After much consideration and many blanks drawn I finally came up with an idea for this one. 

Ordered this little beastie today and will start sourcing an appropriate kit to donate a pair of Allison/Rolls AE2100 turboprops. 



Early days yet with lots of room for change but plan at the moment is a gunship conversion.

Oh it's big with guns   

Depends on your definition of big.

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 03:20:23 PMDepends on your definition of big.

My definition of big is anything bigger than a single engined plane which carries cargo or passengers and gets converted to carry guns bigger than 7.62mm .
Armed with M3 or GAU-19 .50s is quite a nice upgrade in the firepower department.
20 or 25mm is even better..not as much ammo needed but much higher destructive results 

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 04:11:43 PM

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 03:20:23 PMDepends on your definition of big.

My definition of big is anything bigger than a single engined plane which carries cargo or passengers and gets converted to carry guns bigger than 7.62mm .
Armed with M3 or GAU-19 .50s is quite a nice upgrade in the firepower department.
20 or 25mm is even better..not as much ammo needed but much higher destructive results 

You forgot 40mm & 105mm.

Quote from: Old Wombat on June 21, 2023, 05:41:20 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 04:11:43 PM

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 03:20:23 PMDepends on your definition of big.

My definition of big is anything bigger than a single engined plane which carries cargo or passengers and gets converted to carry guns bigger than 7.62mm .
Armed with M3 or GAU-19 .50s is quite a nice upgrade in the firepower department.
20 or 25mm is even better..not as much ammo needed but much higher destructive results 

You forgot 40mm & 105mm.

Ohhhh no I didn't my good Sir   
I didn't mention those cause their to big for a DC-3...butttt if ya mounted the 105 or twin 40mm's in a pod under the plane then matey we on to something there  🤪

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 05:47:40 PM

Quote from: Old Wombat on June 21, 2023, 05:41:20 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 04:11:43 PM

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 03:20:23 PMDepends on your definition of big.

My definition of big is anything bigger than a single engined plane which carries cargo or passengers and gets converted to carry guns bigger than 7.62mm .
Armed with M3 or GAU-19 .50s is quite a nice upgrade in the firepower department.
20 or 25mm is even better..not as much ammo needed but much higher destructive results 

You forgot 40mm & 105mm.

Ohhhh no I didn't my good Sir   
I didn't mention those cause their to big for a DC-3...butttt if ya mounted the 105 or twin 40mm's in a pod under the plane then matey we on to something there  🤪

That would make the aircraft fly backwards every time you fired those heavy guns due to the recoil.

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 09:28:54 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 05:47:40 PM

Quote from: Old Wombat on June 21, 2023, 05:41:20 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 04:11:43 PM

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 03:20:23 PMDepends on your definition of big.

My definition of big is anything bigger than a single engined plane which carries cargo or passengers and gets converted to carry guns bigger than 7.62mm .
Armed with M3 or GAU-19 .50s is quite a nice upgrade in the firepower department.
20 or 25mm is even better..not as much ammo needed but much higher destructive results 

You forgot 40mm & 105mm.

Ohhhh no I didn't my good Sir   
I didn't mention those cause their to big for a DC-3...butttt if ya mounted the 105 or twin 40mm's in a pod under the plane then matey we on to something there  🤪

That would make the aircraft fly backwards every time you fired those heavy guns due to the recoil.

Not a chance Mac...that plane is more than big enough to handle a 105mm gun..hell they fire the things out the side of a AC-130 gunship and a important thing to note is the type of gun used..they dont use the heavy old M101 from WW2..they use the M-102 airborne version..a much lighter gun.

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 09:28:54 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 05:47:40 PM

Quote from: Old Wombat on June 21, 2023, 05:41:20 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on June 21, 2023, 04:11:43 PM

Quote from: McColm on June 21, 2023, 03:20:23 PMDepends on your definition of big.

My definition of big is anything bigger than a single engined plane which carries cargo or passengers and gets converted to carry guns bigger than 7.62mm .
Armed with M3 or GAU-19 .50s is quite a nice upgrade in the firepower department.
20 or 25mm is even better..not as much ammo needed but much higher destructive results 

You forgot 40mm & 105mm.

Ohhhh no I didn't my good Sir   
I didn't mention those cause their to big for a DC-3...butttt if ya mounted the 105 or twin 40mm's in a pod under the plane then matey we on to something there  🤪

That would make the aircraft fly backwards every time you fired those heavy guns due to the recoil.

They also don't fire forwards out of a cargo gunship. 

For this build I am thinking a pair of 40mm, a 30mm and a 20 or 25mm rotary cannon. 

I like your ideas ..I'd go with twin 40mm's ...a 30mm chain gun for sniper work and a 25mm rotary cannon or cannons for area suppression.

Kit arrived today.  Looks pretty simple and should go together quickly.  Now to source the engines...

Quote from: AeroplaneDriver on July 06, 2023, 11:51:20 AMKit arrived today.  Looks pretty simple and should go together quickly.  Now to source the engines...

TU-95 Bear sort of engines Nick ?

Quote from: Wardukw on July 06, 2023, 12:04:29 PM

Quote from: AeroplaneDriver on July 06, 2023, 11:51:20 AMKit arrived today.  Looks pretty simple and should go together quickly.  Now to source the engines...

TU-95 Bear sort of engines Nick ?

I thought about that but want to keep it looking "Western".  Thinking a pair of Allisons from a C-130 but with counter-rotating props.  The thermodynamic limit of the AE2100 series is somewhere around 10,000hp (a version was proposed for the A400), which would be more than enough for a 146.  Might need a bigger rudder though. 

Quote from: AeroplaneDriver on July 06, 2023, 12:22:27 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on July 06, 2023, 12:04:29 PM

Quote from: AeroplaneDriver on July 06, 2023, 11:51:20 AMKit arrived today.  Looks pretty simple and should go together quickly.  Now to source the engines...

TU-95 Bear sort of engines Nick ?

I thought about that but want to keep it looking "Western".  Thinking a pair of Allisons from a C-130 but with counter-rotating props.  The thermodynamic limit of the AE2100 series is somewhere around 10,000hp (a version was proposed for the A400), which would be more than enough for a 146.  Might need a bigger rudder though. 

Yeah I think 20.000 hp should be enough 
I like the idea of the C-130 engines..the Tu-95s always looked to round and boring for my liking..even though it's props could prove rather useful 👍

The C-130J engines should look really cool. Is that the same engines as the rebuilt Navy E-2s? They have the nice five bladed props.
Don't forget, the 105mm gun on the AC-130s was causing airframe stress. IIRC it started to show cracks. That's why there isn't one on the new AC-130Js.