Italeri/Testors MiG-37 Ferret

[Mossie]

Glanini's recent profile of the Ferret got me thinking, dangerous....

The Italeri Mig-37 has been doing the rounds for a while now & I was thinking, what are the possibilites with this kit?  I've put this in here because it's only ever made it into kit form, but I think we should kind of look at as a real aircraft.

What roles would it fulfil?  It's a small-ish aircraft at about 14m long & 10m span, but it seems to fit into the F-35 class.  Who might take it?  Alternative histories?  Coulour schemes?

I'd also like to open this up to the engineers, what merits does the design have?  What changes might you make?  I personally don't like the 2D thrust vectoring, it looks very basic, a change to 'conventional' 2D or 3D nozzles?  A radar nose would be a good option.  You could loose the 'sensors' on the extremeties too, I don't think they'd serve a purpose real world?  Anything else, like the semi-tailess layout, is it a plus or minus?

Here's the profile that started the ideas:



Okay, throw your moneys worth in!

[deathjester]

with a little work,it could be a Russian skyhawk,so some sort of expanded fuel tankage,weapons carriage,folding wings,and longer nose gear oleo for better angle of attack for carrier take offs.

[Shasper]

Better make it a Single engine, otherwise there wont be enough room for anything in the fuselage.

Shas

[david sMiGielski]

About 5 years ago I started building one as a naval Ferret (I envisioned it being affectionately called the platypus). Scratchbuilt the cockpit, started wingfolds, etc. Never got much further than that. The more I worked on it, the more I realized how bad a design it actually was. No space for weapons (assuming carrying them outboard would kill any stealth properties) and I'm guessing not a lot of range. Then again, the Russians used the Forger, so I figured that made the MiG-37 a bit more viable.

All that said though, I love the kit. Brings back really great memories of my childhood.

I still plan on finishing the thing. It's in a box somewhere.

[Weaver]

I've always seen it as more like an F-117 myself, i.e. a limited capability "magic bullet" for putting one or two bombs on target. Significantly, the kit includes two small, probably mythical, tac-nukes and a pair of AAMs (anti-AWACS).

As a stealth design, it's a triumph of style over substance. The designer obviously liked the faceted look, but failed to appreciate that faceting only works because all the facets are at the same small number of angles, thereby concentrating the radar return into a small number of very tight "spikes". The Ferret's straightish wings and convex undersides compromise this principle. It would certainly have a small radar return, but nowhere near as small as an F-117.

[Mossie]

I'd never thought of it as an A-4, but there was this naval VTOL version from some time back:
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,2548.0/highlight,mig-37+ferret.html

The Testors/Italeri F-19 also has the same problem as the Ferret, not really enough room for weapons.  I get the feeling this was to do with keeping costs down. Shas's idea about a single engine is a good one, it'd make more room for weapons & fuel.

I've come to think of the Ferret as a JSF-a-like myself   When it came out, there wasn't anything other than the F-117 to compare it against, in the public eye at least.  The model predated the CALF & JAST programs, although engineers were starting to look in this direction.  I've heard rumours a McDD engineer that worked on the YF-23 helped with the design, & that was the reason for the semi-tailless layout.  I think that's also part of the reason for the compromise, it had stealthy characteristics without wholly being optimised for stealth.  Maybe we got a sneak look at JAST/JSF before it came along, who knows?

[Weaver]

Random silly thought inspired by other threads:

Why not put one on hydroskis, like a Convair Sea Dart? It's got shielded intakes and internal weapon carriage.....

[Howard of Effingham]

Random silly thought inspired by other threads:

Why not put one on hydroskis, like a Convair Sea Dart? It's got shielded intakes and internal weapon carriage.....

or retractable spats even...... 

[Mossie]

One thing I've just thought of, a blown canpoy would be 'right'.  The framed one in the kit gives it a kind of 'Russian' look, but it's an anachronism for the time period it would be entering service.

[cthulhu77]

I would use the 48th to make a 72nd...it would make more sense.

[elmayerle]

I'd never thought of it as an A-4, but there was this naval VTOL version from some time back:
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,2548.0/highlight,mig-37+ferret.html

The Testors/Italeri F-19 also has the same problem as the Ferret, not really enough room for weapons.  I get the feeling this was to do with keeping costs down. Shas's idea about a single engine is a good one, it'd make more room for weapons & fuel.

I've come to think of the Ferret as a JSF-a-like myself   When it came out, there wasn't anything other than the F-117 to compare it against, in the public eye at least.  The model predated the CALF & JAST programs, although engineers were starting to look in this direction.  I've heard rumours a McDD engineer that worked on the YF-23 helped with the design, & that was the reason for the semi-tailless layout.  I think that's also part of the reason for the compromise, it had stealthy characteristics without wholly being optimised for stealth.  Maybe we got a sneak look at JAST/JSF before it came along, who knows?

Actually, I believe he was from another company and also contributed to the design of the movie Firefox; leastways that's what I heard while working for that company.

[Mossie]

Or Syrian?

[Weaver]

I've one that was going to end up in Indian markings but never actually finished it.  Perhaps Iranian or Chinese would be more topical?

How about a dodgy Iranian "re-engineered" one with F-5E wings, u/c, canopy etc...?

[frank2056]

I would use the 48th to make a 72nd...it would make more sense.

Or the 1/72 to make a 1/144 Ferret.

[Taiidantomcat]

Had the idea of making it a Ukrainian Machine, one of the many left overs from the old empire.