The recent development of of micro jets suitable for rc model airplanes has led a number of modellers to turn their attention to modern jet transport aircraft, among them the Airbus A330.
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body, large-capacity, medium-to-long-range commercial passenger airliner. It was developed simultaneously to the four-engined Airbus A340.
History
Airbus intended the A330 to compete directly in the Extended-range Twin-engine market where Boeing's B767 was proving a strong competitor.
Airbus looked to take advantage of manufacturing economies by using the same fuselage and wings as those of the smaller A340 variants, although it has different engines. The A330 basic fuselage design is inherited from the Airbus A300, as is the nose/cockpit section and the fly-by-wire system and flight deck from the A320. Both the A330 and A340 are assembled on the same final assembly line at Toulouse-Blagnac, France.
By the end of August 2007, a total of 793 A330s had been ordered and 488 delivered.
Variants
There are two main variants of the A330. The A330-300 was launched in 1987 with introduction into service in 1993. The A330-200 was launched in 1995, introduced in 1998 and comes in passenger, freighter and tanker versions.
A330-200
The A330-200 was developed to compete with the longer range Boeing 767-300ER. The A330-200 is similar to the A340-200 or a shortened version of the A330-300. With poor sales of the A340-200 (of which only 28 were built), Airbus decided to use the fuselage of the A340-200 with the wings and engines of the A330-300. This significantly improved the economics of the plane and made the model more popular than the four-engined variant.
Its vertical fin is taller than that of the A330-300 to restore its effectiveness due to the shorter moment arm of the shorter fuselage. It has additional fuel capacity and, like the A330-300, has a MTOW of 233 tonnes. Typical range with 253 passengers in a three-class configuration is 12,500 km (6,750 nautical miles).
Power is provided by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. All engines are ETOPS-180 min rated. First customer deliveries, to ILFC/Canada 3000, were in April 1998.
The A330-200 has sold strongly since its launch, outselling the Boeing 767 by 23 to 9 in 2004. As a result, Boeing has asked both Rolls Royce and GE to design engines that enable the 787 Dreamliner to be 15% more economical than the A330-200.
The direct Boeing equivalent is currently the 767-300ER and in the future will be the 787-800.
A330-200F
Due to flagging A300-600F and A310F sales, Airbus first began marketing a freighter derivative of the A330-200 around 2000-2001, although it was not launched at this time. The A330-200F re-emerged at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show and received its industrial go-ahead in January 2007. Entry into service is planned for the second half of 2009.
The A330-200F is a mid-size, long-haul all-cargo aircraft capable of carrying 64 tonnes over 4,000 NM / 7,400 km, or 69 tonnes up to 3,200 NM / 5,930 km. It introduces a new versatile main-deck cargo loading system that will be able to accommodate both pallets and containers. Several different arrangements will be possible on the main deck, taking up to 23 Side-by-Side (SBS) pallets, aimed at the high volume, high value commodities or Single Row (SR) loading of 16 pallets aimed at the general cargo higher density markets.
To overcome the standard A330's nose-down body angle on the ground, the A330F will make use of a revised nose landing gear layout. The same leg will be used; however it will be attached lower in the fuselage, requiring a distinctive blister fairing on the nose to accommodate the retracted nose gear. Power is provided by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.
A330-300
The A330-300, which entered service in 1993, was developed as replacement for the A300. It is based on a stretched A300-600 fuselage but with new wings, stabilisers and fly-by-wire software. It is powered by two General Electric CF6-80E, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, all of which are ETOPS-180 min rated.
The model
Dave Johnson's 1/7 scale Airbus A330 is a great example of large model airplanes. To see it in operation visit www.ModelAirplaneVideos.com. With a 4.87m/16 ft span, once airborne it is large enough to fool the inattentive spectator into believing they are looking at the real thing.
A second model airplane displayed by Ali Machinchy was his Mig 21 weighing in at 18 kg (40lb)
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 with NATO reporting name of "Fishbed" is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft. Originally designed and built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union, the MiG-21 has been flown by more than 30 countries of the world and it still serves many nations more than 50 years after its first flight. Its Mach 2 capability exceeds the top speed of many later and more modern fighter types. Total production is estimated to have reached more than 10,000 MiG-21s.
Development
As in the US, early post war Soviet designs were heavily based on late-WWII German jet designs, starting with the subsonic MiG-15, MiG-17, and the low supersonic swept-wing MiG-19. The MiG-21 would be the most successful of a number of experimental Mach 2 Soviet designs that were based on nose intakes with either swept-back wings, such as the Sukhoi Su-7, or tailed delta wings as in the Mig 21.
The E-5 prototype of the MiG-21 was first flown in 1955 and made its first public appearance during the Soviet Aviation Day display at Moscow's Tushino Airport in June 1956. The first delta-wing prototype, named "Ye-4", (also written as "E-4") flew on 14 June 1956, and the production MiG-21 entered service in early 1959. Employing a delta-wing configuration, the MiG-21 was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining fighter and interceptor characteristics in a single aircraft. It was a lightweight fighter, achieving Mach 2 speed using a relatively low-powered afterburning turbojet, and is thus comparable to the American F-104 Starfighter and French Dassault Mirage III.
Early problems with the design were fixed and during the Middle Eastern and Vietnam wars, the MiG-21 proved to be an effective aircraft. These wars provided invaluable lessons that were fed back in design modifications of later MiG-21 models.
However, it was not until the arrival of the MiG-29 that the Soviet Union would ultimately replace the MiG-21 as a maneuvering dogfighter to counter new American air superiority types.
The MiG-21 was widely exported by the Soviet Union and continues to be used well past the time when it might have been considered obsolete. The simple controls, engine, weapons, and avionics are typical of Soviet-era robust, simple military designs. While not as advanced as the technologically superior fighters it often faced, low production and maintenance costs made it a continuing favorite of many nations .
The model.
Ali's model Mig 21 weighs in at 18 kg or nearly 40 lbs including fuel. It is powered by an AMT Pegasus jet developing some 16 kg of thrust and he delivers a stunning display captured on The Boy's With Big 'Uns available from www.ModelAirplaneVideos.
com .
UK Top Gun, Ali Machinchy, flies his usual, impeccable display with his Grumman Cougar F9 rc model airplane.
The United States Navy replaced the earlier F9F Panther with it's straight wing by the more advanced swept wing of the Grumman F-9 Cougar for aircraft carrier-based operations. The Cougar was Based on the earlier Grumman F9F Panther and the Navy considered the Cougar an updated version of the Panther so Cougars started off with the designation F9F-6.
Design and development
Prototypes, modified Panthers, were quickly produced and the first (XF9F-6) flew on September 20, 1951. To the surprise of the Navy (who had been cautious about adopting swept-wing fighters on the carrier deck) the Cougar was easier to fly from carriers than the Panther. The aircraft was still subsonic, but the critical Mach number was increased from 0.79 to 0.86 at sea level and to 0.895 at 35,000 feet (10,000 m), improving performance markedly. The Cougar, unlike the Panther, would not be outclassed by Russian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, but it was too late to see Korean war service.
The F9F-8 was the final fighter version of the Grumman Cougar. It featured an 8 inch (200 mm) stretch in the fuselage and modified wings with greater chord nd wing area, to improve low-speed, high angle of attack flying and to give more room for fuel tanks. 601 aircraft were delivered between April 1954 and March 1957; most were given in-flight refuelling probes, and late production was given the ability to carry four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles under the wings. Most earlier aircraft were modified to this configuration. A number were given nuclear bombing equipment. Later re-designated F-9J in 1962.
F9F-8s were withdrawn from front-line service in 1958-59, replaced by the Vought F8U Crusader and Grumman F11F Tiger. Reserves used them until the mid-1960s, but none saw Vietnam War service.
Training aircraft
The Navy acquired 377 two-seat F9F-8T trainers between 1956 and 1960. They were used for advanced training, weapons training and carrier training, and served until 1974. They were armed with twin 20 mm cannon and could carry a full bombs or missiles load. In the 1962 re-designation, these were called TF-9J.
The only version of the Cougar to see combat was, oddly enough, the TF-9J trainer; they were used in the airborne command role, directing airstrikes against
enemy positions in South Vietnam during 1966 and 1967.
The model
Flown to his usual high standards, Top Gun Ali Machinchy displays his 24 kg (53lb) Grumman Cougar to perfection in his displays on The Boys With Big 'Uns model airplane videos. Although the model is over-powered Ali holds back on the throttle to give accurate scale performances of his 2006 season display model airplane.
The AH-1W rc model helicopter displayed in the 2006 issue of Model Airplane Videos is the backbone of the the United States Marine Corps's attack helicopter fleet, but will be replaced in service by the AH-1Z Viper upgrade in the next decade.
The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engine attack helicopter based on the US Army's AH-1 Cobra. The twin Cobra family includes the AH-1J SeaCobra, the AH-1T Improved SeaCobra, and the AH-1W SuperCobra.
Development
Developed in the mid-1960s the AH-1 Cobra was seen as an interim gunship for the U.S. Army for use in Vietnam. The Cobra shared the proven transmission, rotor system, and the T53 turboshaft engine of the UH-1 "Huey". By June 1967, the first AH-1G Huey Cobras had been delivered. Bell built 1,116 AH-1Gs for the U.S. Army between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras chalked up over a million operational hours in Vietnam.
The U.S. Marine Corps was very interested in the AH-1G Cobra, but preferred two engines for improved safety over water, and also wanted a more powerful turret-mounted weapon. The Department of Defense at first balked at providing the Marines with a twin-engined version of the Cobra, in the belief that commonality with Army AH-1Gs outweighed the advantages of a different engine fit. However the Marines won out and awarded Bell a contract for 49 twin-engined AH-1J SeaCobras in May 1968. As an interim measure, the U.S. Army passed on 38 AH-1Gs to the Marines in 1969. The AH-1J also received a more powerful gun turret. It featured a three barrel 20 mm XM197 cannon that was based on the six barrel M61 Vulcan cannon.
In the early 1980s, the U.S. Marine Corps sought a new navalized helicopter, but was denied funding to buy the AH-64 Apache by Congress in 1981. The Marines in turn pursued a more powerful version of the AH-1T. Other changes included modified fire control systems to carry and fire AIM-9 Sidewinder and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. The new version was funded by Congress and received the AH-1W designation.
The AH-1T+ demonstrator and AH-1W prototype was later tested with a new experimental composite four blade main rotor system. The new system offered better performance, reduced noise and improved battle damage tolerance. Lacking a USMC contract, Bell developed this new design into the AH-1Z with its own funds. By 1996, the Marines were again not allowed to order the AH-64. Developing a marine version of the Apache would have been expensive and it was likely that the Marine Corps would be its only customer. They instead signed a contract for upgrading 180 AH-1Ws into AH-1Zs.
The AH-1Z features several design changes. The AH-1Z's two redesigned wing stubs are longer with each adding a wing-tip station for a missile such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder. Each wing has two other stations for 70 mm (2.75 in) Hydra rocket pods, or AGM-114 Hellfire quad missile launcher. The Longbow radar can be mounted on a wing tip station.
Operational history
During the Gulf War in 1990-91, the Cobras and SeaCobras deployed in a support role. A total of 78 Marine SeaCobras flew 1,273 sorties with no combat losses. Three AH-1s were lost in accidents during fighting and afterwards. Marine AH-1Ws destroyed 97 tanks, 104 armored personal carriers and vehicles, and two anti-aircraft artillery sites during the 100-hour ground campaign.
Cobra helicopter gunships were also used widely by the Israeli Air Force in Operation Peace for Galilee to destroy Syrian armor and fortification. IAF Cobras destroyed dozens of Syrian armored fighting vehicles, including many of the modern Soviet T-72 main battle tanks.
Iranian AH-1J SeaCobras participated in air combat with Iraqi Mi-24s on several separate occasions during the Iran-Iraq War. The results of these engagements are disputed, in a document titled "AH-1W Air Combat Maneuver Training — Why It Must Be Reinstated" in 1992 by Major R. M. Brady, it is cited that "Iranian AH-1Js engaged Iraqi MI-8 Hip and MI-24 Hind helicopters. Unclassified sources report that the Iranian AH-1 pilots achieved a 10:1 kill ratio over the Iraqi helicopter pilots during these engagements (1:5).
Additionally, Iranian AH-1 and Iraqi fixed wing aircraft engagements also occurred." Others claim that in the entire 8-year conflict, 10 Iranian AH-1Js were lost in combat, compared to 6 Iraqi Mi-24. The skirmishes are described as fairly evenly matched in another source. Iranian AH-1Js are still operating today and have undergone indigenous upgrade programs. In 1988, two MiG-23s operated by Soviet forces shot down a pair of Iranian AH-1Js that had strayed into western Afghan airspace, after a prolonged aerial engagement.
AH-1 Cobras continue to operate with the the U.S. Marine Corps. USMC Cobras were also used in operations throughout the 1990s. While new replacement aircraft were considered as an alternative to major upgrades of the AH-1 fleet, Marine Corps studies showed that an upgrade was the most affordable, most supportable and most effective solution for the Marine Corps light attack helicopter mission. The AH-1W also utilizes a more diverse array of ordnance compared to the Apache.
The model
The one quarter scale rc model of Bell's AH-1 helicopter displayed in The Boys With Big 'Uns model airplane videos and shown here weighs in at just 22kg 
compared to the full size version. Despite that, it is the largest model helicopter in Europe and with working lights and electrically fires rockets and smoke canisters it can demonstrate an impressive display of power for an rc model airplane.
Filed under AH-1 Cobra, Bell, Blog, Helicopter by 
Although the Gloster Meteor appeared slightly later than the Me262, by the magic of Model Airplane Videos we can put them in the sky together in the 2006 issue of The Boys With Big 'Uns.
The first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet, The Meteor was designed by George Carter. First flight was in 1943 and the type began operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Gloster Meteor was not an aerodynamically advanced aircraft, nor even the world's fastest aircraft on introduction, but the Gloster design team succeeded in producing an effective jet fighter that served the RAF and other air forces for decades. Meteors saw action with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in the Korean War and remained in service with numerous air forces until the 1970s.
Design and development
Gloster Meteor F 3
In 1929, following Sir Frank Whittle's invention of the turbojet, development of a turbojet-powered fighter by Whittle's firm, Power Jets Ltd., and the Gloster Aircraft Company began in November 1940. The first British jet powered aircraft, the single-engined Gloster E28/39 prototype, had its maiden flight on 15 May 1941. The Air Ministry subsequently contracted for the development of a twin-engined jet fighter under Specification F9/40. Originally the aircraft was to have been named Thunderbolt, but to avoid confusion with the USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolt the name was changed to Meteor.
The Meteor's construction was all-metal with a tricycle undercarriage and conventional low, straight wings, featuring turbojets mid-mounted in the wings with a high-mounted tailplane to keep it clear of the jet exhaust.
Eight prototypes were produced. Delays with getting type approval for the engines meant that although taxiing trials were carried out it was not until the following year that flights took place. The fifth prototype, DG206, powered by two de Havilland Halford H.1 engines due to problems with the intended Whittle W.2 engines, was the first to become airborne on 5 March 1943 from RAF Cranwell, piloted by Michael Daunt.
Development then moved to Newmarket Heath and, later, a Gloster-owned site at Moreton Valence. The first Whittle-engined aircraft, DG205/G, flew on 17 June 1943 (it crashed shortly after take-off on 27 April 1944) and was followed by DG202/G in July. DG202/G was later used for deck-handling tests aboard aircraft carrier HMS Pretoria Castle. DG203/G made its first flight on 9 November 1943 but was soon relegated to a ground instructional role. DG204/G (powered by Metrovick F.2 engines) first flew on 13 November 1943 and crashed on 1 April 1944. DG208/G made its debut on 20 January 1944, by which time the majority of design problems had been identified and a production design approved.
The Meteor was the first jet fighter in allied service and this rc model airplane displayed on The Boys With Big 'Uns is the closest that you are likely to come to seeing this historic aircraft model flying just as the original flew.
