F-85 Goblin

[Archibald]

Skyhook F-85 for small carriers !

A380 loaded with F-85 (on the fuselage, underwings...)

Space F-85 (with a big booster and a heat shield... space fighter ?)

Delta wing F-85

FSW F-85

Rocket powered F-85 (with a nose radome instead of the frontal intake).

F-85 carried by heavy fighters (F-111, F-14, F-15... on their back of course!)

Soviet F-85 (Yak-85 Goblev sounds cools! )

VTOL F-85 (with some small turbojets on the wingtips)

[Archibald]

Mistel F-85 (on top of  F-80 / F-84 / F-86 loaded with explosives).    

[ChuckAnderson]

Hi!

How about.....

(1) An updated, stealthy version
(2) An Aerial Demonstration Version (Thunderbrids, Blue Angels, etc.)


Chuck

[Hatchet]

Hi!

How about.....

(1) An updated, stealthy version
(2) An Aerial Demonstration Version (Thunderbrids, Blue Angels, etc.)


Chuck

(2) makes me think of a B-36 in T-bird colors

[Maverick]

Chuck,

U know, that stealthy idea has merit, let's b honest, FBW, inherently unstable airframe, microjet required powerplant, these are all options that nowadays are quite the norm and would suit the little beasty quite well.

I can imagine a stealthed up Gobby sitting astride a B-2 for some pre-strike recon perhaps??

That I like werry werry much!!

Mav

[Mossie]

Hi!

How about.....

(1) An updated, stealthy version
(2) An Aerial Demonstration Version (Thunderbrids, Blue Angels, etc.)


Chuck

Thunderbirds for me means International Rescue!  Can't think of anything right now, but that weird shape would lend itself to something Gerry Anderson-ish.  I'll have to think about that one, hmmm. :Scratches Head:

Probably one of the stange little vehicles carried in T-2, not sure how it'd fit in though, I'll mull it over!  

[PanzerWulff]

Put a pair of Tomahawk engines and a autopilot with GPS INS in the bugger and PACK the lil bugger with as much ECM,ECCM electronics as possible and launch them from a mother craft during a air strike the one mother could carry the equivelent of a formation of EF-111 or Prowlers Maybe even carry a pair of ARM's

[elmayerle]

Chuck,

U know, that stealthy idea has merit, let's b honest, FBW, inherently unstable airframe, microjet required powerplant, these are all options that nowadays are quite the norm and would suit the little beasty quite well.

I can imagine a stealthed up Gobby sitting astride a B-2 for some pre-strike recon perhaps??

That I like werry werry much!!

Mav

Heck, I reckon you could fit one inside each "cargo bay" (hey, that's what the drawings call it) of the B-2.  That could make for an interesting "scouting" force or post-strike BDA operation using "stealthed" F-85s..

[dragon]

Kind of reminds me of the old Monogram "Flap Jack". B)  

[Archibald]

I've got an idea... we agree on the fact that external carrying of the F-85 induce drag. So, we need a big bay to cary those fighters internally...

I think about a giant, subsonic  flying-wing with podded engines (four GE-90s would be ideal).  If the engines are located  in underwing pods, you don't need air intakes nor exhaust on the flying wing, so there's more internal space.

A large bomb bay (20 m wide * 20 m long) in the middle of this flying wing would allow it to carry a dozen of parasite fighters internally.

What do you think about that ?

[Maverick]

Evan & Archie are moving along a very nice line.  Maybe Boeings Blended Wing Bomber might be just the ticket, weren't they talking about an airliner of a similar type, cargo space galore?

I knew the Goblins were tiny, but inside a B-2's 'cargo bay'... no doubt replacing the 'package' and all those other euphamisms they like to banter around when babbling about nukes.  She must be a small bird!!

Nifty in flight dio tho!!

Mav

[Archibald]

Voila! My aircraft would be roughly similar to a B-2, with two main differences
- no stealth (more B-49 like)
- podded engines (to have maximum internal space in flying wing).

If the bay is wide enough, there's no need for a F-85, maybe "conventional" fighters could be carried...

Wow, an incredible idea has just popped in my head (damned caffein!)  

We all know that main drawback of the FICON concept was recovery of the aircraft (it was also main drawback of the Akron / Sparrowhawk concept in 1930).

Dropping the aircraft is easy, recovering it is difficult...

So, why not combining FICON with inflight refueling ? I mean, a big subsonic aircraft carry a parasite fighter were needed. Then , it drop it (like a cruise missile or a FICON F-84). The fighter made its mission, then come back to its mothership.

BUT

instead of atempting a (dangerous) recovery with a hook, the mothership just refuel the fighter on its way back.

The mothership is the giant flying wing already described, with a internal weapon bay big enough to carry a fighter, and an inflight refueling system (fuel tanks, probe, and the like).

I'm sure that a combination of GE-90 engines (max power) and flying wing (optimal subsonic form) can carry internally the whole thing (fighter+ flight refueling system).

 

[Maverick]

Archie,

You're heading towards the killer of the FICON concept, ie IFR.  If the little bird can take on fuel, you just fly along with the mothership as opposed to in it all the way, tanking if you need 2.

Mav

[Mossie]

Ah, sounds like the Blackstar & brilliant Buzzard rumours that have been doing the rounds!  A XB-70 Valkyrie derivative that's supposed to be a mother ship for other hypersonic reconnisance aircraft or UAV's.  I've no idea if IFR is supposed to be involved with these rumoured aircraft, but yours sounds like a good concept Archie!

 

[Archibald]

It's an atempt to combine the best of IFR and FICON  

You mean blackhorse ? this was an original spaceplane concept from 10 years ago...
A spacecraft take off like a bomber, on jet engines. There's some rocket engines on the ship, but their fuel tanks are empty
(to save weight and take off, and avoiding bulky rocket launch pad. A 800 tons spacecraft only weight 250 tons with empty fuel tanks. This allow horizontal, undercarriage take offs).

Flying on its turbofans, the spaceplane meet a modified KC-135 which transfers fuel for the rocket engine.

Then, the blackhorse light its rocket engines and climb as high and as fast he could (no way of reaching orbital speed, rocket fuel is too heavy). At the top of its trajectory, a bay open and a rocket upper stage climb to orbit with a satellite.

Blackhorse then limp back to an conventional airfield like a space shuttle (don't know if it light its turbofan again).