Category Archives: Technology

Vehicle I-D: LC-130H à La skis, can I get skis for my model C-130 kit?

Video February 14, 2020 Hutchins AAron

A New York Air National Guard Crew Chief inspects the landing gear on a ‘Skibird’ LC-130H Hercules on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 06MAR2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Scott Fremming.

Video report from October 2019, first time LC-130H-upgrade is loaded with HIMARS:

A New York Air National Guard LC-130H arrives at the Paris Air Show, 16JUN2019.

This LC-130H has been updated with the NP2000 propellers, Paris Air Show, 19JUN2019.

Not all Skibird’s operate in snowy conditions. This upgraded LC-130H is ferrying New York Army National Guard Soldiers to Puerto Rico. New York Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Alexander Rector, 11APR2019.

New York Air Guard’s SkiBird helping Canadians build ‘SkiWay’ landing strip in the Arctic, 11APR2019.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing offloads cargo in Greenland, on 26APR2019.

Video, Senior Master Sergeant explains the craziness of airfield ops in Antarctica:

Video from March 2019, explaining what a LC-130 Crew Chief does:

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing’s LC-130, McMurdo Station, Antarctica 15JAN2019.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing LC-130 (upgraded with evil British empire Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5/NP2000 props), McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 17DEC2018.

Grass field take-off? No, it’s the camera angle. NY National Guard’s LC-130 takes off for Antarctica, 06SEP2018.

LC-130(F-H?) in Antarctica, 23JUL2017.

The Common Science Support Pod, or IcePod, houses a variety of instruments to meausure changes in the Antarctic ice sheet.

Some ‘scientist’ from Colombia University explaining how the IcePod works. To find out more go here: https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/icepod/

New York Air National Guard LC-130H Hercules-Skibird takes-off near the Canadian Task Force base camp on Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, during Operation NUNALIVUT, 10APR2016.
Canadian Armed Forces photo by Corporal Parks.

New York Air National Guard LC-130H Hercules-Skibird arrives on Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Canadian Armed Forces photo by Petty Officer Second Class Belinda Jeromchuk, 10APR2016.

2016 video report on Canadian Forces Operation Nunalivut, note the wing flex on the older LC-130H as it lands:

Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, 27JUN2016.

January 2014, Pegasus Field, Antarctica, problems with landing gear being rectified.

Leaving Antarctica, 02FEB2011.

McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 2007.

Rocket assisted take-off from Greenland, 2003. For some reason it’s officially called Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) even though it’s actually rockets. With the new Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5 turbine/NP2000 props JATO is no longer needed.

Several of the New York Air National Guard’s LC-130Hs were former U.S. Navy LC-130Rs from VXE-6.

Airmodel makes a 1:72 scale conversion set that includes skis for LC-130.

Max Decals #7211

Out-of-print MicroScale #72-195

SNOWBLIND: C-130 OHIO C-17 PENNSYLVANIA

KODIAK MACE 2019: USMC KC-130J VID FEST!

MODEL KIT EC-130J GETS SPECIAL HANDLING BY NATIONAL GUARD!

VEHICLE I-D: NORMANDY PAINTED C-130 HERCULES

THAT’S NOT A C-130J, IT’S STILL THE OLD C-130H!

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: CVN-71, are there model kits of this?

Video February 8, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives in Guam, 07FEB202.

CVN-71 on its way to Guam, 25JAN2020.

Leaving San Diego, 17JAN2020.

Scrubbing the deck in 2013.

Leaving Newport News Shipyard in 2013, after four years of overhaul.

The following pics are of CVN-71 at the end of a 39 month fuel complex overhaul, May 2011:

2009, when CVN-71 began its overhaul.

U.S. TAXPAYERS SEND AUSSIE PRIME MINISTER A MODEL BOAT!

VEHICLE ID: ARMORED DRUG SMUGGLING BOATS

ITALERI 1:720 DEUTSCHLAND, LUTZOW, SCHEER & GRAF SPEE

1:600 MOSKVA: AURORA VS AIRFIX

1/600 USS IOWA CLASS KITS: AURORA, MONOGRAM, OTAKI, REVELL. AN APPEAL TO AIRFIX!

Weapon I-D: MARK 82

Technology

SnowBlind: C-130 Ohio C-17 Pennsylvania

Video February 7, 2020 Hutchins AAron

C-17s of the 911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania, 07FEB2020.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Video, C-130s of the 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio, 07FEB2020:

Video, De-icing C-130s in Ohio, 07FEB2020:

A-10C SNOWBLIND WALKAROUND IN IDAHO!

BARE METAL: C-17 STRIPPED

U.S. TAXPAYERS TO RESCUE “DONATED” C-130 (with new pics)

Technology

Weapon I-D: Mark 82, Cold War & beyond

Video February 6, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Bombing-up an S-3A Viking with Mk82s. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Michael D.P. Flynn, 01FEB1988.

The Mark 82 (aka BDU) is a 5-hundred pound/227-kilogram unguided ‘vehicle’ (practice bombs about 400lbs/181kg) designed to hit your enemy with 192 pounds/87-kilograms of Tritonal high explosive. It was first used during the U.S. occupation of Vietnam. It’s part of the Mark 80 series of low-drag bombs, from Mk81 to Mk84, of similar shape but increasing size.

Mark 82s on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Stephen Schester, 27APR2010.

The shape and size of the standard fins have changed over the decades, and the type of fins used changes the nomenclature (the various fins/tail cones have their own nomenclatures as well).

They’ve even been fitted with nose fuse extensions.

This video is about the history of the F-4 Phantom-2, but it has a couple of scenes from Vietnam in which F-4s off-load massive amounts of Mk82s:

Most ‘live’ Mk82s are painted olive drab with yellow markings and trim. Some are light grey with yellow trim. Yellow indicates it is a ‘live’ bomb.

“Bombs can be filled by conventional explosive or other explosive compositions (TNT, Tritonal, Comp B) with a wide range of fuzes (M904-M905, FMU-139, FMU-152, FBM 21, ID 260).”

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ryan Callaghan, 25JAN2017.

This live Mk82 has a nose mounted M904 fuse.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Don Sutherland, 01FEB1981.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Zachary Heal, 05FEB2020.

Many bombs have varying shades of paint from one to the other, depending on how they were stored, exposure to sunlight, etc.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Zachary Heal, 05FEB2020.

This live Mk82 has a rear mounted M905 fuse.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Jacob M. Thompson, 27JAN2021.

Some tail cones have ‘pinwheels’ (ATU-35A/B tail mounted fuse drive assemblies) that have an arming wire connected to the bomb release mechanism. The ATU-35 is for both the M904 nose fuse and the M905 rear mounted fuse.

Pinwheels on the tail cones of these practice bombs, denoted by the blue stripe around the nose. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ken Hammond, 27JUN1987.

These Mk82s have the M904 nose fuse with the ATU-35 tail drive. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ken Hammond, 27JUN1987.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Steven Walls, 28JAN2020.

The live Mk82s (BSU-33s?) on this AV-8B Harrier are grey with yellow trim. Note the USMC fins are the similar to the USAF fins.

USMC photo by Lance Corporal James Marchetti, 14JAN2014.

Mark 82s onboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Tracy Lee Didas, 01OCT1989.

Same aircraft carrier, but in 1993. Mark 82s onboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Hayhurst, 01OCT1993.

For those model builders who are worried that they’ve hit their Mark 82s/BDUs with a paint bomb, most U.S. Navy/USMC bombs have a thick stucco looking coating of paint.

USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Tracy Lee Didas, 04NOV1987.

Mark 82s being transferred from ship-to-ship during Desert Storm. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Charles W. Moore, 01FEB1991.

Video, 726th EABS Munitions Systems team shows you how to build a Mk82, November 2019, Djibouti:

An F-4E Phantom II off-loads a bunch of blue bombs onto the Bardenas Bombing Range in Spain. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant David Nolan, 25MAR1986.

Practice bombs are painted blue, or O-D with blue trim and fins. Some are so old the blue paint is extremely faded. Some practice bombs have spotting charges in the fin section to make it easier to spot where it impacts on the target field.

BDU-45 mounted on P3C Orion. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Harry J. Rucker the Third, 25OCT2009.

The U.S. Navy calls their practice Mk82 bomb the BDU-45. Note there is a difference between USN fins and USAF fins.

BDU-45 mounted on P3C Orion. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Harry J. Rucker the Third, 25OCT2009.

USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Araos, 02JUL2012.

Blue bombs.

Georgia Air National Guard F-105G gets bombed-up with a cement filled Blue Bomb. Photo by Airman First Class Sheryl D. Barnett, 10APR1981.

Video, Davis Monthan, Arizona, Operation SnowBird 2013, Idaho National Guard bombs-up their A-10s with Maverick missiles and Mk82s:

An Iranian F-14 tomcat bombed-up with Iranian made Mk82s on Iranian designed bomb rack.

A-10A on Sembach Air Base, Germany, being bombed-up with a Mk82 Snake Eye. USAF photo by Sutherland, 22APR1982.

The Mk82 can be fitted with low-drag fins or the infamous high-drag fins called Snake Eye. The Snake Eye, or Mark 14 Tail Retarding Device, was developed because aircraft making low-level bombing runs would get hit by the shrapnel from the low-drag Mk82s.

A-7 Corsair II releasing Mark 82 hi-drag (Snake Eye) bombs on bombing range in Florida. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Frank Garzelnick, 01MAY1980.

The Iranians love the Snake Eye, using it during low-level high-speed bombing runs against invading Iraqi forces in the 1980s and still using it today.

Iranian Thunderbolts (twin tailed F-5s) dropping snake eyes.

U.S. Navy A-6 Intruders dropping snake eyes.

Snake Eye outside the U.S. Air Force 88th Operations Support Squadron, Munitions Flight, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 03MAR2021. USAF photo by Ty Greenlees.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dennis L. Carlson, 07DEC1978.

GBU-12 Paveway II is a ‘smart’ Mk82 with laser guidance system.

Canadian CF188 (F-18) being bombed-up with a Paveway in Kuwait, 13JAN2015.

This Mk82 is equipped with the Air Inflatable Retarder (AIR) tail.

FB-111A off-loads Mk82-AIR bombs, USAF photo by Master Sergeant Ken Hammond, 17NOV1990.

VEHICLE I-D: F-22 RAPTOR

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: F-22 Raptor, plenty of kits of this one!

Video February 4, 2020 Hutchins AAron

F-22 Raptor flies over Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 05DEC2019. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Erin Baxter.

F-22 during demonstration over Shaw AFB, South Carolina.
USAF photo by Airman First Class Jacob Gutierrez, 06JAN2020.

Whoopsy! Main landing gear collapse on Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Virginia Air National Guard photo, 16JAN2020.

Video, USAF Air Demo Teams explainer:

F-22 music video, Fort Lauderdale Air Show, May 2019:

Refueling over the Persian Gulf, 17JAN2020. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Joshua L. DeMotts.

Video, ‘undisclosed location’ in Persian Gulf, refueling F-22s, July 2019:

Sentry Aloha war games in Hawaii, 17JAN2020. Hawaii Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman John Linzmeier.

Video, Sentry Aloha explainer:

First ever Forward Area Refueling Point (FARP) for F-22 Raptors in an extreme cold weather environment. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 30JAN2020. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ridge Shan.

Missile bay, F-22 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. USAF photo by Justin Connaher, 31JAN2020.

Video from July 2019, over Battle Creek, Michigan, taken from Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation P-51 Mustang:

Model kits:

USAF ADMITS F-22 STEALTH JET IS A PAIN TO MAINTAIN, AND THAT’S JUST THE ‘SKIN’!

Video: Virginia F-22

2013: FALSE FLAG REPORT CLAIMS U.S. F-22 SHOT DOWN!

Obama cancels F-22 demo for fear of upsetting North Korea?

News media gives conflicting reasons why Obama deployed F-22s to South Korea!

International, Technology

U.S. taxpayers to rescue “donated” C-130

Video January 25, 2020 Hutchins AAron

24 January 2020 / 21:35 UTC-07 Tango 06 (05 Bahman 1398/29 Jumada l-Ula 1441/01 Ding-Chou 4718)

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

“The U.S. commitment to this partnership is stronger than ever, and I look forward to building upon it in the days ahead.”-Michael Raynor, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, during the June 2018 C-130E hand-over, he obviously didn’t realize the Ethiopians couldn’t handle the U.S. taxpayer funded ‘gift’

Poorly thought-out hand-over of donated C-130E, June 2018.

A year-and-a-half ago the U.S. government “donated” a C-130 Hercules to the struggling Ethiopian air force, and without much forethought, it turns out, as it was discovered that the Ethiopian military personnel lacked the knowledge to maintain or operate the transport.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

In January 2020, U.S. military officials realized the Ethiopians needed help with their U.S. taxpayer funded gift, so the U.S. Air Force’s 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron (MSAS) went in.

U.S. Air Force maintenance personnel check-out the landing gear on the donated C-130E. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

Explainer video, 23JAN2020:

So far the old C-130E has completed taxi runs, hopefully will be flying soon.

Between 1998 and 2014, Ethiopia got two C-130Bs, and a C-130E. The above pic is of tail #1562 seen wasting away. The other B model and the E model are listed as active, which is hard to believe since Ethiopia had so much trouble maintaining the C-130E donated in June 2018.

In the cockpit, USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

In the cargo bay, USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Brice, 14JAN2020.

The intent of the donation of the C-130E was to help Ethiopia conduct ‘peacekeeping’ missions in Africa.

Taxpayer rip-offs: U.S. TAXPAYERS DELIVER MD-530F CAYUSE WARRIOR TO KENYA

BARE METAL: C-130 PAINT PREP, OR THE EMPEROR GETS SOME NEW CLOTHES

Technology

NATO Vehicle I-D: Challenger vs Leclerc

Video January 25, 2020 Hutchins AAron

NATO’s 2020 anti-Russia training was held in the eastern European country of Latvia (right on Russia’s border).

NATO promo-video, NATO’s Adazi Training Base, Latvia, 23JAN2020:

LECLERC, NATO-France:

French Leclercs invade NATO-Germany, 29MAY2018. U.S. Army photo by Kevin S. Abel.

U.S. Army (USA) video by Kevin S. Abel, May 2018, France ‘invades’ Germany for Strong Europe Tank Challenge:

The Leclerc does not have a bore evacuator (fume extractor) on its NATO compatible 120mm F1 smoothbore main-gun. It uses interior overpressure, or a compressed air system, for gun-tube fume extraction.

USA photo by Specialist Craig Carter, 05JUN2018.

USA video by Matthias Fruth, Leclercs blasting away during NATO’s Strong Europe Tank Challenge at the 7th U.S. Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, June 2018:

Simulated CBRN attack. USA photo by Specialist Craig Carter, 05JUN2018.

Push-me-pull-you action, towing away a ‘broke-dick’ Leclerc. USA photo by Specialist Craig Carter, 05JUN2018.

Leclerc’s butt. USA photo by Lacey Justinger, 04JUN2018.

Leclerc has a single exhaust that looks like a giant water-pipe elbow pointing skyward. The ‘things’ on the back-end of the tank are racks for external fuel drums, à la Soviet style.

CHALLENGER: No, not my (snow)drifting Challenger!

NATO-United Kingdom:

USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 07JUN2018.

This is the Challenger I’m talking about, the United Kingdom’s Challenger-2. The Challenger has a ‘coffee-can’ bore evacuator on its non-NATO compatible 120mm L30A1 rifled-bore main-gun.

USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 07JUN2018.

It also has fuel drum racks on its butt. The exhaust ports are square looking boxes towards the rear on each side of the vehicle.

Pistol shoot. USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 06JUN2018.

Video, shooting a pistol from the turret of a Challenger-2, Strong Europe Tank Challenge, Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, June 2018:

USA photo by Gertrud Zach, 07JUN2018.

Somebody lit a fire under this Challenger-2’s ass! I suspect that it is one of the smoke grenades used to simulate a CBRN attack.

USA silent video, by Elliott Banks, of Royal Red Coats uploading their unique three-part-ammo:

USA video of Challenger-2 blasting away (this time Elliott recorded the audio), 06JUN2018:

VEHICLE I-D: MODEL T & WHITE MOTOR WARRIORS

JOIN THE U.S. MILITARY GET A CLASSIC CAR?

ZOMBIE TANK T-55, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE! (and they keep coming back from the dead)

International, Technology

U.S. taxpayers deliver MD-530F Cayuse Warrior to Kenya

Image January 24, 2020 Hutchins AAron

24 January 2020 (01:55 UTC-07 Tango 06) 04 Bahman 1398/28 Jumada l-Ula 1441/30 Yi-Chou 4717

Handover Ceremony at Embakasi Barracks, Kenya, 23JAN2020.

It’s a few months late (first promised delivery was for mid-2019, then pushed back to the end of 2019) but the first six of 12 taxpayer funded MD-530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters are now in Kenya.

The helicopters will be used against ‘extremists’ in Somalia. MD Helicopters was issued a five years U.S.$1.4-billion IDIQ contract from U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal-Multinational Aviation Special Project Office.

IDIQ means Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity, it is a U.S. government phrase referring to contracts that require unknown quantities over a specified time period.

Multinational Aviation Special Project Office states on its website that it “provides aircraft procurement and support activities for customers around the world and services a fleet that includes a wide variety of rotary and fixed wing aircraft such as the Mi-17s, MD-500Es, MD-530Fs, MD-600Ns, AH-1Fs, AH-6i’s, IA-407s, Bell 412s, S-333s, Bell 206s, UH-1s, Huey IIs and AW-139s.” In other words, taxpayers are paying for other countries’ helicopters.

MD Helicopters claims the upgraded MD-530 has the Rolls-Royce 250-C30 650shp turbine engine, advanced all-digital glass cockpit, ballistically tolerant crash-worthy fuel system, Harris RF-7850A tactical radio, Rockwell Collins HF-9000D, FN Herstal Weapons Management System, DillonAero Mission Configurable Armament System (MCAS), DillonAero Fixed-Forward Sighting System, 62mm ballistic armor protection, FN Herstal .50 caliber HMP 400 Machine Gun Pods, and M260 7-shot rocket pods.

VEHICLE I-D video: MD-530F CAYUSE WARRIOR, AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN GETS MORE U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDED HELICOPTERS & GUNS!

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: Cold War and beyond, C-2A to C-2A(R) Greyhound, now ‘On Final’! Can you get a kit of it?

Video January 22, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Nice, Italy, 1970. Photo via U.S. Navy’s VR-24.

The Grumman C-2A Greyhound has been around for a long time, joining the U.S. Navy in 1966 (production started in 1965).

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, October 1990. USN photo by Don S. Montgomery.

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, February 2005. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Justin Blake.

It was developed from the E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and eventually replaced the older C-1 Trader.

C-1A Trader, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, August 1983. USN photo by Journalist Senior Chief Petty Officer Kirby Harrison.

C-2 Greyhound somewhere over the Indian Ocean, Summer of 1980. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class David Maclean.

Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea, Summer 1988. USN photo by Commander Leenhouts.

C-2A over Naval Air Station Norfolk, September 1989. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Stephen L. Batiz.

Seven little Greyhounds over Naval Base San Diego, California, August 1990. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Patrick Muscutt.

News media board a C-2A Greyhound, during Operation Desert Shield, August 1990. USN photo by Journalist Petty Officer Second Class Bartlett.

Hurghada, Egypt, a Greyhound being loaded with supplies for an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, post Operation Desert Storm. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Savage, May/April 1991.

Official USN website history of the C-2A Greyhound: C-2A Greyhound Logistics Aircraft

Operation Enduring Freedom logo painted on the underside of the tail-end of a C-2A. Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Jacqueline Diaz, 18MAR2009.

It has gone through many upgrades, the current Greyhounds are known as C-2A(R) and are identifiable by their NP2000 propellers.

U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Nistas, 15JAN2010.

USN video, Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78), 17JAN2020:

Another Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) video:

Video, Rawhindes of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 conduct their first flight operations from aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), April 2019:

Carrier Onboard Delivery, aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) November 2017:

More Rawhides video from February 2017, operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69):

Video, Horsemen of Detachment IV of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, takes off and lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) October 2016 (warning, includes slow-mo-video, do not adjust your set):

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, video of Greyhound prepping for trip to USS George Washington (CVN-73), September 2014:

Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, 11DEC2013. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Stacy Atkins Ricks.

On Final: The U.S. Navy has tried several times to replace the Greyhound, but potential replacements failed to measure up, or never materialized. In 2015, the USN stated that it intended to replace the Greyhound with the much more expensive, less load carrying ability, tilt-rotary wing CMV-22B Osprey, possibly starting in 2024.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Steve Wolff/Paul Lagasse.

On 19MAR2020, C-2A Greyhound Bureau Number (not ‘build number’ as many people/authors incorrectly call it) 162142 took its final flight.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Paul Lagasse.

BuNu 162142 had flown with VX-20 for just short of 30 years.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Brittany Dickerson.

BuNu 162142 retired to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

USN photo by Christopher D Nette, 18AUG2020.

On 17AUG2020, the last C-2A(R) to undergo planned maintenance interval three (PMI-3) arrived on Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), North Island Naval Air Station, California. PMI-3 for the Greyhound costs just under $4-million: “Other C-2s will induct for the much smaller PMI-1 and 2 events and most likely will also have in-service repairs. Field events for PMI-1 and 2 are scheduled out to Fiscal Year 2022.”-Jorge Gutierrez-Lopez, FRCSW Props IPT program scheduler

28NOV2020, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Keenan Daniels.

In 1:72 scale; I-D Models made a vacform kit in the mid-1970s. Falcon began issuing a Triple conversion set in the 1990s that included a C-2A fuselage for the Fujimi or Hasegawa E-2 Hawkey. Resin kit maker RVHP Models currently has an outrageously expensive full-kit (you can buy a couple of the 1:48 Kinetic kits for one RVHP kit).

Trumpeter offers a detailed 1:350 scale kit for your aircraft carrier.

Fox One Design Studio offers 1:144 scale versions.

In 1:48 scale the rare resin Collect Aire kit comes with four blade prop, while Kinetic’s more affordable plastic kits come with either four or eight blade props.

VEHICLE I-D: USN GOSHAWK T-45

Technology

Vehicle I-D: USN Goshawk T-45

Video January 20, 2020 Hutchins AAron

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Connor Loessin, 20JAN2020.

The U.S. Navy (USN) is currently testing its new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and the venerable T-45 Goshawk is one of the guinea pigs.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zack Guth, 18JAN2020.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Connor Loessin, 20JAN2020.

USN video, Goshawk touch-n-go (wait for it) aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), 18JAN2020:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesus O. Aguiar, 18JAN2020.

The T-45 is now an old plane, its origins go back to the 1970s British empire Hawk trainer. The USN asked for a navalized version and began using it in 1991, calling it the T-45 Goshawk.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Zachary Melvin, 18JAN2020.

USN video, fueling the Goshawk, take-off & landing aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), 18JAN2020:

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesus O. Aguiar, 18JAN2020.

Interestingly, model kit builders were able to get a Goshawk before the USN officially started using it. In 1989, Italeri (eh-taal-ery) began selling 1:72 scale kits of the T-45A Goshawk. In 1990, Testors reboxed the Italeri kit. Italeri reissued the kit in 2019.