The young, the old, men and women, boys and girls, all love to collect. We have a passion for collecting just about anything. Collecting anything can become a very entertaining hobby and sometimes it can become a lucrative investment. One of the most popular collections to have today is diecast models.
These little “toys” can bring in a lot of money and the popularity of collecting diecast models continues to grow. You can’t visit anyplace without seeing these models on display and being sold everywhere you go and travel. The diecast model has become the subject for many articles, publications, and even talk shows.
They are being sold and traded everyday at auctions, hobby stores, gift shops, garage sales, and the internet. One of the most popular collection pieces that you can buy, sell, and trade is the airplane. The airplane has long been a fascination for all of us. What is better than to collect the many diecast models of airplanes that are available on the market.
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Recently at the famous Oshkosh Wisconsin air show the experimental aircraft Association noted that many young pilots have Not been joining the Eagles Program like they had in previous years in record numbers. This is rather unfortunate and it means that kids are not interested in learning to fly. But if they are not interested in learning to fly where will we get our next generation of pilots and astronauts?
One thing parents can do to interest their children in flying is to get them started with the matchbox sky busters collection series. These are small diecast metal aircraft similar to matchbox cars but a little bigger and they have all different types.
You can get a FedEx plane, a jet fighter plane and they have airliners and helicopters. In this series there is also a Space Shuttle, racing plane, pontoon plane, private jets and general aviation aircraft. There are aircraft with swept wings, bi-planes, canards, high wings and low wings.
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David Carl Allison began working for his dad Bobby’s Winston Cup team after he graduated from high school. After hours, Davey and his friends, affectionately known as “the peach fuzz gang” worked on a Chevy Nova that he built. His enthusiasm and devotion to the sport began to grow and he started his career in racing at Birmingham International Raceway in 1979.
Emulating his father’s proud and fiercely competitive drive, he finished fifth in his very first event and went on to take his first win that same year in only his sixth start. In 1984, Davey earned the ARCA Rookie of the Year award and placed 2nd in the series title. He began competing in some of NASCAR’s lower divisions in 1985, and soon, car owner Hoss Ellington gave him his first opportunity to drive a Winston Cup car at the Talledega 500, his home track. He took 10th place and Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors.
Two years later in 1987, Davey Allison won his first NASCAR Winston Cup race at the same track. Also in 1987, Davey became the first rookie to qualify on the front row for the Daytona 500. The very next year he took 2nd place behind his dad Bobby at the Great American Race. Both Bobby and Davey would consider this celebration in victory lane at Daytona the greatest moment of their lives.
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To the non-fan, NASCAR stands for “Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks”….it’s real meaning is “National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing”. To corporate America it stands for “Big Business”
NASCAR and their premier division “Nextel Cup” is the second most watched sport in America, only the NFL tops it for attendance and television audiences. On any given weekend during the season, more race fans pack race tracks to capacity, than any major sporting event… All-star Game, Superbowl, or PGA Golf Tournament. The website ‘NASCAR.com’ gets over ONE BILLION hits a year
The Nextel Cup features 26 weekly races, plus a 10 race playoff type schedule. It’s the only sport that has what’s called “It’s Superbowl” as the first race of the season. The Daytona 500 is viewed by over 30 million, over 180 thousand pack the grandstands and infield each year for that event.
This sport that many assume their fans to be white, male, and southern. Well, that assumption is just plain wrong. NASCAR’s fan base is made up by 40% woman, in fact, NASCAR has more women watching, than the NFL or Major League Baseball. The minority fan base increases each week, making up about 10% at this point. The average income of a NASCAR Nextel Cup fan is 83,000 a year.
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About Ka-50 combat helicopter:
In developing the advanced Ka-50 combat helicopter in 1977 at the time the fleet of the Soviet Army’s combat helicopters was made up of Mi- 24s. In terms of performance they could not challenge the new American AH- 64 “Apache” fire support helicopter, which was at that time being developed. Several helicopter configurations and were studied, as “Kamov” designers tried to create a new superior combat machine. The experience in Vietnam and in Afghanistan had disclosed the low survivability of the classic single-rotor helicopter due to its vulnerable tail rotor and extended rotor drive.
The advantages of an aerodynamically symmetrical coaxial main rotor came to the fore. Such a rotor assures easier helicopter control both in the manual and, more importantly, automatic mode, excellent manoeuvrability, take-off and landing in windy weather. Furthermore, the coaxial rotor considerably improves helicopter survivability, makes the rotor drive more compact and substantially reduces engine power losses. Today, Ka-50 is the world’s best helicopter in terms of efficient use of engine power.
Many of us with no doubt can recall one of Russia’s MiG-29 and its world famous stunt aerobatics nicknamed “the bell”, or Su-27′s “Pugachov cobra”, which shock both experts and spectators. Ka- 50 also has its own aerobatic our de force: no other machine can execute the so-called “funnel” as perfectly as Ka-50. In actual fact, the “funnel” is an element of aerobatics, ensuring concentration of helicopter fire on pinpoint targets. Moreover, continuous displacement of the helicopter in the “funnel” in azimuth and elevation makes enemy timing extremely difficult. The Ka-50 can sideslip at 80 km/h or move backwards at 90 km/h. It only takes a few seconds to reverse flight direction. Ka-50 is the only craft in the world which can hover motionlessly for twelve hours in succession! The priorities of the “Kamov” company extend far beyond its unsurpassed experience in the theory and practice of building coaxial rotor helicopters. In 1965, the company started issuing fibre glass rotor blades in their helicopters ten years before the rest of the world. Similar fourth- generation blades are now being installed in Ka-50. One of the Ka- 50′s rotor blades sustained 30 holes caused by automatic gunfire to test the helicopter’s survivability. The craft continued flying for 80 accident- free hours.
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