting Range:
From 1 minute up to 99 minutes, in 1-minute units. Fly back function, auto return function.
(10). 1/100 second Chronograph/ Stop Watch up to 24 Hours
(11). Back lid for all digital sections. (Orange color LED Lights)
(12). 2 Alarms for local & world time
(13). Slide Rule bezel
There are two types of calculation can make with slide rule bezel.
(A). Navigation Calculation.
Such as: Calculation of the Time Required.
: Speed (Ground Speed) Calculation.
: Flying Distance Calculation.
: FUEL Consumption rate Calculation.
: FUEL Consumption Calculation
: Maximum Flying Hours.
: Conversion.
(B). General Calculation Functions
Such as: Multiplication
: Division
: Reading Ratios
: Determining Square Root
(14). Non-Reflective Crystal
(15). Black color plated on solid stainless steel case and band.
CITIZEN U600 Movement and Case made in Japan. Bracelet made in China.
(16). Water Resistant 200m/20Bars
(17). Automatic Power Saving Feature
The watch is equipped with two power saving functions. If the watch face is not exposed to light for 30 minutes or longer, all the LCD display sections turn OFF [Power Saving 1 ].
If the watch face is not exposed to light for one week or longer, some of the watch functions stop working in order to minimize the watch's power consumption.
Canceling the power saving function:
The power saving function will be automatically canceled when the watch face is exposed to light.
(18). WARRANTY:
Limited Five Years Warranty by CITIZEN watch Company of America, Inc.
1000 West 190th Street Torrance, California 90502.. United States.
Truly reliable and can provide SUPER accurate time everyday. 100% Highly Recommended.
Rating: **** (4.5Stars)
Bad things/ Weakness for this CITIZEN SKYHAWK-A-T Models:
(1). Snap-On back cover (Not a screw down back cover)
(2). Crystal is made of mineral glass (Not Sapphire Crystal) and slightly domed.
(3). One other annoying thing is that to access the various functions of the watch (calendar, countdown, chronograph etc), you have to pull out the crown and rotate it. A bit annoying if you use the functions a lot.
(4). There is no hourly beeper/ chime feature.
(5). It's really is annoying not being able to display the date in your current time zone.
(6). Stainless steel band quality is cheap because of it was made in China.
(7). This is not a Japanese Domestic Model like U680. It's meant the watch overall quality is little bit lower than domestic models. Available in Europe, United States and Asia.
Same Caliber with Different Design Models:
* JY0010-50E All Titanium Case & Band
* JY0050-55L All Titanium Case & Band Blue Angel Series
* JY0000-53E All Stainless Steel Case & Band
* JY0000-02E Stainless Steel Case & Rubber Band
* JY0040-59L All Stainless Steel Case & Band Blue Angel Series.
Questions & Answers:
Q: Will the Skyhawk A – T automatically change time zones and adjust time accordingly?
A:
As the Skyhawk A – T does not know where you are located (no GPS system), you must manually adjust the radio control time zone shown on the left digital display (digital display 2). As the analog time is run from the radio control time, this will update as well.
Q: How do I know if my Skyhawk AT updated via radio signal?
A:
Normal radio updating on the Skyhawk A – T will adjust the time by a second or fraction thereof. As such, there is no visible cue to see the hands change.
You may however check to see results of the last update attempt. While in the time, calendar or reception set modes, press and release the lower right button. The second/signal strength hand will move to indicate either a high, medium or low signal. It may indicate that no signal was received.
If no signal was received, rest assured your watch is keeping accurate time to specification of 15-20 seconds per month (note: many users find the Skyhawk A – T keeps time to 1 to 5 seconds per month, even without radio signal updating)
In the small and pittoresque town of Lier, Flanders, you can visit every sunday morning a famous pigeon market. The pigeon sport is a typical Belgian sport with competitions, trusting the magical "GPS-system" of pigeons to find there home, even if they were transported to France. This market in Lier is the greatest pigeon market of Europe and I was astonished by the many languages that I heared this morning : busses full of English, Dutch and German buyers visit the market. Even Bulgarian, ... and Canadian people find the way to Lier.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
Cooper Orange
The much anticipated revival of the new MINI Cooper about 6 years ago did not disappoint the automotive industry as the car had won many design awards and earned favorable consumer reviews on a global scale.
The Cooper was designed by an American by the name of Frank Stephenson, manufactured by BMW and assembled in Oxford, UK. Stephenson has since moved on to Ferrari-Maserati and currently to Fiat-Lancia.
I ordered the orange version, exclusive to the convertible, in mid April 2005 and did not receive the car until about 2 ½ months later. It was a long wait where the MINI traveled by ship from Oxford to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and then by train to Vancouver, BC.
Complicated with some sunny weather, the last few weeks of the wait was unbearable, where I constantly phoned the local MINI Richmond, BC dealership probing where my car was. In fact, the dealership informed me that they had been asked by some eager customers if they knew map coordinates of their orders so that it can be tracked on their GPS system, which the dealership had no knowledge of such coordinates. Then the last days saw my MINI stranded in a rail car at a nearby train yard with other deliveries. How’s that for a tattoo of the MINI Cooper brand in the psyche of the consumer?
Especially with the top down, the Cooper drive is exhilarating— even provides great views of SUVs' under carriages. It’s slightly over 2,500lbs weight make the car a solid, stable drive at 90mph (have not reached the century mark yet). The ragtop can automatically open in 15 seconds, and is currently the only mass- production convertible in the market with a sunroof—the ragtop can have about a 16” opening prior to fully being opened.
The 170+hp, hardtop Cooper S edition is faster than my 115hp ragtop; however, they are both the same price and I chose sun over speed. There is also a John Cooper Works edition at around 210+hp, but would add about a $10k price tag.
The advertising campaign in Canada was created by Taxi, where the agency created award-winning executions, including print headlines such as “Parks Faster Than A Ferrari” and “Screw Point B”.
The Cooper not only stands out in traffic, but it also comes with a unique subculture with a wide target market—catering to elders who once owned the original Coopers and of course the younger demographics, and others in between.
(Dec.06)
Cooper Orange
The much anticipated revival of the new MINI Cooper about 6 years ago did not disappoint the automotive industry as the car had won many design awards and earned favorable consumer reviews on a global scale.
The Cooper was designed by an American by the name of Frank Stephenson, manufactured by BMW and assembled in Oxford, UK. Stephenson has since moved on to Ferrari-Maserati and currently to Fiat-Lancia.
I ordered the orange version, exclusive to the convertible, in mid April 2005 and did not receive the car until about 2 ½ months later. It was a long wait where the MINI traveled by ship from Oxford to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and then by train to Vancouver, BC.
Complicated with some sunny weather, the last few weeks of the wait was unbearable, where I constantly phoned the local MINI Richmond, BC dealership probing where my car was. In fact, the dealership informed me that they had been asked by some eager customers if they knew map coordinates of their orders so that it can be tracked on their GPS system, which the dealership had no knowledge of such coordinates. Then the last days saw my MINI stranded in a rail car at a nearby train yard with other deliveries. How’s that for a tattoo of the MINI Cooper brand in the psyche of the consumer?
Especially with the top down, the Cooper drive is exhilarating— even provides great views of SUVs' under carriages. It’s slightly over 2,500lbs weight make the car a solid, stable drive at 90mph (have not reached the century mark yet). The ragtop can automatically open in 15 seconds, and is currently the only mass- production convertible in the market with a sunroof—the ragtop can have about a 16” opening prior to fully being opened.
The 170+hp, hardtop Cooper S edition is faster than my 115hp ragtop; however, they are both the same price and I chose sun over speed. There is also a John Cooper Works edition at around 210+hp, but would add about a $10k price tag.
The advertising campaign in Canada was created by Taxi, where the agency created award-winning executions, including print headlines such as “Parks Faster Than A Ferrari” and “Screw Point B”.
The Cooper not only stands out in traffic, but it also comes with a unique subculture with a wide target market—catering to elders who once owned the original Coopers and of course the younger demographics, and others in between.
(originally written Dec.06)
A tranquilized grizzly bear in a culvert trap.
Radio collars are invaluable tools which allow bear researchers and managers to gather survival and reproductive data on individual bears. Once enough data, approximately 100 "bear years", is accumulated it becomes possible to mathematically estimate trends in the grizzly population. A "bear year" is gathered through monitoring a single bear over the course of one year. Thus, a sample of 25 collared bears tracked for 4 years would yield 100 bear years of data.
Managers of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (of which Glacier National Park is a part) are striving to keep 25 bears (primarily females with cubs) radio collared with state-of-the-art GPS/ARGOS collars. These collars locate themselves through the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and then transmit their location to researchers through the ARGOS satellite system. This provides bear researchers and managers with invaluable data, including near real-time location information about individual bears.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
The Grob G 115 (Tutor) is an advanced general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft (Grob Aerospace before January 2009).The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in Royal Air Force service as an elementary flying trainer.
The aircraft is constructed of carbon composite materials. The main fuselage and each wing spar is a single piece. It has a fixed Tricycle undercarriage with spatted wheels, a short nose bearing the 180 hp engine and a 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller. The cockpit features a broad canopy arch with good forward visibility and with side-by-side seating for pilot and student. The wings are tapered with square tips and the empennage consists of a large fin and rudder with an oblong tailplane with square tips mid-set to the fuselage.
The aircraft is capable of basic aerobatic manoeuvres (limited to +6G and -3G).
With the retirement of the Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1 from Royal Air Force University Air Squadrons (UASs) and Air Experience Flights (AEFs), a new system was put in place for the provision of the UAS and AEF flying tasks. Aircraft were to be owned and operated by private industry, contracted to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The aircraft chosen for this task was the Grob 115, designated Tutor T1 by the MoD. The Tutor fleet is owned and maintained by a civilian company, Babcock, and carry British civilian registrations under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme, painted overall white with blue flashes and RAF roundels.
RAF Elementary Flying Training (EFT) is taught on the Grob Tutor at RAF Cranwell, Wyton and Church Fenton by reserve squadrons teaching the EFT syllabus to direct entrants and former UAS students, with students streamed according to ability: Fast Jet, Rotary Wing, Multi-Engine or non-pilot roles.
Until 2005 the Tutor was used by UASs to provide EFT to university students, many sponsored by the RAF. From 2006, UAS students are no longer taught EFT, they follow an unassessed flying syllabus similar to EFT, but with only a 36 hour course and the possibility of progression to more advanced training on merit. The Tutor is also used by AEFs to provide flying experience for cadets of the Air Training Corps (ATC) and Combined Cadet Force (CCF), replacing the Bulldog in these roles at the turn of the century. The final AEF to receive the Tutor was 10 AEF based at RAF Woodvale in Merseyside, in 2001. 10 AEF was incidentally also the last AEF to receive the Bulldog in 1996, replacing the Chipmunk.
Five Tutor T1s are also operated by 727 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm for trainee pilot grading.
In 2009 some Tutor squadrons began to receive new Enhanced Avionics (EA) Tutors, with an updated and enhanced instrument panel, featuring a Garmin GNS 430W GPS system, digital HSI and digital engine instruments. Other than the cockpit modifications these aircraft are exactly the same as the standard Tutors with the exception of an extra VHF aerial for the new GPS system.
The Defence Elementary Flying Training School at RAF Barkston Heath also operates the Tutor.
Reproduced from Wikipedia under the GNU Creative Commons License.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
The Grob G 115 (Tutor) is an advanced general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft (Grob Aerospace before January 2009).The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in Royal Air Force service as an elementary flying trainer.
The aircraft is constructed of carbon composite materials. The main fuselage and each wing spar is a single piece. It has a fixed Tricycle undercarriage with spatted wheels, a short nose bearing the 180 hp engine and a 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller. The cockpit features a broad canopy arch with good forward visibility and with side-by-side seating for pilot and student. The wings are tapered with square tips and the empennage consists of a large fin and rudder with an oblong tailplane with square tips mid-set to the fuselage.
The aircraft is capable of basic aerobatic manoeuvres (limited to +6G and -3G).
With the retirement of the Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1 from Royal Air Force University Air Squadrons (UASs) and Air Experience Flights (AEFs), a new system was put in place for the provision of the UAS and AEF flying tasks. Aircraft were to be owned and operated by private industry, contracted to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The aircraft chosen for this task was the Grob 115, designated Tutor T1 by the MoD. The Tutor fleet is owned and maintained by a civilian company, Babcock, and carry British civilian registrations under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme, painted overall white with blue flashes and RAF roundels.
RAF Elementary Flying Training (EFT) is taught on the Grob Tutor at RAF Cranwell, Wyton and Church Fenton by reserve squadrons teaching the EFT syllabus to direct entrants and former UAS students, with students streamed according to ability: Fast Jet, Rotary Wing, Multi-Engine or non-pilot roles.
Until 2005 the Tutor was used by UASs to provide EFT to university students, many sponsored by the RAF. From 2006, UAS students are no longer taught EFT, they follow an unassessed flying syllabus similar to EFT, but with only a 36 hour course and the possibility of progression to more advanced training on merit. The Tutor is also used by AEFs to provide flying experience for cadets of the Air Training Corps (ATC) and Combined Cadet Force (CCF), replacing the Bulldog in these roles at the turn of the century. The final AEF to receive the Tutor was 10 AEF based at RAF Woodvale in Merseyside, in 2001. 10 AEF was incidentally also the last AEF to receive the Bulldog in 1996, replacing the Chipmunk.
Five Tutor T1s are also operated by 727 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm for trainee pilot grading.
In 2009 some Tutor squadrons began to receive new Enhanced Avionics (EA) Tutors, with an updated and enhanced instrument panel, featuring a Garmin GNS 430W GPS system, digital HSI and digital engine instruments. Other than the cockpit modifications these aircraft are exactly the same as the standard Tutors with the exception of an extra VHF aerial for the new GPS system.
The Defence Elementary Flying Training School at RAF Barkston Heath also operates the Tutor.
Reproduced from Wikipedia under the GNU Creative Commons License.
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
A tranquilized grizzly bear is monitored closely by field biologists while measurements are taken and a radio collar is attached.
Radio collars are invaluable tools which allow bear researchers and managers to gather survival and reproductive data on individual bears. Once enough data, approximately 100 "bear years", is accumulated it becomes possible to mathematically estimate trends in the grizzly population. A "bear year" is gathered through monitoring a single bear over the course of one year. Thus, a sample of 25 collared bears tracked for 4 years would yield 100 bear years of data.
Managers of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (of which Glacier National Park is a part) are striving to keep 25 bears (primarily females with cubs) radio collared with state-of-the-art GPS/ARGOS collars. These collars locate themselves through the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system and then transmit their location to researchers through the ARGOS satellite system. This provides bear researchers and managers with invaluable data, including near real-time location information about individual bears.
Spring has finally arrived for me! After a long winter without any golf, I finally got in 27 holes this weekend. The motivation for this early and cold round was a set of beautiful new Nike Slingshot 4D irons that have been staring at me for about 3 weeks. These impressive new clubs arrived one day and I’ve been itching to play with them since I eyed their shiny new faces with fancy yellow coloring. I initially started swinging them in the house waiting for the day when I could finally try them out and see for myself if they were as fantastic as they looked.
Waking up early on Saturday morning, I walked the dog as the sun rose tempting me to think about a round of golf. Although there was a chill in the air, I figured since the sun was out and shining brightly it might be warm enough to golf. I asked my husband if he wanted to play and he was packing our clubs in the car before I could finish my sentence. He, unlike me, will play in temperatures usually reserved for ice skates not golf shoes!
I dressed as if I was about to head into a blizzard wearing long underwear, pants, a turtleneck, a sweatshirt, a wind jacket, and a winter hat. I figured I was definitely prepared for the chilly temperatures and excited to start the 2008 golf season.(Nike CCI Iron Set) On the first tee, I decided to use my 3 wood even though it had been a long winter with little to no golf for me. It showed on the first shot as I duffed the ball which only traveled about 20 yards. Chalking it up to new season nerves, I remembered what had brought me out on this cold day and grabbed the shiny new Nike 5 iron from my bag for my second shot. The feeling that I got when I hit that ball was something that I had felt too infrequently in my golf career. I stepped back and said, “wow” as I watched the ball travel about 150 yards down the middle of the fairway landing just short of the green. No longer worried about being rusty after my winter laziness, I was just excited to hit these new Nike irons and hope that every shot felt like that! I was not to be disappointed.
We only played nine holes because, even with my extra layers, the wind got the best of me. That being said, I was actually playing pretty well. I was amazed at how quickly I had adjusted to this new set of Nike irons.(Nike Victory Red TW Forged Blade Irons) I had only swung them a few times in my living room and I was hitting the ball better than I had in my life. The Nike irons are very light and I just felt immediately comfortable using them. Even when I didn’t hit the ball well, it still wasn’t a horrible shot. It was amazing how confident I felt hitting each new iron in my bag. I didn’t hem and haw about which club to use and just went up and hit them. The five iron was traveling 150 yards which is a very good distance for me. The ball rose beautifully from the club head when I made contact and it felt great. It made me realize how much I truly missed golf and I wondered why I didn’t start playing with this amazing set of irons three weeks sooner. To me they were the miracle clubs…they were making me into a decent golfer!
My husband and I ventured out again today and played 18 holes. It was a beautiful day and the course was nearly empty…it felt like our own private country club. The Nike irons helped my game again although my driving and putting were very inconsistent as I went from parring one hole to getting a double bogey on the next. My husband had his gps system and would ask me if I wanted yardage marks and I declined just getting a feeling that I was choosing the right Nike iron. It sounds weird, I know, but I honestly felt incredibly confident with every Nike iron that I put in my hands except for the sand wedge, but that’s my own battle with the bunker. With these new irons in my bag, I hope to practice bunker shots and become more comfortable with the sand wedge. I also hope that as the summer progresses and I use the clubs(Nike sasquatch sumo2 5900 Driver) more frequently I’ll gain some distance as well as consistency. I’ve set some ambitious goals for myself this summer and using these Nike irons I have confidence that I’ll not only achieve these goals, but surpass them. Golf is such a mental game that I feel that I’m already ahead of the game having such confidence in my clubs. ()Now I need to get the same confidence with my hybrids and woods and I’ll be all set to really start shooting some low scores on the course.
The Nike Slingshot 4D irons are a set of game improvement irons for the player not looking for a super high MOI set of clubs. If you are looking for something a little more ‘workable’, but still extremely forgiving, the Slingshot 4D irons could be a great option for you. It doesn’t hurt that these irons look great in the bag as well! These irons come with steel shafts or graphite shafts, and they are really quite good assistant for game improvement.
More at www.discountwholesalegolf.com/nike-slingshot-4d-iron-set-...
12th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
presented by
SNC LAVALIN Pacific Liaicon and Associates
Benefitting the Eureka Camp Society/Apex Secondary School
Hosted at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club and Golf Academy
photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery
About Westwood Plateau
WESTWOOD PLATEAU…Experiences Above & Beyond
When award-winning golf architect Michael Hurdzan, Golf World Magazine’s 1997 Architect of the Year, sets out to design a course he says that he wants to “create a ‘Wow’ effect for golfers.” At his Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, named ‘Best New Course in Canada in 1996’ by SCOREGolf Magazine, Hurdzan created his patented “Wow” effect on virtually every hole.
As a result, there is no ‘signature’ hole at the spectacular layout on Eagle Mountain because each hole stands alone. Yet each hole bears Hurdzan’s distinctive signature. “This is a magical piece of ground,” said Hurdzan. “When we built the course, the whole intent was to keep the great views, keep the special ethereal feeling and still create as wide a course as we could so that the average golfer could enjoy it.” Hurdzan not only achieved his lofty goal, he exceeded it. On this magical Coquitlam plateau 30 minutes east and 1,300 feet above Vancouver, the golf values are as pure as the snow on the distant mountain peaks. Little wonder that in 1999, Golf Digest called Westwood Plateau: “The best game in town.”
Whether playing from the back tees at 6,770 yards or from any of the other three tee boxes that gradually shorten the course to 5,514 yards, players are confronted by a singular challenge on each hole – deciding whether the view is more striking from the tee or from the green. The ProShot GPS system on each power cart takes the pressure off club selection by displaying precise yardages on easy-to-read screens. It also provides yardages to the hazards; individual tips on playing the hole; updates on your tournament; and ProShot can quickly relay messages in case of emergencies. In addition to the on-cart GPS, you’ll also receive range balls, day locker, bottled water, tee gift, and continental breakfast included in your fees. Other available extras range from transportation via helicopter from downtown Vancouver to fully-stocked personal mini bars on your cart. These above and beyond services helped earn Westwood Plateau ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’, as ranked by 6500 Golf Digest readers, and Golf Digest’s 4 1/2 - star rating in their Best Places to Play edition.
A fully public facility, Westwood Plateau offers 27 holes of outstanding golf, two distinct restaurants, a nationally recognized teaching academy and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse perfect for corporate entertaining and weddings.
Westwood Plateau’s mission statement is simple – To deliver Above & Beyond experiences through superior service and product quality! We look forward to serving you!
.
How is it that some people always know how to get from one place to another, and others always get lost? What do we know about how humans navigate, and can we predict their actions before they even start? This talk explores navigation research using everything from video games to real-world forests – and confirms the belief that there are good navigators and people who are perpetually lost.
Speaker: Elisabeth J. Ploran, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Hofstra University
Windsurfer travelling at high speed on West Kirby marine lake.
Chatting to some of them, they said their GPS systems were showing speed of over 40 knots.
The Grob G 115 (Tutor) is an advanced general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft (Grob Aerospace before January 2009).The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in Royal Air Force service as an elementary flying trainer.
The aircraft is constructed of carbon composite materials. The main fuselage and each wing spar is a single piece. It has a fixed Tricycle undercarriage with spatted wheels, a short nose bearing the 180 hp engine and a 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller. The cockpit features a broad canopy arch with good forward visibility and with side-by-side seating for pilot and student. The wings are tapered with square tips and the empennage consists of a large fin and rudder with an oblong tailplane with square tips mid-set to the fuselage.
The aircraft is capable of basic aerobatic manoeuvres (limited to +6G and -3G).
With the retirement of the Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1 from Royal Air Force University Air Squadrons (UASs) and Air Experience Flights (AEFs), a new system was put in place for the provision of the UAS and AEF flying tasks. Aircraft were to be owned and operated by private industry, contracted to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The aircraft chosen for this task was the Grob 115, designated Tutor T1 by the MoD. The Tutor fleet is owned and maintained by a civilian company, Babcock, and carry British civilian registrations under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme, painted overall white with blue flashes and RAF roundels.
RAF Elementary Flying Training (EFT) is taught on the Grob Tutor at RAF Cranwell, Wyton and Church Fenton by reserve squadrons teaching the EFT syllabus to direct entrants and former UAS students, with students streamed according to ability: Fast Jet, Rotary Wing, Multi-Engine or non-pilot roles.
Until 2005 the Tutor was used by UASs to provide EFT to university students, many sponsored by the RAF. From 2006, UAS students are no longer taught EFT, they follow an unassessed flying syllabus similar to EFT, but with only a 36 hour course and the possibility of progression to more advanced training on merit. The Tutor is also used by AEFs to provide flying experience for cadets of the Air Training Corps (ATC) and Combined Cadet Force (CCF), replacing the Bulldog in these roles at the turn of the century. The final AEF to receive the Tutor was 10 AEF based at RAF Woodvale in Merseyside, in 2001. 10 AEF was incidentally also the last AEF to receive the Bulldog in 1996, replacing the Chipmunk.
Five Tutor T1s are also operated by 727 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm for trainee pilot grading.
In 2009 some Tutor squadrons began to receive new Enhanced Avionics (EA) Tutors, with an updated and enhanced instrument panel, featuring a Garmin GNS 430W GPS system, digital HSI and digital engine instruments. Other than the cockpit modifications these aircraft are exactly the same as the standard Tutors with the exception of an extra VHF aerial for the new GPS system.
The Defence Elementary Flying Training School at RAF Barkston Heath also operates the Tutor.
Reproduced from Wikipedia under the GNU Creative Commons License.