STOVL Canberra

[kitnut617]

I've had this idea running through my head the last few days which wouldn't let go, so I made a start on it.  It's partly influenced by Kit's Meteor PR.19 and partly by a real world project -- the AW 681.  The idea is to replace the engine nacelles with Harrier fuselages minus of course the forward fuselage and the fin and tailplanes.

I've chosen the Matchbox Canberra PR.9 as a base ('cause I got an Xtrakit one) plus the fact there's a few things wrong with the Matchbox kit which works into what I want to do.  I've decided though that the two crew will be side by side under a bubble canopy, the Airfix Vulcan canopy works just right here, just need to polish out the fuzzy finish it has and I'm going to use the T.11 nose I got from Kit plus some other lumps and bumps. I'm going to use two Airfix Harrier GR.3's and for the new air intake, a pair of Braz 1/144 scale 767 replacement engine fronts. Main wheels will be in the Harrier fuselages in the same place but with some bigger wheels, I've got some 1/48 Gripen wheels coming, and for the nose wheels I'm going to use a pair of the Harrier main wheels.

The problem of fitting the Harrier fuselages dictates that the wing has to be moved to the shoulder position, I'm going to make the top of the wing level with the top of fuselage, and then I'm going to move the tailplane too, it will look a bit like a Valiant once I've finished hacking it about.  I'm hoping that by moving the wing upwards and with most of the new engine nacelles hanging under the wing, I won't have to have too long of a front nose u/c leg. I'm sort of hoping it will stay the same.

Anyway here's some pics of where I've started.

[Cobra]

Looking Good this has a 'Gerry Anderson' Feel to it!!!!!! have You Decided what you're going to do for Paint & Decals Yet?? Keep up the Great Work!!!!!

[Modelling_Mushi]

Cool concept, will be keen to see this one 

[kitnut617]

Thanks guys,  not sure on the paint job yet, but it might be navy.  I'm going to hang a bunch of Martels under the wings, a couple of drop tank and it will have the Harrier II gun pack with rotary cannon under the main fuselage (not the engine nacelles), it's going to be a sort of 'Wild Weasel'

[The Rat]

I am of the opinion (shared by others I believe) that the Canberra started out as one of the most beautiful aircraft that ever flew, and became progressively uglified with each subsequent incarnation. However this idea can only end in whiffing wonderfullness! Keep them pics coming! 

[kitnut617]

I am of the opinion (shared by others I believe) that the Canberra started out as one of the most beautiful aircraft that ever flew, and became progressively uglified with each subsequent incarnation. However this idea can only end in whiffing wonderfullness! Keep them pics coming! 

I agree Dave, if I stick with the pointed nose I think I'm going to shorten it a bit but then I might just go with the original nose.  This pointed nose Reyhex conversion is not quite right though, on the real thing the cone is more of a ogival shape and the transition to the straight tube has a gradual curve but until all my bits I've ordered have arrived and I can assemble a few more parts I'm leaving the final configuration till then.

The cockpit arrangement is settled though, there's more than enough room for two side-by-side bang seats with a console between them plus some side consoles, all I've done is mirror the offset seat position to the other side.

[kitnut617]

Because the Harrier fuselage is much wider than the standard nacelles I've decided that the wings can be moved inwards towards the center of the aircraft, this solves the problem of having to build a new wing-to-fuselage connection.  Using my profile gauge I drew in a line on the Canberra fuselage that matches the bottom of the wing and then cut a big chunk out, this will position the wing at the shoulder.  I've saved the cut out bits because they will go back in again once I've cut the profile of the top side of the wing out of them.

I've bult the wings up and added a couple of spars, this will help when I get to rejoining everything and once this part is all glued together I will cut the original nacelles out of the wing, I'll make some new spars for here that will go through the Harrier fuselages into the outer panels, hopefully keeping everything lined up.

[kitnut617]

What my plan is, is to line up the Harrier nozzles equally either side of where the Canberra main u/c leg is, This should be about where the cg of the Canberra is.  This will position the front end right at the Canberra's inner wing leading edge, the new 767 engine fronts will protude out in front of this leading edge.  As you can see the Harrier isn't that much longer than the original nacelles but here I'm using a GR.5 fuselage as a guide and I'll be using GR.3 fuselages which should be shorter. I'll use the GR.5 nozzles though as the engine for this will be the latest found in the GR.9, 24,000+ thrust

[GTX]

Loving this!

Regards,

Greg

[kitnut617]

Cheers Greg --

I've got the top part of the fuselage done, now I can concentrate of finishing the fuselage and center wing.  But now it's wait for the parts I ordered.

[chrisonord]

This looks perfectly crackers Robert I like it.
I will be watching how this turns out thats for sure
Chris.

[kitnut617]

Thanks guys ---

At the moment the plan is to use the puffers on the ends of the new nacelles (Harrier fuselages), but I'll have to wiat to see how they look because it could change.  My thinking is that with two Pegasus's, it won't need the wing tip puffers but one will definitely have to be in the nose.  The engines of course will be all auto-digital controlled with auto-hover etc   

This will be a SAM hunter so ECM for sure, the appearance not yet decided apon and I think I'm going to use some left over E-3D wingtip pods I have for the wingtips.  I think I will go with side blisters similar to the F-105G Wild Weasel in the rear of the bomb bay, which is a lot deeper now having moved the wing to the shoulder position, I'll probably extend the lift augmentor strakes from the gun pods down these blisters, or something along those lines.  The new nacelles will get GR.5/7 strakes too, anything to increase vertical lift so to speak.  I've decided that the guns will have to be at the front of the bomb bay because of the expendable weight would have to stay around the cg point and the ECM equipment being a constant weight at the back. This will offset the extended nose and all the equipment carried there (there's no crew in the nose on this one)

Of course as the build goes along this could all changed 

[John Howling Mouse]

Hoo---weee: gutsy, very gutsy!
I'll be watching...and learning.

[Weaver]

Love the profile of the Vulcan canopy on the Canberra fuse.....

A suggestion: if you could drop the inboard flaps to 90 deg and lower a corresponding panel just behind the inboard leading edge, you could trap the upflow from the inner nozzles the way a GR.5's strakes, airbrake and LID capture the upflow under the Harrier's fuselage. GR.5's partially do this by having a deep inner pylon and dropping their flaps in the hover.

[Weaver]

Auto-hover -- the perfect answer to wimpy JMNs whinging on about engine-out control concern 

Well not really: if one Peggy lets go, no amount of auto-hover will stop the aircraft doing a stationary barrel-roll, which never ends well. Your best hope would be to automatically chop the other engine and let the aircraft drop onto it's gear too hard. It might wreck the airframe and give the crew spinal compression, but at least they wouldn't be dead. Of course, with zero-zero seats, you could always go for the Yak-36 option and have an automatic ejection control system as well, which chucks the crew out without asking them first if it detects an unrecoverable hover-crash about to happen. Although it sounds scary (do you want a Russian computer in charge of your ejection seat?  ) it's actually credited with saving many lives.

Another accident mode would be interesting on the STOVL Canberra. Harriers have been know to spit their front nozzles clean off, which results in a messy nose-down-sideways crash and a dead pilot if he isn't real quick on the ejection handles. Now on the Harrier, the nozzle only goes sailing off across the airfield. On the STOVL Canberra though, an inboard nozzle goes straight into the side of the fuselage with considerable force.....