This week a look at two of the more unusual aircraft that have been made available to the diecast aviation enthusiast recently. Firstly a look at the E-2C Hawkeye.
The Northrop E-2 Hawkeye is an all-weather airborne early warning aircraft (AEW). The E-2 was a twin-turboprop developed in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s for the USN. The E-2 is a carrier-capable aircraft and has received major upgrades in their electronics for the E-2B and E-2C with the E-2C also receiving improved turbo-prop engines. The E-2 has been in production since the1960’s making it the longest production run of any carrier based aircraft. The E-2C variant became operational in 1973.
The image above is of an E-2C Hawkeye, attached to the “Screwtops” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 123, performs a fly-by for family and friends of crew members during an air power demonstration held by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) during a three-day Tiger Cruise.
US Navy 050418-N-5884M-071 An E-2C- Hawkeye lands aboard the Nimitz-class Aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)
A pair of E-2C Hawkeyes assigned to the “Sun Kings” of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 116 pass over the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during an air power demonstration performed by aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 in 2008.
HA4801 E-2C+ Hawkeye 2000 VAW-123 “Screwtops”, USS Enterprise Atlantic Ocean, Oct 2005 Flying Tigers £94.99
VAW-123 can its beginning to 1945 with the commissioning of VC-12 known as Composite Squadron Twelve. In 1956 VC-12 was re-designated VAW-12 and eventually VAW-123 “Screwtops”. VAW-123 is a Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron based out Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia and is an operational fleet squadron equipped with the Northrop E-2C Hawkeye.
The model above which landed at Flying Tigers in the last couple of days has completely sold out at Hobbymaster and will no doubt be a sell-out worldwide ! I do have a few left… and I mean just a few, so please be quick with this one ! Those of you that have already pre-ordered your models will be receiving them in the next few days. I am sure you will be very pleased with your purchases. Likewise the Japanese (HA4802) and French (HA4803) versions have also already sold out at Hobbymaster. I have taken these off the website as no more are available… again those who have pre-ordered their models will receive them soon. The Israeli ( HA4805) and the Singaporean (HA4806) are still available to Pre-order at the moment and can be accessed by clicking the links on the item nos. above.
Bell Boeing CV-22B Osprey at RIAT 2015
A pair of these aircraft attended RIAT 2015 and the shot above demonstrates the size and power of the rotors of this incredible aircraft. The size of the rotors was equally apparent on the aircraft on the ground as can be seen below as I got a few shots. As you can see enthusiasts were allowed close to the aircraft and were also allowed inside to get a closer look at the instrumentation and the angry looking 0.5 calibre machine gun at the back !
This aircraft is a Bell Boeing CV-22B Osprey of the USAF Special Operations Command , 7th Special Operations Squadron, 352nd Special Operations Wing, RAF Mildenhall. It is powered by two Rolls Royce-Allison AE1107C turboshaft engines. It has a top speed of 351 mph, range of 2,230 miles and an operating ceiling of 25,000 feet.
The V-22 Osprey combines a helicopters vertical take-off and landing capability with a more conventional aircraft’s speed and reach.It firsy flew in 1989 and after extensive development finally entered service in 2007. The aircraft at Mildenhall are fitted with threat countermeasures, FLIR( forward- looking infrared) and is designed for long range infiltration and extraction missions in all weathers. This aircraft was first received at the 352nd Special Operations Wing in June of 2013.
The model above is available from Flying Tigers in a limited quantity and for a short period of time only ! Please click on the image below to go straight to the model. It can also be found in the Offers of the Week section along with other Diecast Bargains !
MORE MODEL NEWS AT FLYING TIGERS
I have been able to get limited re-stocks of some models at great prices. These usually sell out very quickly so if one or two of the following models take your fancy or the price is too good to miss out, then please place your orders quickly. I have included some of them here in the Newsletter to whet your appetite, but there are more available all shown in the Offers of the Week Section. Please click on this link to go straight to the offers.
NEW ARRIVALS THIS WEEK AT FLYING TIGERS
HA4604 Lockheed F-35B ZM135, Royal Air Force, Edwards AFB Just landed only £52.50
As announced in last week’s Newsletter, a lot of recent releases landed at Flying Tigers last week. I have been very busy getting your orders dispatched and also putting your models into your boxes (Flying Tigers “Charge & Hold System”) If you want details on this process then please email me at [email protected] or give me a call in normal office hours (01604 499034). Basically if you order a model through the website or by email/over the phone and wish to consolidate your order to save on dispatch costs, Flying Tigers will keep your model safe in your own “storage box” and only charge you for the model at the time of it’s arrival, reimbursing you any dispatch costs to your credit card or PayPal account. The process is repeated every time you order a model until you are ready for me to dispatch them all together to you. Only then will the dispatch cost be charged. Many of you already use this system and get your models dispatched for less than £1 each. The cost of a parcel of any size up to 30 kilos is only £7.00 (UK mainland only) but the same principle applies to Overseas deliveries too !
That’s it for this week.
Thank you for taking time to read this newsletter.
Richard.
Flying Tigers.
