Stung By A Hornet

[Rafael]

ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, ANOTHER WORLD....

Bruce "Tomahawk" Thomas was a happy man. A Major in the Marine Corps, in extended TDY aboard the "Caribbean Wind", one of the first Sea Control Ships (SCS), and commander of a group of Hornet Stings which contained exchange officers from several Allied Nations, he was were he belonged - airborne.

After blasting off from the small carrier he called home, Tomahawk ascended rapidly to his assigned patrol altitude, and his wingmen were tucked closely to his "wings" in a well kept formation. "Wings", thought Bruce; if the Hornet Sting had anything it was wings. An Octagonal-Annular wing. And inside that annulus, and projecting aft, the most incredible Unducted-Fan engine, driving two four-blade gigantic propellers. The arrangement had always been a private joke among his troops and deck crews, because they called it "Unducted-Ducted-Fan".

His Hornet Sting could cruise comfortably at 0.98 Mach on that engine. And could be aloft forever, being it such an economical setup. Besides, he could air-refuel.

He also had an AESA radar, whose screen told him the whereabouts of his charges, a couple of MV-22s carrying a platoon of Marines and their equipment, sent to enforce a position besieged by the enemy. Fifteen minutes ago, the Marines ashore called for reinforcements, because they thought they heard helicopters.

They joined their escortees and proceeded towards the shore, flying high, while the Ospreys navigated nap-of-the-earth (or the sea, until landfall).

When the MV-22s circled to land, Bruce was alerted by his AEW controller and by his sensors at the same time of the presence of several blips. According to his readings, the bogeys were helicopters, indeed. Alerting the Ospreys to abort the drop and go to a secure location, Bruce ordered his formation to spread and intercept the newcomers.

In the distance, eight dark specks immediately assumed a combat formation. While he had a radar, he didn't carry radar missiles today, so it would be close-in fight, which was fine by him. Throttling up, they approached the formation and he could distinguish four Kamov KA-50 Gunships, escorting four Mi-17s. Big, bad wolves, herding big, bad whales. And whales with teeth, too.

What followed was a mini-furball, with Hornet Stings dancing around seeking a sweet shot at the enemy, which rapidly evolved into a knife-fight. Closing in progressively, the contestants maneuvered and tried to get their counterparts into the "no-escape" zone of their weapons. Shots and missiles were fired and Bruce and their men fought until they were in a turn-and-burn kind of combat. Their preferred kind of combat.

Bruce was pursuing one Ka-50, when another came from dead astern, almost in a collision course. Aborting the chase, and seeing a window of opportunity, Bruce performed his favorite maneuver, possible in this kind of airplane. He executed one of his famous "Bat-Turns", a "J-Turn" with an impossibly diminished radius, and immediately watched his pipper fall right on the evading Kamov. Switching to GUNS, he let go with his enhanced Vulcan cannon, and a stream of Armor-Piercing-Incendiary slugs lanced the prey.

Turning swiftly, he became aware of two Werewolves behind him. He commanded his wingman to follow him and perform another of his tricks. Pushing their noses up, and playing his throttle masterfully, his Hornet Sting stood upright, immobile in mid-air, causing the speeding pursuers to break hard to avoid a collision and forcing them to overshoot. Exiting his stance, he advanced his throttle and became the hunter again, this time, with a couple of Ka-50s in front of him. A quick chase took care of these of the gunships, while his other element called in the shooting-down of the remaining Kamov.

Seeing their fortune tilt against them, the armed transports did the wise thing, and sped away from the defenders, saving their lives and ships at least for today.

After that, Bruce radioed the Ospreys, and they landed as planned, discharging men and munitions, while the rest of the fleet approached to reinforce further this beach head.

*******************************

THE HORNET STING
An experimental concept, inspired in ancient designs like Heinkel's Lerche and Wespe, the Hornet Sting was a knockoff from the F/A-18 program.

A prominent annular wing, with weapons pylons, winglets and canards, characterized it. The Hornet Sting was equipped for air-to-air as air-to-ground combat. It had a very useful Super-STOL capability and an accessory, limited VTOL performance as a tail-sitter. It could only perform VTOL while supported by special on-board equipment, designed for that end.

The Hornet Sting was equipped with a powerful Unducted-Fan engine, driving big contra-rotating propellers and with enough thrust to drive it to the fringe of the supersonic realm.

A very maneuverable and agile aircraft, the Hornet Sting was very appreciated by their crews, and feared by its adversaries.

******************************************

I pulled an all-nighter again.

This little machine was made with the forward fuselage of a crashed F-18, a Chinese thing I had around collecting dust. I was searching my Images database when I found the Wespe, and a lightbulb went off immediately. The rest is scrap plastic card, and the cap of one superglue bottle.

I hope you like it, and enjoy it as much as I as Enjoyed building it.

Saludos,

Rafa

[Rafael]

More....

[Rafael]

And...

[PanzerWulff]

WAAAAAAY COOL B)  B)  B)  Rafa WAAAAAY COOL!!!! B)  B)  B)  

[Brian da Basher]

That's absolutely brilliant, Rafa! What an imaginative concept! I never cease to be amazed at how you manage to find a use for materials as diverse as the spout from a bottle  Loc-Tite! You're an inspiration!

Brian da Basher

[Maverick]

OMG Rafa!!

I've always thought the annular wing ships were just too cool for school, but never imagined something modern like it.  Seriously good work, but I guess, what we've come to expect too  

Saludos

Mav

[ysi_maniac]

Yeah,
Absolutely BRILLIANT
         

[Jschmus]

Looks almost like a modern-day Heinkel Wespe.

Luft 46 - Wespe

Very cool!!

[Rafael]

Hey, Thanks!!!

Well, the works, as usual:

Found the "suitable" donor and the rear part, the loctite bottle cap:


For the octagonal/annular wing, I devised a simple jig in PowerPoint:


Taking shape, with engine and props mounted:


Then installed the annular wing and supports/struts


Almost there, with canards and "spatted" landing gear made of balsa wood


Ready for paint, with VTOL stilts made of toothpicks (unused)


And ta-daaa!


Rafa

[John Howling Mouse]

Boy, do I feel outsmarted....and in one night?

This is insanely good/cool/everything they said up there.

One question: how does it land?

JHM
President,
Rafa Modelling Fan Club (Canadian Chapter)

[Rafael]

Obi-Baz:

Glued to the bottom of the ring are two pieces that (I hope) contain a couple of small wheels for conventional take off an landing. Of course, the front wheel strut is a very leghtened one. It does not need to be heavily reinforced for cat shots because the aircraft performs ESTOL (Extremely sort take of and Landing) without the aid of a cat-a-pult.

The VTOL, accessory mode is achieved in tail-sitting posture, as the four rear stings should suggest, but being a cumbersome and impractical mode, it is only achieved by the use of some (?) shipborne equipment.

Keep the Canadian Chapter open!. I ran out of Chapters elsewhere!!!

Thanks
Rafa