Martin-FMC Land Aircraft Carrier - Now With Added Lockheed!

[CammNut]

The idea behind this is an armoured vehicle that can carry a fighter to provide organic air support for small, mobile combat units. It was inspired by Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng's Land Aircraft Carrier, a six-wheel, hybrid-electric recreational vehicle that carries a two-seat multicopter electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in the boot/trunk.



I needed a larger tracked vehicle able to carry a real aircraft into combat and eventually I found the Hasegawa 1/35 Crusher Joe Galleon - a big tracked armoured personnel carrier type vehicle from a Japanese sci-fi series.

I needed a large vehicle because it had to accommodate all the things needed to support an aircraft - pilot, ground crew, fuel, armoury, maintenance shop as well as the vehicle crew and the air boss to control operations. Also it had to be big enough to carry the launch and recovery system for a tailsitting VTOL aircraft.

And the Galleon is big...if you assume it's 1/72 to match the aircraft - full scale it would be 14.4m long, more than twice that of a Bradley IFV, so the cube law gives us much more room inside for stuff.

Photo credit: Hasegawa


All very well, but it has taken me months to get the mechanics of the concept to work. Or more precisely the kinematics. The aircraft had to sit sufficiently close to the top deck of the vehicle to be stable on the move and accessible when stationary. But it also had to sit vertically on a pad for takeoff and landing. And I wanted the raising/lowering mechanism to actually work!

I tried several different approaches, with no success. I tried it with different tailsitting VTOL aircraft. I started with the Convair XFY-1, but the ventral tail fin interfered with the launch mechanism. Then I tried the Lockheed XFV-1. It's X-tail straddled the launch rail nicely, but it was too big!

So I ended up with a Fantastic Plastic 1/72 model of the Martin Model 262 convoy fighter , which sits vertically on its weird little tailplane endplates. In reality, the 262 would have hooked itself to a raised platform for takeoff and landing, but it worked for me as it wasn't too big and the pointy finlets engage nicely with the mesh surface of the deployable launch pad.

  Photo credit: Fantastic Plastic and Atlantis


For the transporter/erector mechanism, I ended up using the launcher from an Atlantis reissue of a 1/56 Revell Bomarc missile. This had both the size and the range of motion I needed, from carrying the aircraft horizontally atop the vehicle to vertically on the launch pad. It also had the advantages of being simple and looking practical.

Here's how it is supposed to work:



It starts with the fighter horizontal, stabilizing arms locked to the wings and a claw clamping the rear fuselage for stability during transport. Here the work platforms on either side are raised on hydraulic rams to give the pilot and ground crew access to the aircraft.

Next the launch/landing platform is deployed from the rear of the stationary vehicle, unfolding to provide a safety zone for vertical takeoff and landing.



Then the work platforms lower, stabilizing arms unlock and the launch mast begins to rise to the vertical, the translating claw starting to move the aircraft down the mast and into position.



With the launch mast fully vertical, the translating claw lowers the aircraft so the finlets lock onto the pad and then releases the fuselage.



The launch mast is then partially retracted so it is ready to be redeployed if there is a problem when the aircraft goes through its startup.



So there we have them, the Land Aircraft Carrier 2020s style:

Photo credit: XPeng/Aridge

And 1950s style:

[dwomby]

I like the 50s style one best.!!!!

Ingeniously plausible idea and clever use of donors for the execution.

Bravo!

David

[PR19_Kit]

I absolutely LOVE that, magic stuff!

And I didn't know that Atlantis had re-popped the Bomarc! I'll have to get one as that launcher/erector will suit my long delayed Navaho build almost perfectly! 

[kerick]

I absolutely LOVE that, magic stuff!

And I didn't know that Atlantis had re-popped the Bomarc! I'll have to get one as that launcher/erector will suit my long delayed Navaho build almost perfectly! 

And then you can convert the BOMARC missile to a manned rocket fighter!

Your land aircraft carrier looks great!

[frank2056]

Wow - this is awesome whiffery! Great job!

Kit - Atlantis has re-popped many of the old odd scale missiles; they show the X-17 and Bomarc on their web page, but I've seen some of the others in stock at various distributors.

[PR19_Kit]

Kit - Atlantis has re-popped many of the old odd scale missiles; they show the X-17 and Bomarc on their web page, but I've seen some of the others in stock at various distributors.

I've got an Bomarc on order right now. 

[chrisonord]

That is really cool. My gastric is well and truly flabbered 

[NARSES2]

Excellent build   

[CammNut]

Thank you folks. Coming shortly, pics of the Land Aircraft Carrier carrying Lockheed's tailsitter.

[Rick Lowe]

 

[zenrat]

 

[CammNut]

Here is the Land Aircraft Carrier with the Lockheed FV-1 (1/72 Valom). It would take a few mods I have not done to make it work properly.




I also realized that I had forgotten the vehicle had opening doors (providing access to the armoury and maintenance shop).

[PR19_Kit]

You actually BUILT a Valom XFV-1? My congratulations, I gave up with mine ages ago, I couldn't find any parts that fitted any others! 

[kerick]

That Lockheed thing would be quite a challenge on its own.

[HarryPhishnuts]

Ok that is Awesome