I found a card in one of the Boeing 747SP boxes that said, "Thank You FLIGHT MINIATURES." I thought I would give it a try and searched for www.flightminiatures.com (on the internet). I was pleasantly surprised when I found the Flight Miniatures website. I then emailed Flight Miniatures and got a fax from Genesis Worldwide Enterprises, to say they would supply me with models. 

The store logo.

Test Yourself . . .

For most people, Brazil brings to mind the Amazon River, rain forests, beautiful beaches, Carnival, football (soccer for us in the States) and naturally, Pelé. For the aviation enthusiast, say Brazil and think airplanes — Brazil is home to the fourth largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world, the Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A., also better known as Embraer.

Embraer was formed in 1969 by the Brazilian government, specifically to build aircraft developed by the Brazilian Aerospace Technical Center (Centro Técnico Aerospacial). By 1990 the company was in a deep financial crisis, causing the loss of more than 4,000 jobs. The company was privatized in 1994.

The restructured company was banking on their new 50-seat "small big jet" to fill the regional market niche and, to help produce the plane, they created risk-sharing partnerships with other companies and strategic relationships with suppliers. The EMB 145 made its maiden flight in August, 1995, and Continental Airlines took delivery of the first plane in December 1996.

In a dramatic turnaround, Embraer has since become one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world and Brazil's top exporter three years in a row. The company's success can be credited to their focusing on the specific market segments that showed high growth potential, in executive, commercial, as well as defense aviation.

The Embraer company headquarters and main production facilities are located in the city of São José dos Campos, Brazil. They have other production facilities in Brazil. They also operate maintenance and commercial sites in the U.S.A., and has commercial offices in France, Singapore and China. Additionally, they have licensed other manufacturers around the world to produce selected aircraft.

Today Embraer is perhaps best known for its regional jets, but over the years the company has produced many different types of aircraft from gliders to turboprops to fighter jets. The aircraft that started the company was the EMB 110 Bandeirante (the Bandit), a 12-seat twin-engine turboprop used for both military and commercial purposes. Other early aircraft they produced include the EMB 200 Ipanema, a single-seat crop duster and the EMB 326GB Xavante jet fighter, built for the Brazilian Air Force under license from Aermacchi, an Italian company that designed the plane. Also worth noting is the EMB 400 Urpema high performance glider, the only glider manufactured by Embraer.

The aircraft that was pivotal to Embraer, however, was the EMB 145. When the project was initiated in 1989, EMB 145 was to be a stretched and turbofan-powered modification of the EMB 120 Brasilia. By the time the design was finalized in 1991, it had rear-mounted engines and a T-tail configuration, and no resemblance to the initial design at all. The aircraft was a runaway success, and in 1998 Embraer's commercial jet line was renamed ERJ (Embraer Regional Jet).

There are two additions to the ERJ 145 family, the 35-seat ERJ 135 and the 44-seat ERJ 140. These are both shortened versions of the 145.

Know Your Aviation Trivia

   The world’s first scheduled airplane passenger service operated by an airline company – the Airboat Line – began at 10:00 A.M. on January 1, 1914, when Anthony Janus flew his first passenger from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida. The fare for the 22-mile over-water flight was $5, with a surcharge if the passenger weighed more than 200 lbs.

Also on January 1, 1914, the U.S. Weather Bureau began daily publication of a weather map of the Northern Hemisphere designed specifically as an aid to aviation.

 And on January 1, 1934, the airline Deutsche Luft Hansa changed its name to Lufthansa.

 First passenger services by a supersonic airliner began on January 21, 1976. Concorde supersonic transports from British Airways, bound for Bahrain, and Air France for Rio de Janeiro, took off simultaneously. Twenty-seven years later, on October 24, 2003, the Concorde made its final scheduled flight from New York to Heathrow Airport, London.

 On February 8, 1988, for the first time in aviation history, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) retired an aircraft registration number – that of Amelia Earhart’s airplane, which disappeared over the Pacific in July 1937.

Delta "Spirit of Delta" (69-97)
Airline Preservation Series
Boeing 767-200 1:200 scale
BO-76720H-020

This quarter we proudly feature a young man from Cary, North Carolina, who began his model collection as a three-year old toddler! 

Chris Carroll was bitten by the aviation bug after his first flight that he remembers, from Raleigh to Denver at the age of 3. Then his mother gave him a plastic snap-fit model she found at an airport gift shop — a US Air 767-200 — he loved it, and a budding collector was born!

Since that very first present, Chris, now a Ninth-grader, has amassed a collection of at least 150 models (as his mom says, “We haven’t done a recent count!”). Chris displays the models on a shelf in his bedroom and rotates them into storage and back out as he feels like it.

From a very young age, Chris learned all the unique design features of every aircraft type and could spot and identify them from far away.  He even knew the time schedule of some flights—for instance, if he saw an American 777-200 flying into Raleigh at a specific time, he knew that it was the flight from London.  Even now, at the airport, Chris loves to wander from gate to gate observing and photographing the various aircrafts and finding out where they are headed for.

As Chris got older and discovered the Internet, he has enjoyed finding all the great aviation and flight tracking sites.  His favorite aircraft type is the Boeing 777-200 because, he says, “They are a sharp looking aircraft—they are sleek, not too big and have a well thought-out design." One of his recent flying highlights was a trip to England and Scotland; his first trip overseas and his first flight on his favorite aircraft type, the 777-200! 

His favorite airline is American Airlines—he feels they are the best in the world and aspires to one day being a commercial pilot for American. Toward that end, he loves to hone his flying skills on his flight simulator software!  In addition to model collecting, he also enjoys running, playing the piano and alto sax, marching in his school band, and singing in his church choir— and still finds time to study diligently for his honors classes.

Each year, Chris researches the new models he wants to add to his collection, complete with all the details — description, item number, price — and the list gets whittled down throughout the year.

At Christmastime, however, he has to “work” particularly hard to get his models. That’s because his mom creates riddles and hangs the notes on the Christmas tree, and Chris has to solve the riddles that will point him to just where each gift is hidden!

Last year Chris accompanied his mother on a business trip to Phoenix, and they paid us a visit here at Flight Miniatures. He got to learn all about the airplane model-making process straight from the horse's mouth! Chris compliments us on the quality and variety of our models (“Terrific!!” he says) and mom thinks our personal service is “Stellar!!”

Looking to the future, the models Chris would like to see are the new United livery, the new US Airways, and the Southwest “Maryland."

Chris gets ready to go on his treasure hunt on Christmas morning. Each white envelop behind him holds a riddle he must solve in order to locate a present hidden somewhere in the house.
 

Before the era of Air Force One, the first presidential flight was taken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a commercial Boeing 314 Clipper Ship, to the Casablanca Conference in 1943.

Prompted by concerns for the safety of the president, who used walking aids or a wheel-chair most of the time, the U.S. Army Air Forces first tried converting a C-87A transport to accommodate the special needs of the Commander-in-Chief. Unsuccessful, the USAAF then arranged with Douglas Aircraft to construct a new transport aircraft specifically for presidential use.

The first presidential plane was a Douglas VC-54C named "Sacred Cow." Her first official assignment was in February 1945, flying the President to the historic Crimea Conference, in Yalta by the Baltic Sea, where he met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to discuss terms for the German surrender and the shape of post-war Europe. It was also the only time she carried President Roosevelt, who died in April of that year.

On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 while on board the Sacred Cow. The Act established the Air Force as an independent service equal to the Army and the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force began operating as a separate entity on Sep. 18, 1947. Hence the Sacred Cow is, rightly so, the "birthplace" of the U.S. Air Force.

The Sacred Cow is the only VC-54C ever constructed. It may look like any other C-54, but the Sacred Cow is unique. It had a C-54A fuselage and a C-54B wings, but beyond that, Douglas made extensive modifications inside and out.

The ailerons on the wings that control the roll of the aircraft, for example, are different from any B model. The passenger compartment includes a conference room with a large desk and a bulletproof picture window. An elevator behind the passenger cabin could lift the president in his wheelchair in and out of the plane.

The Sacred Cow was later assigned to other transport duties, and it was retired in October 1961. In 1983, the Sacred Cow was shipped by truck to the U.S. Air Force Museum.

The monumental task of restoring the aircraft began in August 1985, and it took 10 years and over 34,000 hours of work to complete. With the restoration completed, the Sacred Cow is now on exhibit at the USAF Museum in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

The Sacred Cow played a role in world events during a crucial time in history, and it is itself a part of American history.

As we watch yet another year go flying past, we wanted to see what you, our collectors, liked the most in 2005. We are pleased to present our list of the Top Ten Most Popular Aircraft Models for this past year, based on the number of models sold. We will also bring you the Top Ten List updated for each quarter in future issues of this Newsletter.

Okay, drum roll please … and the Top Ten are: