F-15 Eagle

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

The gun could be relocated to a conformal centerline pod, but that loses a hardpoint. The inflight refueling receptacle is going to require a bit more careful relocation.

For the gun, maybe you could go for a Viggen like solution: they have a conformal gun pod AND the three hard points! The pylons are just shorter.
And you could use the internal place for the ammo, so you don't need a very big gun conformal pod.

For the refueling receptacle, a solution could be to have a retractable or fix probe, just like on the NATO/Navy aircrafts. Of course, that's the solution for export only.

But if we're talking about a canard/vectorized trust, what about replacing the air brake by the refueling receptacle??
After all, some modern aircrafts don't need air brake anymore (Rafale, Su-34.. some others maybe?) because their FBW could deal with the other active surfaces to do this job...

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Personally I would do very little to the Eagle - never been that fond of it as together with the F-16 it replaced - for the most part - my favourite - the Phantom around the world. To that end I would build one almost straight from the box and be content to spray it overall ADC Grey and use full colour squadron & national markings, perhaps Michigan ANG or the 57th FIS from Keflavik.

Not too imaginative, but it would be a head-turner, doncha think !

Ian

[GTX]

Australia
Another very interesting possibility, specially if we consider a Strike Eagle like variant!
A single plane could replace both the Mirage III and the F-111!! And just imagine a Strike Eagle with a Harpoon or Popeye payload could be cool!

For a long time, the F-15 was indeed in the running as a Mirage III replacement - not surprisingly it was the RAAF's initial preference.

Also, in the early 2000's (around 2001/2002) there was an internal RAAF proposal for the RAAF to replace the F-111s with a possible F-15E lease.  In the end nothing happened and as we now know the F-111s will be replaced with F/A-18Fs

Regards,

Greg

[Iranian F-14A]

Would it be possible to take an F-15E,and add the canards of the F-15 ACTIVE without interfering with the gun?If removel of the gun was needed to add the canards,could it be placed in the lower nose,like on the Tomcat? Adding the thrust vectoring nozzles would be nice too.

[elmayerle]

I believe that adding the canards did require removing the gun.  I'd be tempted to look at a Viggen-style installation at about the same fuselage station so that I could keep the ammo drum essentially where it is and change the feed routes to the gun; your fairing for the gun could then fair into or around your centerline pylon.  The AVEN nozzles don't, as I remember, look all that different from standard F100 nozzles with "turkey feathers", I suspect there's some difference in engine length that could be duplicated with a short spacer 'tween nozzle and aft fuselage for each nozzle.  Though if you want strictly 2-D vectoring nozzles, I'd say to go with YF/F-22 ones for commonality, though materials for export version likely would vary.

Oh, I just checked, I was slightly in error, the gun is on the starboard side of the aircraft and the refueling receptacle is on the port side.  It looks like you might could relocate the refueling receptacle one bay aft for the canard installation.

[nev]

The F-15 was offered to the RAF a couple of times - first time in the late 70s then again in the mid 80s when the Tornado ADV was going through its problems, citing concerns about having 2 squadrons of decrepit Lightnings defending their UK based nuclear weapons....

Both times were obviously rejected as they would have had a potentially fatal impact on the Tornado program.

Pics of my model of the F-15 in RAF service can be found here

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,19497.0.html

[anthonyp]

... perhaps Michigan ANG or the 57th FIS from Keflavik.

Not too imaginative, but it would be a head-turner, doncha think !

Ian

Someone mention Michigan ANG?



(It's almost as if mentioning "Michigan" is the equivalent of saying "Beetlejuice" thrice with me...)

It's not ADC Grey, but I like it!

More 171st FS of the MI ANG is here.

[anthonyp]

In no particular order to others' suggestions:

F-15C Australia (from this thread):


F-15A Italy (from this thread):


F-15K (Spey engined Eagle F.1) and F-15B(UK) (Eagle F.2) UK (two from this thread):




F-15G Wild Eagle USA (Mi ANG) (from this thread)


RF-15D Recon Eagle USA (Mi ANG)

(Not posted to the site yet; only have one pic)

And how can I forget Canada with their naval F-15M's?!  (from this thread):


I've got more, just too lazy to look for them right now.

[anthonyp]

All my 1/72 versions of this kit have the CFTs with the Sparrow/AMRAAM hard points.

I'm looking for a pair from an F-15E kit because their pylons seem larger (and are therefore better suited to carry AIM-54 IMO).

Ah, I think you'd be most interested in the Academy F-15E's pylons.  They're the extra long ones that go onto the FAST packs.

[B777LR]

Recently iran did a twin tail F-5. Perhaps if they chose F-15A, they could now do a single tail F-15    

[nev]

Whilst we're showing our own work...



From the main page

[GTX]

Recently iran did a twin tail F-5. Perhaps if they chose F-15A, they could now do a single tail F-15

I like it.  Or maybe they could re-invent the F-14 with a single tail (ala Design 303B)and maybe even fixed wing (ala Design 303F):




Regards,

Greg

[elmayerle]

Eh, it's not a major whif, but I'm working a Thunderbirds F-15 using the Bicentennial version of the demo scheme on 71-291 as a starting point (thank you Hasegawa-Minicraft).  I could use the regular demo scheme (ala' USAirfix) but the Bicentennial scheme has a couple differences that better lend it to this purpose.

This goes along with a fleet of F-15M's and some other riffs, like an RF-15D and a F-15E( R ).  The difference is the first is an internal fit of sensors while the second uses the centerline pod that McAir trialed on one of their testbeds.

[Mossie]

Seeing all these F-15's & especially the RAF whiffs reminds me I've been thinking around the lines of what might have happened had the MRCA (Tornado) program foundered.  F-15E for the RAF was one of my ideas.

[gooberliberation]

Would it be possible to take an F-15E,and add the canards of the F-15 ACTIVE without interfering with the gun?If removel of the gun was needed to add the canards,could it be placed in the lower nose,like on the Tomcat? Adding the thrust vectoring nozzles would be nice too.

Well, while we're all Eagle-whoring



Guns are soooooo 20th century.

But if you had to, an under-nose installation would look pretty cool.