Jim: Ahhhhh ok, so those are the slime lights! They looked so close to the same colour as Tamiya tape that’s what I was thinking they were- sorry!
And if the Air Force doesn’t want the Warthog hand 'em over to the Army- but of course they don’t want to give up any fixed wing aircraft - even the ones they don’t want. Gosh, makes my head hurt…
Reminds me of a documentary I was watching on the Korean War, the infantry were saying if you called in air support and the plane was blue nothing to worry about- if the plane was silver find a hole to jump into! Aka the US Navy was still practicing air support for amphibious invasions up though the '50s. The USAF though now claimed with the A-bomb tactical air support was pointless- we’d just nuke 'em and the war would be over. So therefore the USAF had stopped training pilots with any form of air support- if they came in with bombs or napalm God only knew where it would land…
Wow Cliff, very sorry to hear about your collar bone! [:(] I hope that you can get healed soon. And another bummer about your car. I have seen a commercial on TV that talks about not screwing you on the depreciation. Obviously you didn’t have that kind of insurance.
That is the sad part about if your insurance is covering your costs. If it was the other person’s fault, their insurance couldn’t get away with that.
I am right there with you Jim on the losing weight department. I have been walking during my lunch hour AND going swimming after work. I have battled my weight problem almost my entire life. What has turned into a big problem for me is the type of work I do. I sit in an office chair all day.
I always thought the perfect job for staying in shape would be a mail carrier that walked the route. Walking 5 days a week all day would have to keep you in shape!
I hadn’t heard about the USAF not getting enough training on close air support. But I am not surprised. I did hear that during the Vietnam War the same kind of thinking was the norm for dog fighting. The USAF brass had the thinking that with the missiles, we did not need guns anymore. But the missiles were made to shoot down heavy bombers, not agile fighters. And the problem was made worse when the pilots were not allowed to shoot their missiles until they had a visual confirmation on the bogey.
The USN was in the same boat concerning the guns. But they did realize that they needed to send their pilots to “Top Gun” to learn how to dog fight.
Ken: I see that TV car insurance ad all the time- there has to be some fine print or catch. I don’t think it’s the insurance company as much as the car dealerships that push the whole depreciation thing - I’ve been told if you buy a new car and then trade it in a week later you will lose a pile on it. Planned obsolescence seems to be the main scam here. Anyway what a waste of a brand new car but I can always make more money. I’m just hoping this shoulder feels better, I guess there’s always surgery if needed but it has it’s own problems.
I’m all in favor of people making money for what they do, but some take to extremes, such as car dealers. Esp. when they add all sorts of B.S. fees for “handling” and “dealer prep” and such. And that whole deal of “negotiating” and having to make offers, counter offers, etc. Why can’t it be like buying a model airplane or a pair of pants? We make our buying choices based on which store has the best selection, prices and service. Why should a car be different?
Yeah Jim, same BS that kept me driving the same old car for 12 years before I bought a new one. I’m thinking now of having that car repaired instead of buying another new one. Frankly to be honest I liked it better anyhow.
Jim and Cliff, I could not agree with you more! And even buying a used car is the same way. A very good friend of mine works for a dealership picking up and delivering cars. They buy used cars at auctions and resell them on their lots. It is a bigger market than the new car market!
I wanted to pass along some info on a great reference book if you are into the Voodoo like I am! It is a new book called “The F-101 Voodoo: An Illustrated History of McDonnell’s Heavyweight Fighter” by Ronald Easley. I just received it today and have not had a chance to read it, but it is chocked full of color photographs.
It is also full of information about the Voodoo’s life, from birth to death. This includes the RF-101C that served in Vietnam.
Cool book Ken! No doubt you will enjoy it a lot considering your dad! You know, I think people dismiss recon versions of aircraft, and instead pay more attention to the flashy fighters and bombers. I watched a program one evening about a squadron of Spitfires used for recon in WWII and the people who interpreted the photos they brought back. Without the work they did, the war could have lasted much longer than it did… It was after I watched that that I started the RF-4B. Recon planes fly alone, unarmed into enemy territory.
Not much going on here this week it seems. So much to do, such as the taxes, taking evening walks and also having to deal with stupid sh*t with my sister.
I am happy to report that I have managed to loose almost 20 pounds since I saw my Doctor. [t$t] I just hope I can keep it up and maintain it. It’s a lot tougher than some people think to change behaviors learned over many years. I am a stress eater and when I find I’m bored, lonely, stressed out, depressed, etc. I eat as it is something we do for comfort.
back to the build…
I finished painting and glossing the pylons (all eleven of them!) You can see where I have the kit part numbers marked on a strip of tape below, so I can keep track of where they go.
Also my A-10 needs an ECM pod from Hasegawa’s weapons set #4, an AN/ALQ-131. This will go on an outside station with a brace of sidewinders mounted on the opposite side.
Did you ever have one of those days? Friday they stuck me up in reception to cover for the girl that’s on vacation. That has to be the most tedious and boring job in the universe! Not to mention that I am not a “people” person and hate being on the phone!
Traffic sucked going home worse than usual!
When I got home, I was in front of the tube using one of the small tablets that someone gave me. It’s a little cheapie. First it kept frezzing up on me, then it started flashing all kinds of bizarre colors, screen rolling up and down, and side to side. My attempt to fix it by giving it my best John Elway impression, and tossing it across the room didn’t seem to help. In fact…
Giving up on that I headed to the hobby room. I was working on attaching those A-10 pylons. I had my readers perched on the end of my nose, and as I looked down, they began slide off my face. Grabbing for them, I dumped an entire bottle of Testors cement into my lap and all over the carpet! The fumes were so bad, I had to put my pants outside to dry and run fans all night in the room!
No damage to anything there, just to my disposition!
10-4 on the role of the recon missions! The USAF needed them so badly that they used several planes converted to the recon role. Here is a list that covers what was used during the Vietnam War:
RB-26C Invader
RB-47H Stratojet
RB-57E Canberra “Patricia Lynn”
RB-57F Canberra
RB-66B Destroyer
RC-135C Big Team
RC-135D Rivet Brass
RC-135M Rivet Card
RC-135U Combat Sent
RF-101C Voodoo
RF-4C Phantom II
SR-71A Blackbird
U-2C Dragon Lady
U-2F Dragon Lady
U-2R Dragon Lady
Of course the SR-71 and the U-2 were built for the mission, not converted. But still, that is a lot of aircraft committed to just the role of reconnaissance.
Yes, congratulations on the weight loss. And once again, I am right there with you on that mission. I am lucky that there is an exercise room where I work that I can take advantage of during lunch time. I usually use the tread mill, but I will occasionally use a stationary bike or elliptical trainer. I have also joined the university’s gym and go swimming occasionally after work. So far I have lost 17 pounds. It has been a life long battle for me.
That IS a lot of pylons! Egad, that has got to be close to the number on a A-1 Skyraider! And I am sure each one is going to require at least one decal!
Gotta love the weather here in Colorado! Saturday was sunny with the high of 70 degrees! Today it is only get to around 40 with a winter weather advisory in effect and 3-6" of snow by Monday afternoon!
A little more progress on the Zero. The photo etch that I purchased for the instrument panel also included the seat belts. So today I assembled them. I used Future for the “glue”. I will let this dry and then I will attach them to the seat.
