A F-111 as Very Light Fighter ?!?!: YF-115

[Mossie]

I know what you mean, a slight trim wouldn't do any harm.

[ysi_maniac]

I am considering to add guns to such small plane. I see 2 possibilities:
First, one  16, 17 or 18 mm gattling gun. Would it be practical?
Second, two 20 mm conventional or chain guns. What do you think?

[GTX]

You could go with a 12.7mm minigun or perhaps something like the 20mm colt from the F-5.  The latter would pack more power, though it is up to you.

Regards,

Comrade Gregorski (Commissar of all F-111 GB things)

[Slerski]

First, one  16, 17 or 18 mm gattling gun. Would it be practical?

Maybe... Gatling gun, using 14,5x115 mm rounds, common but russian type caliber. Maybe you could imagine a western equivalent (using maybe the 15.2mm Steyr ammo).

GAU-12 25 mm cannon (the Equalizer, used in AV-8) maybe too large, but have a sigificant firepower. Or GAU-19 .50 Gatling, but it have only 3 barrel xD

Second, two 20 mm conventional or chain guns. What do you think?

Heu... Don't know, maybe 2 MG131 (Ah ? It's not a Messerschmitt ? Ooops...)

[ysi_maniac]

After thinking longer (the life of a whiffer is hard ) I have decided not to implement guns because of the size of airframe.
Guns can be added in a conformal belly pack, if needed

Now see the comparison with F-5. This project falls definitely in F-5 family, somewhere between F-5 and YF-17 (beautiful designs IMO).
See here too: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,448.0/

[Deino]

Hey ... I knew I've seen that idea somewhere before ....

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4124.0

Here's the real-mini-F-111-fighter !!!!! 

Cheers, Deino

[ysi_maniac]

Hi Andreas,
I did know those pics and I must confess that the short F-111 is in my wish list but my inspiration came from this:

[Taiidantomcat]

That is amazing ysi! 

[Weaver]

Gun-wise, how about a Western equivalent of the GSh-23 twin-barrelled revolver gun, which is very neat and compact. You could have a GE-225 (developed but not put into service), or the older twin-barrelled 20mm weapon (I forget the name) used in a gun-pod by the US Navy. You could mount either of these guns in the Russian style, with the space-inefficient gun in an external fairing and the space-efficient ammo in the fuselage.

[ysi_maniac]

IMO this model features a mix o characteristics from General Dynamics and Northrop: the LWF program contenders. So ... here you have VLWF YF-115 prototype in one of her first flights.

[ysi_maniac]

more pics ...

[Ed S]

Nicely done.  Great idea.  I might have to do a scalarama F-111 some day.

Ed

[Mossie]

Very good finish Carlos!  Like the Aggressor style scheme.

[McColm]

Looks great, but would you want a fighter that big? (Mig-25/33 size)

[ysi_maniac]

Very good finish Carlos!  Like the Aggressor style scheme.

The scheme was taken from 2nd YF-16 prototype