NASA uses two modified Boeing 747 jetliners as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). One is a 747-100 model (ex- American Airlines, now NASA 905), while the other is a short range 747-100SR (ex-Japan Airlines, now NASA 911). The SCA’s are used to ferry Space Shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to the Kennedy Space Center launch complex in Florida and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation. 

Features which distinguish the SCA’s from standard 747 jetliners are: 

• *Three struts protrude from the top of the fuselage on which the orbiter is attached.

• *Two additional vertical stabilizers, one on each end of the standard horizontal stabilizer, to enhance directional stability. 

• *Removal of all interieur furnishing and equipment aft of the forward cabin doors.  Nearly 2 tons of pig iron up-front in the former first class section of the aircraft and 3,5 ton of pea gravel in the cargo keep the aircrafts center of gravity forward when a heavy Shuttle is mounted on top. 

This venerable Revell 1:144 kit (1982) is no longer available in the model shops. It represents the NASA 905 in its original color scheme. I built it right out of the box. Although not a bad kit, is has not a lot of detail and there was much filling work to do. Once finished though, the overall look was all right.

Eduard