The January - February Screenshot Finalists Have Been Announced! VOTE NOW!

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Here are January - February's Top Ten Finalists!
Please cast your vote on who you think deserves to win!!

The Winner Will Be Announced On
Monday, March 1st!!

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[center]Boeing E-3 Sentry by APPLEPIE



(Pictured is a USAF E-3C being refueled by a USAF KC-135R aerial refueling tanker)

[size=12][color=#3300cc][font=Comic Sans MS]The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft

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FAIREY SWORDFISH MK.1 by ARCHAMMER

History: When British naval intelligence determined that a large number of Italian warships lay at anchor in Taranto harbor in November 1940, an attack was organized, to be carried out by 21 single-engine carrier-based biplanes. The operation was a huge success -- three battleships were severely damaged, a cruiser and two destroyers were hit, and two other vessels were sunk. In the space of one hour the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean had been altered forever.

The unlikely cause of this destruction was one of the warplane legends of World War II, the Fairey Swordfish Mk.1, first flown on 17 April 1934. It was a three-man torpedo-bomber and reconnaissance biplane with a basic structure of fabric-covered metal. The wings folded for storage on the crowded deck of an aircraft carrier. Armament included one forward-firing Vickers machine gun and one swiveling Vickers in the rear cockpit. Primary offensive power took the form of depth charges, mines, bombs or, especially, a torpedo.

Unfortunately, this outstanding plane was too slow to withstand the punishment of German anti-aircraft fire. Long, accurate approaches to the target made the Swordfish very vulnerable when delivering its torpedo. Thus came re-deployment in an anti-submarine warfare role, using depth charges and, later, rockets.

As with many wartime aircraft, Swordfish were produced by more than one manufacturer. Well over half (almost 1700) were built by the Blackburn company in Sherburn in Elmet, UK.

The Mk II model was introduced in 1943, and featured strengthened and metal-skinned lower wings to allow the firing of rockets from underneath. Later that year, the Mk III appeared, which featured a large ASV anti-submarine radar unit mounted between the landing gear legs which allowed detection of submarines up to 40 km away. For operation over the cold waters of Canada, the Swordfish Mk IV was fitted with an enclosed cabin.

When production ended in 1944, the Swordfish had had been introduced into a full range of duties for the fleet: Torpedo-bomber, minelayer, convoy escort, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft and training craft. Today, four Swordfish are airworthy -- two in Britain and two in Canada.

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[center]CH-47 CHINOOK by CANTFLYWONTFLY




[size=12][color=#666666]
The Boeing-Vertol CH-47 Chinook is a versatile, twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary roles include troop movement, artillery emplacement and battlefield resupply.

It was designed and initially produced by Boeing Vertol in the early 1960s. The helicopter is now produced by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems and Chinooks have since been sold to 16 nations; the largest users are the U.S. Army and the Royal Air Force.

First Flight: 21st September, 1961
Crew: 3 (pilot, copilot, flight engineer)
Capacity: 33-55 troops or 28,000 lb (12,700 kg) cargo
Powerplant: 2

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[center]GRUMMAN F-14 TOMCAT by GTIROB01




[center][font=Comic Sans MS]The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing aircraft. The F-14 was the United States Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and tactical reconnaissance platform from 1974 to 2006. It later performed precision strike missions once it was integrated with the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night LANTIRN system. The F-14 was developed after the collapse of the F-111B project, and was the first of the American teen-series fighters which were designed incorporating the experience of air combat against MiGs during the Vietnam War.

he F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract, and reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1973. The United States Marine Corps was initially interested in the F-14 as an F-4 Phantom II replacement and went so far as to send pilots and radar intercept officers to Fighter Squadron One Twenty-Four (VF-124), the Pacific Fleet Replacement Squadron for the F-14, to train as instructors. The Marine Corps was never fully sold on the aircraft and pulled out when the stores management system for ground attack munitions was left undeveloped, leaving the aircraft incapable of dropping air-to-ground munitions. These were not developed until the 1990s.

The F-14 began replacing the F-4 Phantom II in USN service starting in September 1974 with squadrons VF-1 Wolfpack and VF-2 Bounty Hunters aboard USS Enterprise and participated in the American withdrawal from Saigon. The F-14 had its first kills on 19 August 1981 over the Gulf of Sidra in what is known as the Gulf of Sidra incident after two F-14s from VF-41 Black Aces were engaged by two Libyan Su-22 "Fitters". The F-14s evaded the short range heat seeking AA-2 "Atoll" missile and returned fire, downing both Libyan aircraft. U.S. Navy F-14s once again were pitted against Libyan aircraft on 4 January 1989, when two F-14s from VF-32 shot down two Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" over the Gulf of Sidra in a second Gulf of Sidra incident.

The F-14 inspired a number of pop cultural uses worldwide. In 1980, the time-travel film The Final Countdown featured the VF-41 "Black Aces" and VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" F-14 fighter squadrons aboard USS Nimitz. In 1986, the F-14 was the main aircraft in the film Top Gun, spawning a surge in U.S. Navy recruiting, as well as the Top Gun video game franchise. The 1995

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[center]TORNADO by ILKA




[size=12]The Panavia Tornado is a twin-engine combat aircraft, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy. The design and manufacturing started in the 1960's but first flew on 14 August, 1974.

The Tornado was designed as a low-level supersonic ground attack bomber which was capable of taking off and landing at short runways. It has served for many Air Forces around the world including;

German Air Force (Luftwaffe)
German Navy (Marineflieger)
Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare)
Royal Air Force
Royal Saudi Air Force

Its features include;
variable geometry wing sweep,
2

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DE HAVILLAND CHIPMUNK by MAGLAD




The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft which was the standard primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and several other air forces through much of the post-Second World War years. Designed to replace the venerable Tiger Moth, the de Havilland Chipmunk was the first true postwar aviation project of de Havilland Canada.

Today, over 500 DHC-1 Chipmunk (affectionately known as "Chippie") airframes remain airworthy with more being rebuilt every year.

Pictured above is a Chipmunk T Mk.10, one of 735 operated by the RAF. They initially served with Reserve Flying Squadrons (RFS) of the RAF Volunteer Reserve as well as the University Air Squadrons. RAF Chipmunks continued to perform Air Experience Flights for the Air Training Corps Cadets until it was replaced by the Scottish Aviation Bulldog in 1996. Chipmunk T.10s were also used by the Army Air Corps and Fleet Air Arm for primary training. As well as training 3 generations of pilots, the Chipmunk also has the distinction of being one of the more unusual 'spy planes' operated by the RAF, used for covert reconnaissance of Soviet Forces over Berlin during the Cold War.

A small number of Chipmunks remain in military service with the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Royal Navy and Army historic flights.

Modified for links!

Aircraft is the excellent De Havilland Chipmunk by Rick Piper, found here: http://www.simviation.com/fs2004props29.htm

Scenery is VFR Jesenicko here: http://www.mzak.cz/fs/jes/download.php?en

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BOEING B-29 SUPERFORTRESS by MECK

The B-29 is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber. Designed for the United States Military it had it's mayden flight at 21 September 1942 and took service on 8 May 1944. It served during World War II and the Korean War as one of the largest aircrafts at that time.
The name "Superfortress" was derived from that of its well-known predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress and can be seen as a ancestor to the b-47 Stratojet and the well known B-52 Stratofortress.
It's pressurized cabin, the electronic fire-control system, and remote-controlled machine-gun turrets made the B-29 a very advanced bomber for this time period.

The B-29 probably got it's well known and maybe dubious fame by being the primary aircraft in the American firebombing campaign against the Empire of Japan in the final months of World War II, carrying the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The B-29 took part at another milestone, as in 1947 it became the launcher for the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in controlled, level flight.

The B-29 retired on 21 June 1960.



Produced:      

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[center]V FORCE by MYNAMEISNEMO




This consisted of Three aircraft which comprised the Strategic Nuclear Strike force which was namelly made up of the Vickers Valiant, Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan in which the Valiant entered service in 1955, The Vulcan in 1956 and the Victor in April 1958.
The Valiant was removed from service as a nuclear bomber first; taking on roles as a tanker, low level attack and photo-reconnaissance. Fatigue problems meant they were removed from service completely by 1965. Victors were converted to replace the Valiant tankers. The Vulcan alone of the threesome, retained a nuclear delivery role until the end of their planned service life scheduled for 1982. The short extension as tankers until 1984 was an unexpected extension to meet operational emergencies.
In addition to the roles they were designed for, all three V-Bombers served as air-to-air refuelling tankers at one time or another; the Valiant was the RAF's first large scale tanker. As a means of replacing the loss of the Valiant, Victor B.1s were converted into the AAR role. When the Victor was withdrawn from service as a bomber, a number of B.2s were then converted into tankers. Finally, due to delays in the entry into service of the TriStar, six Vulcan B.2s were converted into tankers, and served from 1982 to 1984.

The Vickers Valiant
The Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the Royal Air Force's V bomber force.
The Valiant was originally developed for use as high-level strategic bomber. When the other V-bombers came into use it was also used as a tanker. However, when the RAF moved to low-level attacks, low-level flying in the Valiant caused premature fatiguing. Rather than repair or rebuild the fleet, it was grounded and the Handley Page Victor took over the tanker role.

The Handley Page Victor
Like the other V-bombers, the Victor was designed for high-altitude, high-speed penetration of Soviet airspace to deliver a free-fall nuclear weapon. It was intended to fly higher and faster than contemporary fighter aircraft.
Handley Page's design, the HP.80, was prepared in response to Air Ministry Specification B.35/46. To achieve the required performance, the HP.80 was given a crescent wing developed by Handley Page's aerodynamicist Dr. Gustav Lachmann and his deputy, Godfrey Lee. The sweep and chord of the wing decrease in three distinct steps from the root to the tip, to ensure a constant limiting Mach number across the entire wing and consequently a high cruise speed.[1] The crescent wing was tested on a [ch8531]-scale glider, the HP.87, and a modified Supermarine Attacker, the Handley Page HP.88. The HP.88 crashed after completing only a few flights and by the time the HP.87 was ready the HP.80 wing had changed such that the former was no longer representative. In the event, design of the HP.80 had sufficiently advanced that the loss of the HP.88 had little effect on the programme. The HP.80 also had an advanced construction, featuring a sandwich of two aluminium skins with a corrugated filling.
Production B.1 Victors were powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire ASSa.7 turbojets rated at 11,000 lbf (49 kN) and carried the Yellow Sun weapon. 24 were upgraded to B.1A standard by the addition of Red Steer tail-warning radar in an enlarged tailcone[3] and a suite of radar warning receivers and electronic countermeasures (ECM).
On 1 June 1956, a production Victor XA917 flown by test pilot Johnny Allam inadvertently exceeded the speed of sound after Allam let the nose drop slightly at a high-power setting. Allam noticed a cockpit indication of Mach 1.1 and ground observers from Watford to Banbury reported hearing a sonic boom. The Victor was the largest aircraft to have broken the "sound barrier" at that time.

The Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan is a delta wing subsonic jet bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. The Vulcan was part of the RAF's V bomber force, which fulfilled the role of nuclear deterrence against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was also used in a conventional bombing role during the Falklands conflict with Argentina.
General characteristics

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[center]LOCKHEAD VEGA by OLDERNDIRT


[color=#0000ff][size=12]August 16, 1935.

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[center]DE HAVILLAND DH-82 TIGER MOTH by WAFU448

[ApplePie]

Wow! What a great lineup this month! 8-)

[Flying Trucker]

Wow...I think you are all winners folks...great shots...

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

[Thud]

Wow, this is going to be a hard choice...
Seriously. 8-)

[a1]

Exciting entries this time around. A nice change with the history lesson.

Good luck to all.