RAF Eurofighter Cyclone FGR.2

[comrade harps]

Kind of like a Rafael underneath and something MiG-like from above. Nice. 

[dwomby]

Well built and very exotic looking.

David

[CammNut]

Thorvic - I worked in the Hawker Siddeley Aviation advanced projects office in Kingston for about a year, up to the middle of 1978, and they must a drawn up the P.1214 the minute I walked out the door! A few months later, in my new job, I went back to Kingston to interview my former bosses and, as I walked in, two of my former colleagues were carrying a wooden wind-tunnel model of the P.1216 down the stairs. "You're not supposed to see this," they said.

Until I read Michael Pryce's excellent book, I had no idea how far they took the P.1216 design. As I was a journalist covering the UK aircraft industry at the time, that retrospectively makes me feel a bit stupid!

Now I think back to my days in the projects office, I remember the large filing cabinet at the back in which they kept the original general-arrangement drawings of all the Hawker projects going back to the Tempest (and maybe earlier). And to think I wasn't interested in cancelled projects and whiffing back then!!! Opportunity squandered.

I am not sure how far they took the P.1214, but most of the projects I worked on (all ASTOVL), started on the back on an envelope and were then handed over to our draughtsman (so sorry I can't remember your name!), who applied his artistic talents to producing a general-arrangement drawing and inboard profile, along with a series of cross-sections. The designers needed these to estimate weight and balance, drag and performance.

Seldom did a concept progress any further, while I was there at least. P.1216 was obviously an exception. As had been P.1154, which went much further and reached a finalized design. One of my tasks while at Kingston was to retrospectively calculate the drag growth on the P.1154 as it matured from concept to prototype and acquired all the usual lumps, bumps, aerials, inlets and vents. Producing those reports was when I realized I enjoyed writing more than engineering!

So, round the houses there, but my point is that P.1214 was so conceptual, I can convince myself that any rendition is as "real" as any other.

[NARSES2]

Fascinating feel for the way things happened there CammNut, thanks

[Thorvic]

Interesting career CammNut, yeap the 1214-3 was a fag packet job, but from what I can gather from Mike it went a bit further as they did the model for Farnborough Air Show, where it was a bit of a red herring as the effort was really going into the 1216 project as you discovered. That's why it had a model done which apparently drew great interest from the Russian Visitors  .

I think the that projects cabinet may have gone to Brooklands and into the hands of the Hawker Association under Chris Farrar, so you might be able to arrange a visit to have a look through them 

[su27rules]

Very good, looks great!!

[darthspud2]

All 3 look superb, great work there.

[Tophe]

  Wonderful supersonic twin-boomer!
Thanks to Sharkit and to you modeller!

[CammNut]

Tophe, I thought of you as I made it, but couldn't bring myself to put both booms on one side of the aircraft...

[AXU]

Great job,looks awesome ! 

Tophe, I thought of you as I made it, but couldn't bring myself to put both booms on one side of the aircraft...

[Ed S]

Nicely done.