I have a couple questions about the vampire for our resident experts
1) what modern engine (for efficency ease of maintainance and availability of parts) would make a good replacement for the origional engine?
2) would an avionics upgrade to allow the firing of the Penguin anti shipping missle fit in the Vampire's airframe?
Thanks!
"Panzer"
As far as the engine, I imagine a Honeywell TFE731 (business jet engine found on Lears, Citations, Hawkers, Falcons, etc. Military version is the F124 I think) would fit, and is in the same thrust class as the late Goblins, but with far, far better fuel consumption. The intakes would probably need enlarging for a turbofan, but that shouldnt be too hard.
As for the Penguin...the Vampire sits very low to the ground. Not sure if there is clearance for a big missile. Sea Skua might fit though. With the room freed up by replacing the original avionics with modern stuff I would think there would be room for some extra black boxes.
I agree with AD, the airframe would actually dictate what you could put into it. Not just size wise, but just how powerful too. But if you look at this website --- http://www.stormbirds.com/project/index.html --- you could probably get an idea what you could use. If you wanted to go bigger I would consider the Venom instead.
Looking a bit deeper at the Penguin, I dont see how it would fit on the Vampire with its 1m+ wingspan. Sea Skua might work since it is much smaller, though you sacrifice range and need a way to illuminate the target. Maverick may be a good compromise for anti-ship missions, but again, as with the Sea Skua, missile wingspan MAY still be an issue on the Vampire.
Have you considered twin engines? Here's a couple of quick lash ups I did a couple of years ago, feel free to use them if you like:
This one has enlarged wing root intakes:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv474%2FDaveBailey%2FVampiredualintake.jpg&hash=48b02ca83e75276023ad55d5eed6def675f61396)
And this one has a large nose intake:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv474%2FDaveBailey%2FVampiretwin.jpg&hash=e95fd63111a93fb59623c04510883988bcdfa825)
I dont think ground clearance is going to be much of an issue as I will be stretching it's legs as it will be on FLOATS! ;D I like the twin engine idea but I'm not sure I could pull it off in the 1 week timeframe I have to build it,the enlarged intakes should not be a problem though.the reason I was wondering about the engine is for the greater thrust needed to get my heavier float equipped version off the water and still give it comparable performance to a non float equipped aircraft (speed & range wise I know the floats will cause some loss of manuverability)
"Panzer"
Chop an Adour off a Hawk, perhaps? ;D ;D