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Air Superiority Series I Always First Series I Planes and Weapons Series I Ships and Boats Series I Airliner Series I Big Model Planes Series AFFORDABLE COLLECTIBLE, NOW AVAILABLE! Fairchild-Republic /Close Air Support (CAS)A-10A Warthog Thunderbolt II 104h FW (USAF Fighter Aircraft Model) ONLY FROM THIS STORE! "IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP FROM OUR CALIFORNIA WAREHOUSE" FREE Shipping!!! in Continental USA only BID NOW for this beautiful A-10 Thunderbolt II Mahogany wood model of the United States Air Force. Lovingly carved and detailed by hand by the same Master artist-craftsmen making models for America for more than 30 years, this model airplane is a true three-dimensional work of art! Our stock is limited, so don't just watch it - BID NOW! Scale : 1/54Wingspan (inches): 11.5" Approx.Length: 13" Approx. New Collectors series A-10 Thunderbolt II model airplane display FEATURES: Excellent, hand-carved and hand-detailed model 3-dimensional work of art by dedicated Master artist-craftsmen Painted panel lines and control surfaces in precise layout Comes with an elegant, hand-carved finish wood base Comprehensive history plate IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP DIRECT FROM OUR CALIFORNIA WAREHOUSE Perfect as personal office decor or home display, or as a special gift! Only available from this store! From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force to provide close air support (CAS) of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets, also providing a limited air interdiction role. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for close air support. The A-10's official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support. However, the A-10 is more commonly known by its nickname "Warthog" or simply "Hog".[3] As a secondary mission, it provides airborne forward air control, guiding other aircraft against ground targets. A-10s used primarily in this role are designated OA-10. Criticism that the U.S. Air Force did not take close air support seriously prompted a few service members to seek a specialized attack aircraft.[5] In the Vietnam War, large numbers of ground-attack aircraft were shot down by small arms, surface-to-air missiles, and low-level anti-aircraft gunfire, prompting the development of an aircraft better able to survive such weapons. In addition, the UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra helicopters of the day, which USAF commanders had said should handle close air support, were ill-suited for use against armor, carrying only anti-personnel machine guns and unguided rockets meant for soft targets. The F-4 Phantom was pressed into close air support, but usually in emergencies, as its high cruising speed and fuel consumption hindered its ability to loiter, and the lack of a gun on most F-4 variants coupled with the relative ineffectiveness of the standard 20mm Vulcan round against hard targets made strafing runs either ineffective or impossible. On 6 March 1967, the U.S. Air Force released a request for information to 21 companies. Their objective was to create a design study for a low-cost attack aircraft designated A-X, or "Attack Experimental". The officer in charge of the project was Col. Avery Kay.[5] In 1969, the Secretary of the Air Force asked Pierre Sprey to write the detailed specifications for the proposed A-X project. However, his initial involvement was kept secret due to Sprey's earlier controversial involvement in the F-X project.[5] Sprey's discussions with A-1 Skyraider pilots operating in Vietnam and analysis of the effectiveness of current aircraft used in the role indicated the ideal aircraft should have long loiter time, low-speed maneuverability, massive cannon firepower, and extreme survivability.[5]: an aircraft that had the best elements of the Ilyushin Il-2, Henschel Hs 129 and A-1 Skyraider. The specifications also demanded that the aircraft cost less than $3 million.[5] In May 1970, the USAF issued a modified, and much more detailed request for proposals, as the threat of Soviet armored forces and all-weather attack operations became more serious. Six companies submitted proposals to the USAF, with Northrop and Fairchild Republic selected to build prototypes: the YA-9A and YA-10A, respectively. The YA-10A first flew on 10 May 1972. After trials and a fly-off against the YA-9A, the Air Force selected Fairchild-Republic's YA-10A on 10 January 1973 for production. (There was an additional fly-off against the A-7D Corsair II, the Air Force attack aircraft at the time, to prove the need to purchase a new aircraft) The first production A-10 flew in October 1975, and deliveries to the Air Force commenced in March 1976, to units at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The first squadron to use the A-10 went operational in October 1977. In total, 715 airplanes were produced, the last in 1984.[6] One experimental two-seat A-10 Night Adverse Weather (N/AW) version was built by converting an A-10A.[7] The Night Adverse Weather (N/AW) aircraft was developed by Fairchild from the first Demonstration Testing and Evaluation (DT&E) A-10 for consideration by the USAF. It included a second seat for a weapons officer responsible for ECM, navigation, and target acquisition. The variant was canceled and the only two-seat A-10 built now sits at Edwards Air Force Base awaiting a spot in the Flight Test Historical Foundation museum.[8] The proposed two-seat A-10 trainer aircraft did not go into production, as it was felt that the A-10 was simple enough to fly that a trainer version would not be required. The decision to make the 30 mm GAU-8 gun the main anti-tank weapon of the A-10 was influenced by Vietnam A-1 pilots and by Hans-Ulrich Rudel and his book, "Stuka Pilot". In World War II, Rudel flew the Ju 87G Stuka and destroyed many tanks using its two underwing 37 mm guns. His book was required reading for members on the A-X project. The JU-87G was an outmoded airframe with ersatz anti-tank weapons attached, yet still inflicted impressive casualties on Soviet tank forces. A-10s were initially an unwelcome addition to the arsenal in the eyes of Air Force brass. The Air Force prized the high-flying, high-performance F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon air-superiority jets, and were determined to leave the dirty work of close air support to Army helicopters (the development of the AGM-114 Hellfire anti-armor missile and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter having since provided the Army with a viable anti-tank aircraft). Attempts to transfer the A-10 to the Army and the Marines were at first prevented by the 1948 Key West Agreement, and then by the A-10's impressive combat record during the Gulf War in 1991. Shortly after the war, the Air Force gave up on the idea of replacing the A-10 with a close air support version of the F-16. The A-10 has received many upgrades over the years. Aircraft were upgraded with inertial navigation and a Pave Penny laser sensor (marked target seeker) pod that allowed the pilot to detect laser energy for PID (Positive Identification) of an illuminated target. The Pave Penny is a passive seeker and cannot self-designate a target for a Laser Guided Bomb (LGB). Later, the Low-Altitude Safety and Targeting Enhancement (LASTE) upgrade provided computerized weapon-aiming equipment, an autopilot, and ground-collision warning system. The A-10 is now compatible with night-vision goggles for low-light operation. In 1999, aircraft began to receive Global Positioning System navigation systems. The A-10 is scheduled to stay in service with the USAF until 2028.[10] Beginning in 2005, the entire A-10 fleet is being upgraded to the "C" model that will include improved fire control system (FCS), electronic countermeasures (ECM), and the ability to carry smart bombs. The A-10 will be part of a service life extension program (SLEP) with many receiving new wings.[10] A contract to build 242 new A-10 wing sets was awarded to Boeing on 29 June 2007.[11] Modifications to provide precision weapons capability are well underway. Hill AFB has completed work on its 100th A-10 precision engagement upgrade in January 2008.[12] The C model upgrades are to be completed in 2011. The A-10 has superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude, thanks to straight, wide wings with downturned "droop" wing tips. These also allow short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from rugged, forward airfields near front lines. The aircraft can loiter for extended periods of time and operate under 1,000 feet (300 m) ceilings with 1.5-mile (2.4 km) visibility. It typically flies at a relatively slow speed of 300 knots (345 mph or 555 km/h), which makes it a much better candidate for the ground-attack role than fast fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small and slow-moving targets. Engine exhaust passes over the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer and between the twin tails, decreasing the A-10's infrared signature and lowering the likelihood that the aircraft can be targeted by heatseeking missiles. The placement of the engines partially shields them from anti-aircraft fire behind the wings and tail. The A-10 has integrally machined skin panels. Because the stringers are integral with the skin there are no join or seal problems. These panels, fabricated using computer controlled machining, reduce the man-hours and hence the cost of manufacture. The tests of war have shown that this type of panel is more battle-hardy. The skin is not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections can be easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary.[14] Most thin flat areas of the airframe are honeycomb panels. This is because thin honeycomb sandwich panels are less likely to deform in any direction than sheet metal panels even if part of the panel has been blown off or structurally compromised. Honeycomb panels of this type on the A-10 include the flap shrouds, the elevators, the rudders and other sections of the fins. The leading edge of the mainplane is honeycomb to provide strength with minimal weight compromise. The ailerons are at the far ends of the wings to gain greater rolling moment as with most aircraft but there are two distinguishing features. First, the ailerons are larger than is typical, almost 50% of the chord, providing improved control even at slow speeds. The aileron is also split, making it a deceleron. The Thunderbolt II can be serviced and operated from bases with limited facilities near battle areas. An unusual feature is that many of the aircraft's parts are interchangeable between the left and right sides, including the engines, main landing gear, and vertical stabilizers. The sturdy landing gear, low-pressure tires and large, straight wings allow operation from short rough strips even with a heavy ordnance load, allowing the aircraft to operate from damaged airbases. The aircraft is designed to be refueled, rearmed and serviced with minimal equipment. Operating from a forward area is both useful for close air support and necessary due to the A-10's relatively low cruise and top speeds. Because of the close proximity of the front landing gear and the A-10's main cannon, the landing gear is offset to the aircraft's right and cannon slightly to the left (see schematic below). The offset front landing gear causes the A-10 to have dissimilar turning radii. Turning to the right on the ground takes less space than turning left. The A-10 is exceptionally hardy. Its strong airframe can survive direct hits from armor-piercing and high-explosive projectiles up to 23 mm. The aircraft has triple redundancy in its flight systems, with mechanical systems to back up double-redundant hydraulic systems. This permits pilots to fly and land when hydraulic power or part of a wing is lost. Flight without hydraulic power uses the manual reversion flight control system; this engages automatically for pitch and yaw control, and under pilot control (manual reversion switch) for roll control. In manual reversion mode, the A-10 is sufficiently controllable under favorable conditions to return to base and land, though control forces are much higher than normal. The aircraft is designed to fly with one engine, one tail, one elevator and half a wing torn off.[16] Self-sealing fuel tanks are protected by fire-retardant foam. Additionally, the main landing gear is designed so that the wheels semi-protrude from their nacelles when the gear is retracted so as to make gear-up landings (belly landing) easier to control and less damaging to the aircraft's underside. They also are all hinged toward the rear of the aircraft, so if hydraulic power is lost the pilot can simply drop the gear and a combination of gravity and wind resistance will open and lock the gear in place. The cockpit and parts of the flight-control system are protected by 900 pounds (408 kg) of titanium armor, referred to as a "titanium bathtub". The tub has been tested to withstand multiple strikes from 20 mm cannon fire. The thickness of the titanium varies from ½ an inch to 1½ inches determined by a study of likely trajectories and deflection angles. This protection comes at a cost, though; the armor plating itself weighs almost 6% of the entire aircraft’s empty weight. To protect the pilot from the fragmentation likely to be created from impact of a shell any interior surface of the tub that is directly exposed to the pilot is covered by a multi-layer Kevlar spall shield. The canopy consists of a bullet-proof diffusion-bonded stretched-acrylic to withstand small arms fire and is resistant to spalling. The front windscreen offers shielding resistant to 20 mm cannon fire. Recent proof of the durability of the A-10 was shown when USAF Captain (now Major) Kim Campbell, flying a ground support mission over Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq suffered extensive flak damage to her A-10. The hit damaged one of the A-10's two engines and crippled its hydraulic system, forcing the back-up mechanical system to operate the aircraft's stabilizer and flight controls. Despite this, the pilot managed to fly it for an hour and landed it safely at the air base in manual reversion mode. There are several reasons for the unusual location of the A-10's General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofan engines. First, the A-10 was expected to fly from forward air bases, often with semi-prepared substandard runways that presented a high risk of foreign object damage to the engines. The height of the engines lowers the chance that sand or stones will enter the inlet. This also allows engines to remain running, allowing for shorter servicing and rearming turn-around times by ground crew. Servicing and rearming are further helped by having wings closer to the ground than would be possible if the engines were wing-mounted. The position also reduces the IR signature, which starts low anyway due to the engines' 6:1 bypass ratio. Because of their high position, the engines are angled upward nine degrees to bring the combined thrust line closer to the aerodynamic center of the aircraft. This avoids trimming measures to counteract a nose-down pitching moment if the engines were parallel to the fuselage. The heavy engines require strong supports, so their pylons are connected to the airframe by four bolts.[17] All four fuel tanks are near the center of the aircraft, reducing the likelihood that they will be hit or separated from the engines. The tanks are protected by several measures. The tanks are separate from the fuselage and so projectiles would need to penetrate the skin before reaching the tank. The refueling system is purged after use so that there is no fuel unprotected anywhere in the aircraft. All pipes self-seal if they are compromised. Most of the fuel system components are inside the tanks so that if a leak were to occur from the component the fuel would not be lost. If a tank does get damaged, check valves ensure that fuel does not flow into the compromised tank. Most importantly, reticulated polyurethane foam lines both the inner and outer sides of the fuel tanks, holding debris and restricting fuel spillage in the event of damage. The other source of possible combustion, the engines, are shielded from the fuel system and the rest of the airframe by firewalls and fire extinguishing equipment. The first unit to receive the A-10 Thunderbolt II was the 355th Tactical Training Wing, based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona in March 1976. The first unit to achieve full combat-readiness was the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina in 1978. Deployments of A-10As followed at bases both at home and abroad, including England AFB, Louisiana, Eielson AFB, Alaska, Osan Air Base, Korea, and RAF Bentwaters/RAF Woodbridge, England.[citation needed] The 81st TFW of RAF Bentwaters/RAF Woodbridge operated rotating detachments of A-10s at four bases in Germany known as Forward Operating Locations (FOLs): Leipheim, Sembach Air Base, Nörvenich, and Ahlhorn.[citation needed] The A-10 saw combat for the first time during the Gulf War in 1991, destroying more than 1,000 Iraqi tanks, 2,000 military vehicles, and 1,200 artillery pieces. A-10s shot down two Iraqi helicopters with the GAU-8 gun.[6] Seven A-10s were shot down during the war.[24] A-10s had a mission capable rate of 95.7%, flew 8,100 sorties, and launched 90% of the AGM-65 Maverick missiles fired in the conflict.[25] Part of the reason for this success were the burning oil wells that provided Iraqi tanks some cover from advanced electronics and high-flying fighters like the F-15 and F-16, where the trained eye, longer gun range and stable gun platform of the A-10 proved its worth.[citation needed] In the 1990s many A-10s were shifted to the forward air control (FAC) role and redesignated OA-10. In the FAC role the A-10 is typically equipped with up to six pods of 2.75 inch (70 mm) Hydra rockets, usually with smoke or white phosphorus warheads used for target marking. OA-10s remain fully combat capable despite the redesignation. A-10s again saw service in the 1999 Kosovo War, in the later stages of the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in March 2002 and in the 2003 Iraq war. In Afghanistan the A-10 is based at Bagram. On 30 April 2003, USCENTAF issued Operation Iraqi Freedom: By the Numbers, a declassified report about the aerial campaign in the conflict. Sixty A-10s were deployed in Iraq; one was shot down near Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi fire late in the campaign. Of the A-10s deployed, 47 were Air National Guard Aircraft, and 12 were from the Air Force Reserve. The A-10 had a mission capable rate of 85% in the war, and fired 311,597 rounds of 30 mm ammunition. The A-10 also flew 32 missions in which the aircraft dropped propaganda leaflets over Iraq. The A-10C first deployed to Iraq in the third quarter of 2007 with the 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The jets include the Precision Engagement Upgrade.[27] The A-10 is scheduled to stay in service with the USAF until 2028 and possibly later,[28] when it may be replaced by the F-35 Lightning II.[10] The entire A-10 fleet is currently undergoing upgrades. The A-10 could stay in service longer due to its low cost and its unique capabilities — such as its cannon, ruggedness and slow flying capabilities. For Question and Inquiries email us at sales@kukuding.com Powered by eBay Turbo ListerThe free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. master_modeler Store
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