Hawker Gyrfalcon FG.1

[CammNut]

When the Hawker P.1154 program failed, the RAF abandoned plans for vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) operations entirely. The British Ministry of Defense issued an urgent operational requirement for an utterly conventional, and hopefully low risk, strike aircraft.

Some in senior management at Hawker Siddeley Aviation had long harboured severe doubts that the supersonic V/STOL P.1154, with its plenum chamber burning vectored-thrust engine, could be developed successfully and had quietly laid plans for a backup design.

In secret, under the guise of studying a future P.1154 derivative, a small team of Hawker engineers was well into preliminary design when the V/STOL program was cancelled. The aircraft was no derivative, but a clean-sheet design with no relationship to the doomed P.1154.

Armed with the design work already accomplished in secret, on its own funds, Hawker was able to convince the MoD that the new and much simpler aircraft could be developed quickly and relatively inexpensively compared with the P.1154.

The resulting Hawker Gyrfalcon entered RAF service in 1970, a two-seat fighter/attack aircraft powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Spey afterburning turbofans. While not V/STOL, the aircraft was designed to operate from sections of motorway and autobahn to reduce reliance on vulnerable runways.



The kit is a 1/72 - well, I will leave you to guess. The changes are limited to reshaping the wing and tail to make them more Hawker-style, trimming the ventral strakes to a size Sir Sydney might have deemed acceptable, and an early-70s RAF colour scheme and weapons fit to make it look more dated.



The paint job is early 70s RAF Phantom FGR.2, the markings are from a Model Alliance TSR2 "what if" decal sheet.



I struggled to find a name for this one - Buzzard seemed a bit unflattering. My friend David suggested Shikra - which is a clue to the donor model.

[PR19_Kit]

It looks like a sort of 'Super Jaguar' in some ways.

Nice one. 

[sandiego89]

Wow really well done.   My Guess for donor kit: Xian JH-7 ?

[Gondor]

Wow really well done.   My Guess for donor kit: Xian JH-7 ?

I would go along with that. Nice looking aircraft 

Gondor

[KiwiZac]

I don't know what it was but I know what it is: breathtakingly awesome! It looks fantastic! Great job, and an excellent backstory too. I love it!

[CammNut]

Proposed by sandiego99, seconded by Gondor, and the vote goes to - China's Xi'an JH-7, Trumpeter 1/72 kit. Goes together easy. Thin plastic - feels light for such a big aircraft.

I was inspired by our own DizzyFugu's Hawker Harpy - based on China's retro-looking (and performing) Chenyang J-8.

[PR19_Kit]

I like the way the wings, tailplane AND fin are all 'Hawker shaped'. 

[The Rat]

That is simply stunning. 

[The Big Gimper]

I love those Hawker wings and how they swoop back so smoothly.

[Tophe]

Interesting, and very possible (I prefer impossible airplanes but I love this one anyway)...

[kitbasher]

Spot on, well done sir. 

Not Jaguar at all to me, rather Hawker's late 60's fixed-wing AFVG alternative.  Who'd need Tornados when there's Gyrfalcons to operate?

[Thorvic]

Nice build and nice idea although and at least it uses the later revised flying dragon kit as the original fuselage looked way too deep to pass off as different nations aircraft build, this one is shallower and looks the part especially with spays and the hawker wing, its almost a high wing P1129 

[Glenn Gilbertson]

Great build - beautiful & plausible. Well done!

[CammNut]

Thanks folks. I was surprised by how well it looked the part in the end!

[Captain Canada]

Great job and great idea ! It certainly looks Anglo enough in that scheme for me !