ZEro Length Launch (ZELL) Systems

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Steve's comment about the Navaho booster got me thinking...

how about a B-58 ZELL using Navaho boosters?

That ZELL B-58 would be impressive.  Perhaps it would be wise to take a cue instead from the French AdA and their QRA Mirage IV with RATO units?  At least the RATO units could be mounted along the wing-fuselage join where the four stores stations are located. 

How about a ZELL F-5 or a Mirage III?  Perfect size for a deployable QRA type strike aircraft armed with a centerline mounted nuclear store and a brace of fuel tanks.  AAM and ECM would be other options. 

[Weaver]

How about a ZELL Gnat with folding wings, a nuke on the centreline ahead of the booster (no u/c clearance issue with Zell) two underwing and two tip tanks? Nice and compact for transport on it's trailer.......

[Andrew Gorman]

The Convair XF-92 started out as at least a RATO assist or ZELL point defense ramjet interceptor- scroll down at
http://webs.lanset.com/aeolusaero/Articles/Convair%20F-106%20development%20history.htm
for the blunt but pointy version.  There is an excellent article in an old Aerospace Projects Review about this version.   Neat looking ship, and it shares the wings and tail with the dirt cheap Testors XF-92.

[Doc Yo]

 Too right. I 've got the Acadamy 1/144 scale B-58, which is on its way to becoming a twin-fin, twin-engined
launch vehicle for a wholly fictious "Orbital Interceptor". I've stalled out at building the stand/base for it, but the
ZEL notion has been kicking around in my head...

[Dork the kit slayer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oImq1glnOds

[B777LR]

Zell mounted F-22, mmmmm

[PR19_Kit]

Magic! And how about that roll right after the launch!

[Cobra]

think an F-4D Skyray would work for ZELL? always wondered about that!!!!! :huh:just asking. Stay Cool

[Mossie]

Great vid Dork!  Straight out of Thunderbirds, with music from a Saturday Matinee serial!

[Jeffry Fontaine]

One of the usual suspects over on the Hyperscale forums that goes by the name of 'Silverback' has posted a link to some images of a ZELL configured F-100 Super Sabre that he has stashed in his photobucket account.  Apparently one of our members is going to try and build a ZELL F-100 armed with a nuclear shape in 1/32nd scale... 

Good luck with that project! ;^)



Found this F-104G ZELL diorama on Modeling Madness in the latest show gallery.  I thought it was worth sharing since there are few real life images of these aircraft at launch and it looks as if the builder tried to capture that action in this model.

[tigercat2]

For those fans of the old (1958) Steve Canyon TV show, now available at http://stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com/

one of the episodes is entirely about the F-100 ZELL program.  The shows are superbly restored on DVD, and give a really good look at the USAF 50 years ago. 


Wes W.

[tigercat2]

There's an anime called "Stratos 4" that features ZELL-equipped TSR.2s which are used to shoot down falling meteors. They have under-wing boosters, and an additional rocket motor mounted in the tail fin. (It also has Yak-28s as trainers, wearing silver and dayglo orange.)



The series isn't particularly impressive IMO, but it's nicely animated and features the aircraft in question quite heavily. There was a feature in a Japanese hobby magazine on it, where someone converted the Airfix TSR.2 to the ZELL version. Pretty cool.

Just checked this out on you tube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUiOKn0Gu4   

Its a pretty cool video; the use of TSR-2s and especially the Yak-28 Firebars was very imaginative!!  That makes me want to build a Firebar in 1/72.


Wes W.

[Mossie]

Over the last couple of days I vaguely recall someone posting a ZELL Myasishchev M-50, that would be impressive!

[ChernayaAkula]

ZELL-launched, anti-ABM* anti-ballistic missile TSR.2! Greatness to the nth degree

Would need one of those giant Russian trucks for a TEL, but hey, that'd make it even cooler!  

EDIT: Anti-ABM? Doesn't make a whole lotta sense, now, does it?

[tigercat2]

Looking forward to seeing that!!


Wes W.