Israeli Aircraft Industries Lavi Whiffs

[Sauragnmon]

Thinking of getting a Lavi as a Self-Christmas Present, and the comparison to the F-16 had me thinking about taking it and doing a two-holer in service in the ground attack camo, and then getting some of the upgrades like a Peace Marble spine to add to it - anybody happen to know if the Peace Marble would fit?  I know CFT's wouldn't be a viable choice, or at the least would be an awkward fit on the Lavi, unless there's ideas there for how to make them interface just fine with the canards.  The look of a Lavi Sufa seems to tickle my mind in truth, or at the least, a Barak Lavi in the long stretch.  If possible, I might look into a F-16 two-hole pit in resin, and a resin F-100 or F-110 to replace the engine in theory.  Give it a real Modernized look I think.

Thoughts?

[GTX]

I like your thinking.

Re the conformal fuel tanks, you could go with something similar to those proposed for the Typhoon:




Re the Peace Marble spine, I'm not sure if the F-16 one will actually fit (Cutting Edge Modelworks do a Resin conversion you could try) but I'm sure you could do something akin to this if not the exact one - I can probably supply some photos if you want details to work with.

Regards,

Greg

[Sauragnmon]

Greg,

Thanks for the shots - I didn't know the Tiffie had plans for CFT's, but that's Definately a good source for ideas, since they both have sleek curves and low wings with canards in layout.  I could probably sand a pair of drop tank halves to fit the contours and go about it that way.  I'm not sure what kind of issues I'm looking at with regards to Peace Marble - the concept appeals to me in the long run though, and I kind of like the look of the birds with the spine on them.  It's kind of a loose-form dream right now.

[Shasper]

CFTs don't have to be the same style as the ones seen on the F-15 & F-16, ditto the spine. The Peace marble style would look exceptional on the 2-seater Lavi

[Sauragnmon]

Yeah, Tiffie style CFT's would seem to go well on the thought, and the Peace Marble on the Two Seater is what I was thinking - something Barak-esque with a Lavi in service markings and the like...

[GTX]

Here you go - a rough Lavi with CFTs.  Would need to reposition the airbrakes though:



Regards,

Greg

[rickshaw]

Wouldn't it be easier to lengthen the fuselage, add a couple of bays and fill them with fuel, than relocate the dive-brakes?

[GTX]

Wouldn't it be easier to lengthen the fuselage, add a couple of bays and fill them with fuel, than relocate the dive-brakes?

I doubt it - major CoG changes, aerodynamics, structure...

Regards,

Greg

[MAD]

Due to Israel's wiliness to assist some foreign military forces around the world for $ and political recognition, I could potentially see a Taiwanese (before Israel sold them out to the $$$$ of the PRC), South African, Argentinian (Skyhawk and Mirage replacement), Singaporean (Skyhawk replacement) and a possible Indian (under its need for a LCA), if the Lavi had of entered production and Israeli Air Force service.

M.A.D

[dy031101]

Due to Israel's wiliness to assist some foreign military forces around the world for $ and political recognition, I could potentially see a Taiwanese (before Israel sold them out to the $$$$ of the PRC)......

I was once again brought to this question- an alternative engine.

In keeping with the ROC scenario that I quoted above, the US only approved the J79 turbojet for export to Taiwan in 1982.  The US clearly wasn't prepared to allow a competitor of F-16 to become export-ready if they could do anything about it- they cut their portion of the funding, but, if Israel found another funding partner, could the US still have complicated Israeli acquisition of the PW1120 (and, should the ROC indeed have become that partner, even the J79)?

Would Israel and the ROC have been able to obtain an equivalent European engine (in fact I don't know if AIDC tried European engine manufacturers for the real-life project that ended up with the F-CK-1)?

[pyro-manic]

Spey? Similar power output to the PW1120, lots produced, very reliable. It's a bit bigger and heavier, but not enormously so. Or the SNECMA M53 is another possibility?

[dy031101]

I've kinda liked the Spey route......

But thinking over it again, maybe some sort of safeguard against PRC wreaking political (or even literal, in case of Hong Kong) havocs on the UK should still be made in this scenario?

Would another Israeli Spy Saga stunt have worked?  

(Already imagining a Lavi with an engine nozzle similar to those of the F-4K/M Phantom......  )

[Shasper]

If the M53 was used, I wonder how that would work out? The French haven't done a whole lot with the Israelis since the '60s. . .