AWACS?

[Davey B]

Just another musing: what if the RAF had really wanted a good AEW&C in the 1980s?

Dave  

[Davey B]

...and here's the upgraded version in light grey...
EC-10, anyone?  B)  

[Martin H]

Oh very nice.  
Hmmm now I will have to beat that contrail VC-10 out of my mate. Ive been after it for a while but the little sod wont part with it.

[Captain Canada]

Yeah, that sure is nice ! VC-10s are one of the sexiest looking 'liners of all time. We used to see them at airshows over here every year......but sadly, no more. Maybe again around 2017, when the RAF finally gets the Typhoon in service !

[nev]

Very nice  

If you can the whole Nimrod AEW idea and have the EC-10 idea from the mid 70s maybe you could go for a nice white hi-vis scheme, or maybe grey/green?  

[Davey B]

Well there was apparently a very workable Nimrod AEW.3 concept put forward -- it involved a lisence-built E-2C radar fitted to a standard MR.1. Canned in favour of two Ferranti pulse-Dopplers    

[lancer]

Love it Dave...Brilliant concept, now when are you gonna build it??

Martin, I'd have thought that with the Airfix VC10 out there, you wouldn't need the contrail one, unless I'm missing something.  

[Geoff_B]

Martin, I'd have thought that with the Airfix VC10 out there, you wouldn't need the contrail one, unless I'm missing something.

Erm i think martin means the Airways Vacform not Contrail and its in 1/72 not 1/144. As its rare it tends to do for a fortune whenever an example surfaces. Now a new 1/72 kit of the VC-10 would be nice but unlikely. Wonder if we could persuade Airfix to do the A-330 Airbus for the new Tankers ?

As to AEW Nimrod, yeap it was considered in the late 60's to have an AEW version using a rotordome similar to the Hawkeye. Looks better than the bulbous nose variants, although it does look like Isreal has finally refined the concept.

Geoff B B)  

[retro_seventies]

i'm....touching.....myself

   

GREAT davey - great looking lady...her big feck off whale tail wouldn't mess with the radar performance, right?

[elmayerle]

Just a thought, Davey, why not sweep the vertical tail forward and mount it there along the lines of what was done on the AN-71 Madcap?  You might have to go with a constant chord forward swept tail, but it'd definitely look different.

[Jschmus]

I'm not sure exactly how this would look/work, but if you did away with the T-tail and swapped in a wide tail with the fins mounted outboard, a la the A-10, it would cancel out the intereference from the dish.

[Captain Canada]

It's not interfering.....it's deflector ! Gives  a better rearward curve that way.

And I'd build two of 'em, Davey.........exactly the way you've shown ! Just do it in 144th scale, save some money. And I'll do up a little Tornado and Lightning to get direction  from each one, and escort them in the meantime !

   

[elmayerle]

I'm not sure exactly how this would look/work, but if you did away with the T-tail and swapped in a wide tail with the fins mounted outboard, a la the A-10, it would cancel out the intereference from the dish.

Yeah, but difficult to do with aft-mounted engines.  That's why I made my suggestion.

[nev]

Wonder if we could persuade Airfix to do the A-330 Airbus for the new Tankers ?

That thing would be ginagarous in 1/72.  The A330 is big enough in 1/144...    

[Aircav]

As to AEW Nimrod, yeap it was considered in the late 60's to have an AEW version using a rotordome similar to the Hawkeye. Looks better than the bulbous nose variants, although it does look like Isreal has finally refined the concept.

Geoff B B)

hmmmm........must get my Phalcon finished