1/72 SAAB VTOL Close Air Support project

[PR19_Kit]

Looks good in Fields and Meadows.

EVERYTHING looks good in Fields & Meadows...

Including a Tiger Moth. 

            

[Pellson]

Having tried a few different wings, noses and tail configurations, this is where I am right now.

You cannot view this attachment.

This is, as you can see, not derived from the actual SAAB design but rather an interpretation of what I think a Swedish VTOL, or perhaps rather a STOVL design could have become.

The main changes are the larger wing and, obviously, the radar nose. Both are driven by the main Swedish Cold War strategy, to deny an enemy foothold on Swedish territory by denying him sea transport. The main tool for this - the Rb04 anti ship missile.
Just fitting two of these missiles will require longer wings than the Harrier, but that will also mean heavier wings, and the fuel for a trip from the Swedish mainland to Kaliningrad and back will weigh even more. Effectively, this will prevent vertical take-off given the limitations of the existing Pegasus power plant. However, the Harriers 300 m CTOL take-off run cannot be allowed to increase if you want to maintain the dispersability. Hence, the bigger wing, triggered by the missiles, but provided with bigger flaps and perhaps even slats should compensate.

And - here we are.

I chose a T-tail for two reasons:

• The increased controllability at STOL takeoffs, achieved by lifting the control surfaces out of the turbulence from the jet efflux, and
• The definitive departure from the original Harrier design.

And using the SAAB 105 trainer as an inspiration, I'm pretty happy with it. The nose, however, will be needing more work. It's just too anorectic.

Well, well. I'll dig deeper in my spares boxes, but I might have to turn something from raw material. And that's not something I've done before.

[Gondor]

That is looking very good indeed. It's a Harrier but not a Harrier 

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

That does have a remarkably 'Swedish' look to it somehow. 

[Captain Canada]

Oh yeah. That looks incredibly right !

[Rick Lowe]

Looking good, there. 

Re the nose, I dunno - the RW GR3 one was pretty small-diameter - long, but skinny.

Still; Your Model, Your Choice. 

[perttime]

If the nose needs to be bigger, Is there some other nose that could replace everything forward of the intakes?

[Dizzyfugu]

That's cool. Harrier hull and J29 wings are a comba that is hard to beat. 

BTW: I dug up pics from my Franken-Harrier with similar ingredients - mine had inverted gull wings, no main wheel (and stronger twin-wheel struts under the wings) and a separate afterburner exhaust in the tail:


Unfinished 'supersonic Harrier' kit conversion, 20+ years old by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Unfinished 'supersonic Harrier' kit conversion, 20+ years old by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

 

[Dizzyfugu]

If the nose needs to be bigger, Is there some other nose that could replace everything forward of the intakes?

What works well on a Harrier is the whole nose section from a MiG-23 or -27, esp. from the Academy/Hasegawa kit, which offers separate sections.

Here's a MiG-27 nose on a Matchbox Harrier, with respective intake transplants:


1:72 Yakovlev Yak-138 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Weaver]

That nose is very credible. It might possibly need a longer "barrel" section between the radome and the airframe proper in order to accomodate the radar electronics "can".
In 1975 the Harrier was tested with the MARTEL anti-ship missile, and for this it was given a new nose with a multi-mode radar:



Posted on Twitter(X) by Harrier Preservation Society here: https://x.com/HarrierPres/status/1456670682826248195?s=20

[Dizzyfugu]

That's looking cool, I did not know that conversion. 

[NARSES2]

That's coming along nicely 

[mat]

Great bulid Pellson. Look very SAAB'ish. But I still think that the SAAB Projekt 1500-01 is worth an attempt. I have an horrible Mistercraft Harrier GR.7 in my stash - brought by accident. Mayby this crap could be turned into something more usefull.

[Dizzyfugu]

Similar thoughts here, with a Matchbox Sea Harrier somewhere in The Stash™ and certainly some delta wings (MiG-21 or Mirage III) in the donor banks to create something along the lines of the P 1500-01 concept drawing. 

[Vulcan7]

Having tried a few different wings, noses and tail configurations, this is where I am right now.

You cannot view this attachment.

This is, as you can see, not derived from the actual SAAB design but rather an interpretation of what I think a Swedish VTOL, or perhaps rather a STOVL design could have become.

The main changes are the larger wing and, obviously, the radar nose. Both are driven by the main Swedish Cold War strategy, to deny an enemy foothold on Swedish territory by denying him sea transport. The main tool for this - the Rb04 anti ship missile.
Just fitting two of these missiles will require longer wings than the Harrier, but that will also mean heavier wings, and the fuel for a trip from the Swedish mainland to Kaliningrad and back will weigh even more. Effectively, this will prevent vertical take-off given the limitations of the existing Pegasus power plant. However, the Harriers 300 m CTOL take-off run cannot be allowed to increase if you want to maintain the dispersability. Hence, the bigger wing, triggered by the missiles, but provided with bigger flaps and perhaps even slats should compensate.

And - here we are.

I chose a T-tail for two reasons:

• The increased controllability at STOL takeoffs, achieved by lifting the control surfaces out of the turbulence from the jet efflux, and
• The definitive departure from the original Harrier design.

And using the SAAB 105 trainer as an inspiration, I'm pretty happy with it. The nose, however, will be needing more work. It's just too anorectic.

Well, well. I'll dig deeper in my spares boxes, but I might have to turn something from raw material. And that's not something I've done before.

I obviously like the look of this one, it reminds me of the Harrierneer    ... I really like your original drawing though