Alternative float planes, seaplane fighters on skis

[McColm]

Instead of using a set of floats there are two alternatives: a boat-hull as used by Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 or hydro skis as used on the Convair F2Y Sea Dart ( although better stability was gained in using just the one).
This opens up a whole host of delta-winged fighters and bombers that could be Whiffed with hydro skis. This would fit in well with my query on sea scapes.
Not really concerned on buying the Mach2 F2Y Sea Dart as I've seen some line drawings in 1/72 scale and read the kit reviews which aren't that great. Besides the F-102 and F-106, B-58, most of the Dassault Mirage family of delta winged aircraft, SAAB, EuroFighter Typhoon, Vulcan, B-2 and F-16XL, to name but a few. Will keep me going for a few years.
These will be built in a mixture of 1/72 and 1/144 scales, military and civvie colour schemes.

[sandiego89]

The MACH2 Sea Dart is not that bad of a kit (and serves as my avatar picture).  Basic yes, but not terrible. Good overall shape, decent panel lines. Small part count.  Plastic quality is fair and bit thicker than modern mainline kits- similar to a few FROG kits, but sounds like it is not as bad as some of the other MACH2 kits.  Main areas that need work are the intakes which need to be hollowed out, exhaust tail pipes and kit canopy which is quite thick. Cockpit very basic with just a seat.  Makes a good, presentable model of the early twin ski Sea Dart, and in 1/72 is quite acceptable for many modelers. Bit pricy for what you get, but not much choice for the Sea Dart.  Plenty of WHIF potential.

My MACH2 WHIF version built years ago has a more conventional canopy, sidewinders, gun installation, landing struts from a F-15, skis made from the underside of a F-14 easykit engine pod (same shape!) and a few other mods.  

A few shots, was one of my first WHIF's and leaves a lot to be desired, and has multiple layers of paint, hiding many of the panel lines.





All the other deltas you mention will still require a boat hull below the fuselage, even if you put skis on them, as you need it to "float" at low speeds, with the intakes and wing above the waterline. I eyed a f-102 to make the proposed single engine, single ski Sea Dart but soon realized it would be major work to be realistic.  Still in my long range plans.  The ventral intake on the F-16 and Typhoon would pose a real challenge.  

Good luck, I love jet float/sea planes!

[PR19_Kit]

The ventral intake on the F-16 and Typhoon would pose a real challenge.  

They'd make good submarines with those intakes......... 

[sandiego89]

The ventral intake on the F-16 and Typhoon would pose a real challenge.  

They'd make good submarines with those intakes.........  

Indeed  

Isn't it past your bed time Kit? 

[McColm]

Of course you could use the skis for Arctic/Antarctic patrol fighters/interceptors/bombers!
I was working on a 1/72 F-16 with a T-tail and wing from a EuroFighter Typhoon with Angel landing gear.

[jcf]

The SRA1 and Sea Dart weren't float-planes, while both were classed as seaplanes, neither was a 'float-plane'.

Floatplane


Not Floatplane

So you may want to change your topic, perhaps "Alternative to float planes, seaplane fighters on skis"

A whole slew of concepts on Secret Projects:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,645.0.html

[PR19_Kit]

Isn't it past your bed time Kit?  

At my age there's no such thing as 'a regular bed time'.  

I can exist on 4hrs/night quite easily so the time I go up there depends on what needs doing at the time. Logging on here at 3am is almost normal.  

[lancer]

Isn't it past your bed time Kit?  

At my age there's no such thing as 'a regular bed time'.  

I can exist on 4hrs/night quite easily so the time I go up there depends on what needs doing at the time. Logging on here at 3am is almost normal.  

Been there and done that.......

[scooter]

Isn't it past your bed time Kit?  

At my age there's no such thing as 'a regular bed time'.  

I can exist on 4hrs/night quite easily so the time I go up there depends on what needs doing at the time. Logging on here at 3am is almost normal.  

Been there and done that.......

Same here

[Weaver]

There arn't a lot of options for a mid-wing delta. One possibility is a Russian type like the MiG-21 or Su-7/9/11. They're mid-winged anyway, so fitting a larger, pure delta isn't too difficult. Replace the nose intake with a full-section radome and you can put new dorsal intakes on further back.

A high-wing delta would be another possibility. The immediate example that springs to mind is the CF-105 Arrow, though the kits can be pricey and/or hard to find. Mind you, the original Hobbycraft kit was so inaccurate that nobody should weep at one being whiffed. You could also make a high-winged delta by grafting a delta wing onto something like a Jaguar, Tornado or Mirage F1. In all these examples, you'd have to find an acceptable intake position, of course. 

Isn't it past your bed time Kit?  

At my age there's no such thing as 'a regular bed time'.  

I can exist on 4hrs/night quite easily so the time I go up there depends on what needs doing at the time. Logging on here at 3am is almost normal.  

Been there and done that.......

Doing it now, in fact.....

[Weaver]

Here's a quick'n'dirty of an F-16 messed about with to give it a dorsal intake. Basically, the whole thing is turned upside down, the forward fuselage is turned back upright and the air intake is moved back into the redundant main u/c bay. Note that I havn't attempted to fix the wing/tailplanes, nor sort out how you'd fix the discontinuities between the nose and centre fuselage sections, which would probably require a fair bit of PSR.

[Weaver]

Thinking about it some more, this version might be easier to model. Here, only the nose section ahead of the canopy is flipped back upright. The canopy is grafted onto the former lower fuselage, which would require a fair bit of PSR due to the F-16's rising sill line. I suspect a better option might be a completely different canopy (F-15? F-18?).



If nothing else, a flipped F-16 centre fuselage gives you a dorsal intake and a mid-wing, even if you have to use a completely different forward fuselage and canopy.

[zenrat]

Thats exactly what I was going to do with my spare Mig 29.  But then I used the tails on a Starfighter and have the wings earmarked for something else.  Of course I could still do it using the wings from the something else and Starfighter tails!

[McColm]

Something like the F-107 layout.

[Zero-Sen]

Something like the F-107 layout.

Something like that?
SeaCrusader.jpg