Fitting Jet Engines To Single Engine Props...

[Weaver]

I've had this crazy notion kicking around in the back of my head for a while to make a Jet-engined Fairey Gannet. Not because it'd make the plane better or any 'real world' justification like that, but because I reckon a Jet-engined gannet with swept wings would look like the world's fattest early MiG fighter...

It'll happen eventually, most likely as some sort of Soviet space fighter...

With a radome in place of the spinner, it could be a cumbersome early jet nightfighter, like those staggered twin-engined Sukhois and Lavochkins that look like dead sharks......

[Mossie]

I think if you scalorama'd a 1/72 aircraft into 1/48 you'd have a kind of British version of the Tunnan.  Or just go with the scale & have a heavy fighter!

[TsrJoe]

for a HYPOTHETICAL 'jet Gannet' id guess the best bet would be to look at the projected 'jet Wyvern developments, both nose and taildragger schemes were proposed, the design being distinctive in having an intake oriface (similar to that of a Meteor!) in place of its contraprop!

such a Gannet thus modified id guess would possiblty require only the addition of a extended nose area incorporating its intake (possibly a spare from any suitable kit or even a piece of plastic piping or conduit!)

happy modelling, cheers, Joe 

[Weaver]

Avon in the bomb bay? 

[Joe C-P]

How about small twin-engine bombers and attack aircraft like the B-25 and A-26.
Heck, why not the B-24 and B-29?

[gunfighter]

Why not a lightning with the jets in the same place as the piston engines, and the exhaust going trough the booms and exiting at their end, so it will keep the same look but without the propelers.

[Hobbes]

You could also use pulsejets. Now, the items on the V-1 didn't have too much thrust so you'd need quite a few of them. Maybe in bundles of 7 pulsejets under the wings, or a ring of pulsejets around the fuselage...

[Weaver]

Did some quick mockuping tonight, re the jet Gannet:

(all of these use a Frog Gannet for comparison)

1. Delta Wings.

It occured to me that, given the shape of the tail and the general chunkiness of it, a pair of big, thick Javelin-style deltas might go well on the Gannet. Airfix Javelin outer panels look in-keeping, but are probably a bit too small. However, there's a second "natural" cut line on the Javelin wing, just inboard of the cannons and outboard of the u/c bay and airbrakes: add that slice to the outers and they're about right.

I also tried A-4 wings, but they're much too small: 1/48th ones might be interesting though......


2. Swept Wings.

The wings from the RoG/Matchbox Mystere IV look just right, and have the same surface detail "feel" as the Frog Gannet.


3. Radome.

The NF.11 radome from the Matchbox/Xtrakit Meteor night fighter kit is a good fit onto the spinner base, and turned upside down, the aerial bracket fairing looks suitably quirky. If you're building/have built the NF.14, this part is spare anyway, of course...


5. Canopies.

Fitting a more fighter-like canopy to the Gannet is difficult, because the spine behind the 2nd seat is a triangular-section "razorback" style, more remeniscient of WWII than the jet age. Not many jet canopies will fit it. I can see two options: a) cut down the rear decking to fit a bubble canopy, or b) smooth out the original canopies by replacing the angular "in-between" bit with a larger, simpler "cloch".

[kitnut617]

How about small twin-engine bombers and attack aircraft like the B-25 and A-26.

Been done, XB-43 

[famvburg]

      One of Boeing's early B-47 designs looked like a B-29 with a pointed nose, tandem canopy & piston engines/nacelles replaced with B-45 type engines. I've got a drawing 'somewhere'....... Definitely a jet powered B-29 for all intents.

How about small twin-engine bombers and attack aircraft like the B-25 and A-26.
Heck, why not the B-24 and B-29?

[kitnut617]

Not a piston-to-jet engine conversion, but I've just finished reading a book called Turbojet - History and Development 1930-1960 Vol.1 which covers British and German jet engine developments.  It says that both the Me.262 and Meteor Mk.I & III were hampered speed wise mainly by their nacelle designs,  it suggests that the ultimate jet at that time would have been the Me.262 airframe with the later Meteor Mk.IV engines/nacelles.  I'm thinking of doing a conversion along these lines.

[ysi_maniac]

^^^^^^^ 

[elmayerle]

Why not a lightning with the jets in the same place as the piston engines, and the exhaust going trough the booms and exiting at their end, so it will keep the same look but without the propelers.

Well, the most obvious problem would be thrust losses with the long tailpipe as well as back pressure problems in starting (the Swearingen Merlin III/IV - Metro need some very careful start procedures to deal with the back pressure in their long tailpipes).

[jcf]

Cross posted from the 109 thread; 109 TL from Flug-Revue June 1961.