Minicraft Boeing 707-420 1/144 Scale

The Boeing 707 was the United States' first production jet airliner, and the aircraft with which the US first gained the lead in commercial jet manufacture. It has remained in continuous production since the mid-1950s until 1977. It was not the first US transport aircraft to be jet-powered; that distinction belonged to the experimental military XC-123A powered assault glider.

From the start the 707 had accommodation for approximately four times as many passengers as the original British de Havilland Comet I, as well as a considerably higher maximum speed. This, combined with a temporary setback to the British aircraft, helped establish the 707 in World-Wide service. The developed Comet 4 was first to open a transatlantic passenger jet service, on October 4,1958, but the 707s of Pan American followed from October 26,1958 and went on to inaugurate the first round the world jet passenger service on October 10,1959. The prototype first (Boeing Model 367-80) flew on 15 July 1954, and the initial aircraft off the production line were military KC-135A flight refueling tanker/transports.

Only a short time elapsed before commercial versions were built, a flood of orders from airlines all over the world being sparked off by a large contract placed by Pan American. Production centered on two major series, the 707-120 medium-range versions for up to 181 passengers, and 707-320 long-range versions for 189 to more than 200 passengers. By the spring of 1977 total sales of the 707 stood at 920, operating in every continent of the world. This original Boeing 707 was followed by a whole family of 707 passenger and cargo variants, with different lengths and weights, and turbofan power. The passenger carrying 707-320B and passenger/cargo 707-320C models were still in production in 1977. Also developed was the short-to-medium-range version known as the Boeing 720 or, with turbofans, 720B. By the end of October 1976, 920 Boeing 707s and 720s of all models had been ordered, and they had flown more than 30 million hours and carried just under 522 million passengers.

Other information:

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/707family/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_707

Minicraft Boeing 727 1/144 Scale

The 727 was designed to service smaller airports with shorter runways than those used by the 707s. Of all the early Boeing jets, the 727 had the most distinctive appearance, with its rakish T-shaped tail and its trio of rear-mounted engines. It carried billions of passengers on everything from short hops to cross-country flights.

The 727 was the first Boeing jetliner to undergo rigorous fatigue testing, the first to have completely powered flight controls, the first to use triple-slotted flaps and the first to have an auxiliary power unit (APU). The APU was a small gas turbine engine that eliminated the need for ground power or starting equipment in the more primitive airports of developing countries.
The first 727 rolled out Nov. 27, 1962, bearing the same lemon-yellow and copper-brown color scheme as the Dash 80. However, by the time of its first flight, orders were still below the estimated break-even point of 200. To help spur sales, Boeing sent a 727 on a 76,000-mile tour of 26 countries.

Originally, Boeing planned to build 250 of the planes. However, after being shown to the world, they proved so popular (especially after the larger 727-200 model, which carried up to 189 passengers, was introduced) that a total of 1,832 were produced at the Renton, Wash., plant. Variants included a convertible passenger-cargo model with a Quick Change (QC) option -- seats and galleys attached to removable pallets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_727

Minicraft Boeing 757/USAF C-32A Executive Transport 1/144 Scale

The twin-engine, medium-range 757 is up to 80 percent more fuel efficient than the older 727 jetliners it was designed to replace, but retains the 727's short-field capability. The 757-200 carries up to 228 passengers and has a range of approximately 3,900 nautical miles.
The 757 and the 767 were developed concurrently, so both shared the same technological advances in propulsion, aerodynamics, avionics and materials. Flight decks of the 757 and 767 are nearly identical, so pilots can easily qualify to fly both.

The first 757 rolled out of the Renton, Wash., factory in 1982. On March 29, 1991, a 757, powered by only one of its engines, took off, circled and landed at the 11,621-foot-high Gongga Airport in Tibet. The airplane performed perfectly although the airfield was in a box canyon surrounded by peaks more than 16,400 feet high.

In 1996, the company launched the 757-300. It seats up to 280 passengers and has about 10 percent lower seat-mile operating costs than the -200, which has the lowest seat-mile operating cost in its market segment. The first 757-300 was delivered in 1999. By then Boeing had delivered more than 1,000 757s. Four 757s were modified as replacements for the older 707-based VC-137 executive transports for government officials and designated C-32As.

Model Kit Review:

http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/mod/c32preview.htm

More information:

http://www1.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=101

http://www.flightlevel350.com/Boeing-757_aircraft_facts.html

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1351348960033718048NPZyGo

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Boeing_C-32A_Air_Force_Two.jpg

Heller Airbus A-320 1/144 Scale

Perhaps the most important contributor to Airbus Industrie's success as an airliner manufacturer, the four member A320 family is a significant sales success and a technological trailblazer. The 150 seat A320 is the foundation and best selling member of the family.

The A320 is perhaps best known as the first airliner to introduce a fly-by-wire flight control system - where control inputs from the pilot are transmitted to the flying surfaces by electronic signals rather than mechanical means. Apart from a small weight saving, the advantage of Airbus' fly-by-wire is that as it is computer controlled, an inbuilt flight envelope protection makes it virtually impossible to exceed certain flight parameters such as G limits and the aircraft's maximum and minimum operating speeds and angle of attack limits.

Also integral to the A320 is the advanced electronic flightdeck, with six fully integrated EFIS colour displays and innovative sidestick controllers rather than conventional control columns. The A320 also employs a relatively high percentage of composite materials compared to earlier designs. Two engines are offered, the CFM56 and IAE V2500.

Additional information:

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/a320_facts.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/airbus-a320

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A320

Italeri DC-3 Dakota 1/72 Scale

Without a doubt one of the best known aircraft in the world today is still the venerable DC3. A legend in her own time, The Douglas DC3 airliner ranks amongst man's greatest developments in this century. With around 1500 to 2000 in service at the 65th anniversary of her first flight, she is one of the most enduring. Our DC3 started life as a C47B. It is 65 years since the first flight.

The first flight of the Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST) - soon to be known as DC3- was on the 17th of December 1935 which was the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Both flights proved to be major milestones in aviation history and each went virtually unnoticed at the time. At Santa Monica in California it was an understated beginning for a legend, there was not even a photographer on hand to record the event. The earliest DC3 pictures were taken on a later flight.

The first DST/DC3 was a fourteen passenger luxury sleeper transport built for American Airlines on their non-stop New York-Chicago run. The seven lower berths converted into large comfortable adjustable seats for the day travel while the seven upper berths folded into the ceiling. There were two dressing rooms and lavatories located in the rear of the cabin. A galley up front provided hot meals. There was also a honeymoon cabin up forward. In the railroad oriented thinking of the time this was a flying Pullman Car.

Model Kit Review:

http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/Reviews/usaaf/dc-3-dakota.htm

Additional information:

http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/dc3.html

http://www.nzwarbirds.org.nz/dakota/history.html

http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-3.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3

Minicraft Boeing 737-300 1/144 Scale

In 1967, the smaller, short-range 737 twinjet was the logical airplane to complement the 707 and the 727. There was increasing demand for transports in its category, but the 737 faced heavy competition from the Douglas DC-9 and the British Aircraft Corp. BAC-111.

To save production time, and get the plane on the market as soon as possible, Boeing gave the 737 the same upper-lobe fuselage as the 707 and 727, so the same upper-deck cargo pallets could be used for all three jets. The 737 later adopted the 727's cargo convertible features, which allowed the interior to be changed from passenger to cargo use in the 737-200 series.

The 737 had six-abreast seating -- a selling point, because this way it could take more passengers per load -- the DC-9 seated five abreast. The number of seats in the 737 also was increased by mounting the engines under the wing. This engine placement buffered some of the noise, decreased vibration and made it easier to maintain the airplane at ground level.

Like the 727, the 737 could operate self-sufficiently at small airports and on remote, unimproved fields. The plane's performance in these conditions led to orders in Africa. Later, airlines in Central and South America, Asia and Australia bought the versatile jet.

Model Kit Review:

http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/Reviews/misc/737-300-ansett.htm

Additional information:

http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/737.html

http://www1.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=92

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/737_facts.htm

Revell Fokker 100 1/144 Scale

Fokker's largest aircraft, the Fokker 100 is a 100 seat jet airliner based on the F-28 Fellowship, but stretched and thoroughly modernised.

Fokker announced it was developing the Fokker 100 simultaneously with the Fokker 50 turboprop in November 1983. The Fokker 100 is based on the basic F-28 airframe, with the most important and obvious change being the stretched fuselage, increasing maximum seating to 122, compared with 85 in the F-28-4000 (on which the 100 is based).

Other changes include more economical RollsRoyce Tay turbofans (which, unlike the F-28's Speys, conform to Stage 3 noise limits), revised wing design with greater span and aerodynamic efficiency (Fokker claimed it to be 30% more efficient than the F-28's), a modern EFIS glass flightdeck, redesigned cabin interior plus other systems and numerous equipment changes.

The Fokker 100's first flight occurred on November 30 1986, certification was awarded in November 1987 and the first customer delivery, to Swissair, occurred in February 1988.

Model Kit Review:

http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/civil/brown100.htm

http://www.airlinercafe.com/page.php?id=99

Other information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_F100

http://www.flightlevel350.com/Fokker-100_aircraft_facts.html

Revell BAe 146-200 Eurowings 1/144 Scale

The BAe 146 is a medium-sized commercial aircraft which was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace (which later became part of BAE Systems). Production ran from 1983 until 2002, switching to an improved version known as the Avro RJ in 1992. A further-improved version, the Avro RJX – with new engines – was announced in 1997, but only three prototypes were built before production ceased in late 2001.

The BAe 146/Avro RJ carries its four jet engines on a high wing above the fuselage (not below, or at mid-fuselage, as on most conventional civilian aircraft). The aircraft has STOL capabilities and very quiet operation; it has been marketed under the name Whisperjet. It sees wide usage at small city-based airports. In its primary rôle it serves as a regional jet, short-haul airliner or feederliner. The freight-carrying version has the designation "QT" (Quiet Trader), while a convertible version is designated "QC".

The BAe 146 comes in -100, -200 and -300 models. The equivalent Avro RJ versions are designated RJ70, RJ85, and RJ100. The BAe 146/Avro RJ is in wide use among European airlines, such as Lufthansa and SN Brussels Airlines.

Additional information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAe_146

http://www1.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=45

http://www.vectorsite.net/avbae146.html

http://www.emairport.co.uk/profiles/specsheets/bae_146.htm

Minicraft Douglas DC-6B 1/144 Scale

The Douglas DC-6 was one of the first airplanes to fly a regularly scheduled around-the-world route. With its higher performance, increased accommodation, greater payload and pressurized cabin, it was a natural evolution of the DC-4.

Although the DC-6 had the same wingspan as the DC-4, its engines helped it fly 90 mph faster than the DC-4, carry 3,000 pounds more payload and fly 850 miles farther. The DC-6 could maintain the cabin pressure of 5,000 feet while flying at 20,000 feet.

American Airlines and United Airlines ordered the commercial DC-6 in 1946, and Pan American Airways used the DC-6 to start tourist-class service across the North Atlantic. The 29th DC-6 was ordered by the Air Force, adapted as the presidential aircraft and designated the VC-118. It was delivered on July 1, 1947, and called The Independence after President Harry Truman's hometown, Independence, Mo.

The larger, all-cargo DC-6A first flew Sept. 29, 1949; the larger capacity DC-6B, which could seat up 102 people, first flew Feb. 10, 1951. After the Korean War broke out in 1951, the military ordered DC-6As modified as either C-118A "Liftmaster" personnel carriers, as the Navy's R6D transports or as MC-118As for aeromedical evacuation. Between 1947 and 1959, Douglas built a total of 704 DC-6s, 167 of them military versions. By 1998, the DC-6 was still flying with smaller airlines around the world.

Additional information:

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/dc6_tec.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-6