Pure Civilian GB

[Cobra]

what about using a B-47 for fighting Forest Fires? would that work? that was something i've often wondered about. Dan

[PR19_Kit]

Would a civilianised Meteor PR 19 in Ordnance Survey colours  be acceptable here?  ...........even if only to bamboozle the men in black.

ROTFL! 

I love that idea, they'd have to get the only one left out of the Cosford Museum of course....... 

[Weaver]

FedEx Boeing B-52.

Don't mean to pee on your idea, and there's no good reason to not do it again, but it's already been done - link. Sorry... But maybe a B-1?

Obviously needs some competition then: UPS Bear? DHL Victor? 

[Rheged]

Would a civilianised Meteor PR 19 in Ordnance Survey colours  be acceptable here?  ...........even if only to bamboozle the men in black.

ROTFL! 

I love that idea, they'd have to get the only one left out of the Cosford Museum of course....... 

Sorry, couldn't resist  another PR 19 appearance. But seriously, any  Photo Recon machine from the Bristol Fighter onwards in Ordnance Survey  livery  might be interesting.    Now there's a challenge for the CGI people!

[Weaver]

How about some other platform converted for weather recon, along the lines of the "snoopy" C-130? The real life BAE-146-based ARA that replaced it is a looker*, but it's sensors are much less conspicuous, so how about the full "barber's pole" and podded radar?

Possibilities (all with full Snoopy conversion):

Avro RJ
Nimrod
BAC 111
Trident
Canberra (automated avionics with big datalink pod on one wingtip, radar on other and "barber's pole" on nose)




*The ARA was known as the "Scapheap Challenge" at Woodford, not because there was anything wrong with it, but because it had no BOM (Bill Of Materials) of it's own, so the team building it were always scrounging bits from the regular production line, like contestants in the TV show.

[PR19_Kit]

How about some other platform converted for weather recon, along the lines of the "snoopy" C-130?

That reminds me I have a vacform conversion kit for The Schnoz C-130 somewhere. Might be worth getting it out and seeing what else it will fit. The forthcoming A-400M perhaps? 

[Doc Yo]

 It'll give me an excuse to finish my old Arc en Ciel...I like the idea.

[Taiidantomcat]

Jet fighters converted to Air Racers, or just painted like Cessna 182s would be acceptable too yes?

[Rheged]

Am I allowed to suggest a POLAR BEAR Soviet Arctic research aircraft?    Or  any flying boat as oceanographic research?    I'm vastly impressed with Weaver's thoughts on Met flights.

[rallymodeller]

All are acceptable -- but, for example, a US weather-recon bird would have to be NOAA or NASA instead of USAF or USN (I don't know the UK equivalent of that, sorry), 'cause they can't be military.

Further to the "no armament" provision: Doing fighters and so forth as air racers or fast couriers would be fine (CF-100s and Canberras were actually used like this during the Coronation in '53) but all evidence of guns and so forth must be removed. I'm not going all peacenik here, I just want the rules to be strictly defined.

As to the Ordnance Survey PR aircraft -- that's more than OK. Spartan Air Services out of Ottawa basically made themselves as a company using demobbed PR Mossies and Lockheed F-5 Lightnings so there is a real-world example to go with.

[Rheged]

I seem to remember someone in another thread mentioning an R N L I Shackleton........or was it a Nimrod?   Either would look interesting in high visibility orange upperworks and a prussian blue underside........or would it be better the other way round?

[Gondor]

I seem to remember someone in another thread mentioning an R N L I Shackleton........or was it a Nimrod?   Either would look interesting in high visibility orange upperworks and a prussian blue underside........or would it be better the other way round?

Depends on which way up it is.... and that makes me think....... would RNLI aircraft have to have the same self righting capability as their boats ? 

Gondor

[Weaver]

All are acceptable -- but, for example, a US weather-recon bird would have to be NOAA or NASA instead of USAF or USN (I don't know the UK equivalent of that, sorry), 'cause they can't be military.

Snoopy technically still belonged to the RAF, but the ARA is civilian, under contract to the Met Office and a couple of universities IIRC.

Further to the "no armament" provision: Doing fighters and so forth as air racers or fast couriers would be fine (CF-100s and Canberras were actually used like this during the Coronation in '53) but all evidence of guns and so forth must be removed. I'm not going all peacenik here, I just want the rules to be strictly defined.

They'd probably have to do that IRL: gun ports are pretty draggy. A civvie-owned MiG-27 would make an interesting racer: leave off the GSh-23 fairing and the combination of it's whopping engine and it's swing wings should make it very competitive, if the race is a form of giant pylon racing. The wings would help it turn tightly around the pylons at low speed, the big engine would help it regain speed quickly, and a -27 has better vision and (de-militarised) lower weight. I'm presuming the straights arn't long enough to get supersonic: if they are, then the the MiG-23BN's variable intakes might show to advantage (hybrid?).

Visions of it being cut up by a cheeky VIFFing Harrier in the corners then blasting past it on the straights.....  

MiG-27 in a modified Red Bull scheme with stars instead of Bulls, white Harrier with red "Virgin Vertical" livery...

[jcf]

Jet Racing as it exists today:
http://www.racingjets.com/about.html
Less than 15 degrees sweep and no afterburner are the basic requirements.

The Reno course:

http://www.airrace.org/at_the_races/course.php

A much longer course would be required for anything along the lines of a MiG 27. 

[The Rat]

A much longer course would be required for anything along the lines of a MiG 27. 

Yeah, I think it would be called 'Nevada'.