Author Topic: Wings of Zen  (Read 23766 times)

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #50 on: August 08, 2016, 11:00:56 PM »
Loving the lot, but the F5 & F15 are just superb. I really believe that a lot of money could be saved by building or rebuilding things like the eagle.
If it aint broke, don't fix it, maybe build more with mods like your F15CSE, and save on all sorts of costs.
Some things are just, right! Like the Dak or Canberra. The only replacement is another one of the same. :)

Thank you, my friend! :)
Re the money saving, that's the alternate path i'm taking with this type of whif, it was the background i used for my F-16W. ;)
IMHO, the F-22 is the best fighter in service at the moment, and a good replacement for the Eagle, but it's not up to it's full potential. Imagine if the Raptor got a DAS sensor suite and a HMDS to go with it, combined with EOTS, IMHO, it would then be the ultimate fighter.
High costs are always an issue, but i think it's something inherent when developing new technology, and that's something that has to happen. But i guess it may depend on the point of view. Truth is, the F-22 and -35, are the first 5th gen fighters in service, and followers always benefit from the pioneer's experience and breakthroughs, right?
But still, all this is making me think of modernized Tomcats... :-*


Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #51 on: August 09, 2016, 02:53:23 AM »

But still, all this is making me think of modernized Tomcats... :-*


You were saying:

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Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #52 on: August 15, 2016, 09:05:49 AM »
Yes, sir! GTX, that's the stuff, although i want the air superiority variant... with TVC, redesigned fuselage, etc... ;)

Well, finished the Sabre, slight whif, the PoAF had a different scheme on their F-86Fs... ;)








Next, more fighters... >:D

Zen
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« Last Edit: February 16, 2018, 02:34:09 AM by DFZ »
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Offline taiidantomcat

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #53 on: August 15, 2016, 10:08:05 AM »
Excellent F-86! Just love how those streamlined little sabres look.

Very excited about the trio at the bottom there too!  :)
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Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #54 on: August 15, 2016, 09:16:51 PM »
Thank you! :) The trio is already on the bench... ;)
"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #55 on: February 16, 2018, 02:47:14 AM »
Well, hello again, everyone... It's been too long... been very busy with real world affairs but i'm still building as some of you may know...
Finished quite a few models since the F-15CSE...

PoAF F-80C
"In 1949, Portugal was invited to become one of the founding members of NATO and, as a consequence, restructuring and modernization of it's armed forces was to follow.
The Portuguese Air Force Generals were to choose the new aircraft to equip it's squadrons, and obviously they were interested in having jet aircraft in the PoAF, the chose the DeHavilland Vampire as trainer and the F-80C as the first jet fighter in Portuguese service.





Stationed at BA3 Tancos air base, the first squadron to transition from the Vampire to the F-80 was the newly formed 1st Fighter Squadron, called "Galgos", which is the symbol of the Base itself, and used on every aircraft of the squadron.





The F-80 flew with the PoAF from February, 1953, and were retired from active duty in 1959, although some were kept in flying condition and were later reactivated and deployed in the Colonial war theater of Guinea-Bissau in 1963, along with F-86E and F, received by the PoAF 5 years earlier. The war was short for PoAF's fighter jets because of pressure by NATO countries, who ordered the Portuguese government to retire the fighters, as it was equipment obtained under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, and there wasn't any support for the Portuguese military action in it's colonies.





The F-80 was completely retired from service on the 15th of December, 1964, after it performed it's last flight over it's home base of Tancos. Although most of the 58 units were scrapped, about a dozen were stored and prepared to be taken to museums and to be placed on stands and become monuments in several locations around the country."

I've updated all the pics on this thread, they were on my Photobucket account, which i've closed down, so if you want to take a look at the previous models, most of the pics have been restored.
More to follow soon...

Zen
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« Last Edit: February 16, 2018, 02:48:46 AM by DFZ »
"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #56 on: February 16, 2018, 03:00:56 AM »
F8F-2 Bearcat of the Portuguese Navy

"At the end of WWII, the US Navy had 9 Essex-class carriers being built, but of these, only six were to be completed, one was to be used as a template for future modernization programs on all Essex-class carriers, and the other 2 were to be cancelled.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Admirals were very alert to the importance of the big aircraft carrier's role in winning the war in the Pacific, and with the Portuguese colonial territories in mind, presented a proposal to Salazar's dictator government. Salazar was obviously interested in the idea but, the Portuguese industrial capacity at the time didn't have the infrastructures to build such ships, so the Portuguese Navy had to go shopping...
After several months of meetings, an agreement was reached and the 2 carriers that were cancelled the US Navy, were to become PoN vessels.
Both ships were finished and delivered in 1947, the first to be christened NRP "Glorioso" and the second, NRP "Camões".
These aircraft carriers would operate flight groups of 90 to 110 aircraft, including one of the best piston engine powered fighters of all time, the F8F Bearcat.
 The Portuguese pilots loved the Bearcat, but only had one little problem with the looks, they wanted to have a spinner on the prop so it would look a bit sleeker. The engineers at the State's Aeronautical Maintenance Workshops, or OGMAs as they're called in Portuguese, said that it would be an easy task and simply copied the shape of the PoAF's Spitfire Vb  and made it with 4 holes instead of 3. They also included a new canopy, with the same basic shape, but without the rear framing.
The Bearcat served with the PoN long after the first jets started being put into service, they were decommissioned from carrier fleet use in 1964, and continued serving as training aircraft at Naval Air Stations around the country. Some were later transferred to the New Guinea and Angolan colonies, for policing duties.









Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #57 on: February 16, 2018, 03:20:57 AM »
Harrier Gr.9 of the Portuguese Marines

"In 1998, the Portuguese Marine Corps were looking to replace the 24 Harrier GR.3 that they'd been operating since 1983, aboard the NRP "Bordalo", one of the 3 "Arade" class carriers, similar to the British "Invincible" class, with a displacement of 6,5 tons, and was built at Arsenal do Alfeite docks in Portugal, during the late 1970s.
The need to replace the GR.3 fleet was becoming evident as the airframes were coming to the end their expected lifespan and flight hours were becoming very costly, but the Marines were told to wait because it was still unknown if Portugal would get involved on the JSF program or not, but 2 years went by and the GR.3 had to be retired without an option, leaving the carrier air arms operating only helicopters during a full year.
A new aircraft would be needed very soon but, the slow development of the F-35 meant that an alternative had to be found. The obvious choice would be modern Harriers, but this time only 16 aircraft would be bought.
The 16 GR.7 would be delivered in 2 batches of 8, the first being delivered in 2001 and the second in late 2002.
All 16 airframes were upgraded to GR.9A standards in 2010, getting the 9A designation because they got the more powerful Pegasus Mk.107 engine.
The PoMC still operates their Harriers and will do so, at least, until 2025, year on which they're planning to transition to the Lockheed Martin F-35B."








Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #58 on: February 16, 2018, 03:39:38 AM »
PoAF's Bf-109F-2

Quick whif of one of my first models back in 2013, what if Portugal and Spain joined the Axis in WWII?  ;)






Zen
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Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #59 on: February 16, 2018, 03:55:32 AM »
PoAF's F-16C/C(V) Block 70

"In 2011, the gradual increase of Russian aircraft detected over the Atlantic ocean, led the US to present a proposal to the Portuguese government to extend their presence at the Lajes air base located in the Azores islands.
This program offered the Portuguese government a payment for use of the base, payment which would come in form of military equipment for the PoAF.




The proposal granted a total of 48 F-16 fighters of the latest V configuration that were to be some of the most advanced Vipers to date. This agreement would allow the Americans to maintain their presence and surveillance of any military movements happening in the Atlantic, while at the same time, they would be reinforcing one of their allied air forces with more modern equipment for a better response and assistance of US forces in any possible scenario.



The Portuguese government would almost immediately accept what would be called the Peace Atlantis III program.
Like  the PoAF had already been operating the F-16 for a long time, the US government, together with Lockheed Martin, chose an option that would be cheaper, easier to put into production and for Portuguese pilots to make the transition.
This program consisted of the further development and integration of new aerial combat technologies for fighters of previous generations, and in this case, would be composed by several improvements for the iconic Viper.




Starting with the advanced SABR APG-83 radar, IRST sensor and new displays and mission computer in the cockpit, this suite of systems would give the old Viper new capabilities and better chances against possible enemy fighters. This variant would also have the option of using CFTs or external fuel tanks conforming to the fuselage to increase its range of action.
But the one of the most unexpected upgrades was the new Skorpion exhaust nozzle from General Electrics, which, although identical on the outside  compared to a normal one, this nozzle is a derivative of the nozzle used on the F-16VISTA, governed by a 3D propulsion vector control system.




To complete the propulsion section, for the first time , the powerplant would be a combination of rival company's products.
The US government decided that the workshare should be divided so, Pratt&Whitney was forced to work with General Electrics as a team on this project
The Pratt & Whitney F135 ADVENT, which, by having almost the same exact dimensions of the P&W engines used on the Viper, was easy to adapt to any existing airframe with a few minor adjustments and connection parts.
These fighters would in fact, be even more lethal and survivable than the F-16E/F Block60, with only a few differences of hardware and software.




The first 3 single seat and 3 twin seat F-16C/DV Block70, were delivered in March of 2015. They were flown all the way to Portugal by PoAF pilots, who traveled from the American base in Tucson, Arizona, where they went through transition training, back to Monte Real's BA5, where they were received by the remaining "Falcons" of the 201st fighter squadron and senior representatives of the Portuguese and American government, PoAF and USAF, as well as a representative of Lockheed and the OGMA/Embraer.









The last 12 of the 48 were delivered in 2016, already with the new stealthier paint, the "Have glass V", with a different overall tone, adapted to our mixed territory. 6 of each of version would also be delivered to the "Jaguars" of Squadron 301, just a few months after the first arrived."

Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #60 on: February 16, 2018, 04:05:26 AM »
PoAF's Gnat - Asas de Portugal aerial demo team








Zen
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Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #61 on: February 16, 2018, 04:12:31 AM »
Sukhoi SU-40 stealth fighter prototype

"In 1979, Serghey Burchisnyov, a secret agent living in the USA under the false identity of a German aeronautical designer called Martin Strauss, working for the KGB, had successfully managed to ilude the US intelligence about his past and infiltrated the staff at the installations of the famous Lockheed Skunkworks at Palmdale, CA. After some months working there as a secretary for the chief designer, Martin was able to get access to some information on the F-117 program, including some samples of the paint that was going to be used on it.
Being able to follow the program for 2 years without ever blowing his cover, the info he gathered was then transferred to the OKB-51(Sukhoi) and OKB-155(Mikoyan-Gurevich) for the tender of the first Soviet stealth aircraft.
It is not known by US authorities, exactly what info was stolen but, in Russia the OKB teams had a long task ahead of them. Although the material was varied in subject, it was very incomplete and sparse in detail because of Martin/Serghey's insufficient security clearance, so work was done over a 6 year period, where the engineers had lots of new problems to solve.
Due to budget being limited to development and construction of a technology demonstrator, Sukhoi and Mikoyan were only to build the prototypes at around 2/3 of the real size intended for production models.
Still, with so many restrains and the limited means they had, they pulled through and with cooperation between the 2 design bureaus, Mikoyan-Gurevich Developed what was to be called the Mig-37 Ferret B, and was pretty much the same concept of the American F-117, which was to be a stealth bomber.
Sukhoi's designers took a different approach to the idea and tried to develop a multi-role stealth fighter that could defeat anything in the skies.
The outcome was a very streamlined design, especially when compared to the F-117 Nighthawk and even to Mig's design.
Although very similar to the Mig, the Su-40 Flatliner, as NATO would come to call it, had a four poster tail configuration, as opposed to the other two "known" designs.
The wing configuration would also be different, trapezoidal design but with reverse angle on the outer portion beyond the flaperons, with a sweepback angle of 55,5º on the LE. The same angles were used for the horizontal stabilizers, that would greatly improve maneuverability.
Common design features were demanded by the Soviet state department so, the twin engine configuration would be the same but Sukhoi thought of adding a 2D TVC nozzle to the exhaust system, for increased maneuverability and lower IR signature.
Excellent maneuverability was indeed a requirement that Sukhoi's engineers wanted to fulfill, but he Soviet metallurgic industry wasn't advanced enough to produce a metal that could cope with the high temperatures reached by the the engine's afterburner combustion gases, so the 2D TVC nozzle had a low life expectancy and high maintenance hours and costs. The engines used on this prototype were a development of the R95sh series used on the Su-25 Frogfoot, with no afterburner, but for the production models, there would be bigger engines with afterburners.
The first example was finished in September, 1986, and the first flight took place on May 1st, 1987 at Kubinka air force base and was uneventful. The aircraft behaved well in all test-flights and was reported had a tremendous rate of climb, caused by the thrust-to-weight ratio being higher than 1/1, because of the light weight composite materials used in it's structure. The prototype was given the nickname "Black shark" by test-pilot Vladimir Ilyushin and was flown by him throughout the short test flight series until the project was cancelled by lack of funding.
With the economic and political situation in the Soviet Union showing signs of problems throughout it's member states, the funding for new developments was completely cut down when there was only one finished prototype of the Flatliner, in late 1987. Unfortunately, the world would not get to see it fly as the KGB deliberately destroyed the both prototype and all paper and digital trail regarding this program back in 1991, after collapse of the Soviet Union, making all efforts to find any information or technical data almost impossible.
After the end of the Cold war, after Perestroika and Glasnost settled in, the Western intelligence services were to be publicly humiliated by the secrecy that kept both the Mig-37 and Su-40 jets completely unknown to them until 1996, when a wood replica of the Flatliner was displayed at the Monino air force museum in Moscow. This replica was built by former sukhoi staff who'd worked on the real project, as a tribute to Sukhoi's and Russian people's glorious achievements."























Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #62 on: February 16, 2018, 04:17:33 AM »
F/A-16W Block 70

"In 1997, the Israeli Air Force sent a proposal to Lockheed martin. The Israelis were after a lightweight strike fighter with a longer range than the range offered by their F-16 fleet. The proposal consisted of using the design basis of the F-16 variant that was studied for the UAE, before the conventional design E/F Desert Falcons were chosen. The main requirement was that the new fighter had to have 30-40% longer range and a larger payload. Although the fighter was to be built, assembled and tested in the U.S., most of the avionics and other electronic systems were built and installed in Israel by Elbit systems, including an AESA radar, derived from the APG-81 AESA radar, IRTS sensor on top of the radome and the EOTS type sensor on the underside.
This would be a very different variant of the viper, with a trapezoidal wing, copied from the F-22 Raptor's wing. The wings were exactly the same as the F-22's wings but were redesigned and strengthened internally, for heavier loads and a new weapons station on the outboard section.



Initially, the engineers at LM were maintaining the original design with the traditional single vertical stabilizer but, the Israelis wanted to take the design one step further and add a few more details.
First were the twin tails, a modification that was already in test for a possible F-16 upgrade pack intended for the older F-16 fleets in service around the world. The twin tails were originally tested on wind-tunnel models but the single tail was chosen as it proved to have more directional stability than the twin tails but, with this new wing, wind-tunnel tests showed that the twin tails would be much more effective due to the change in airflow direction because of the new layout.





The intake would also be revised and the Diverterless Supersonic Inlet(DSI) was chosen because of the clear advantages over the old design, including reduced radar cross section, lighter weight and absence of moving parts, making maintenance time and costs smaller. This intake had been tested in 1996 on a Block 30 F-16C, to study the intake layout for the F-35 Lightning II but, because of the modular construction of the original intake, the DSI was able to be retrofitted to any F-16 airframe.



The engine was another issue, because this variant would be heavier than the normal F-16 variants, the Israelis asked LM to study the feasibility of adapting the Pratt&Whitney F135-PW-100 on the F-16. LM engineers found it to be an easy task but the request was frowned upon by USAF officials and US congress members but, after a couple of months of negotiations, the Israelis managed to convince the Americans into selling them the engine and also, the LOAN nozzles that are used with the engine on the F-35.
With thrust going up to 34.000 pounds with afterburner, this engine would also help increase the range of the Viper, following the requirement of longer range over the previous F-16 variants. To further increase the range, Conformal Fuel Tanks were installed, increasing the range around 43,5%.





The first flight of the newly designated F/A-16W was on the 23 rd of December, 2003, at Forth Worth, Texas, and deliveries to the IAF began in February of the next year. The F/A-16W designation would later be changed by the Israelis to F-16I Sufa..."












Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #63 on: February 16, 2018, 04:21:54 AM »
YF-23 Black Widow

"The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a demonstration and validation program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to counter emerging worldwide threats, including Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters under development in the 1980s.
In 1981, USAF began forming requirements for a new air superiority fighter intended to replace the capability of the F-15 Eagle. In June 1981 a request for information (RFI) for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was published by the Air Force. Design concepts were provided by defense contractors. The common areas among the concepts were Stealth, STOL and supercruise. It was envisioned that the ATF would incorporate emerging technologies including advanced alloys and composite material, advanced fly-by-wire flight control systems, higher power propulsion systems, and low-observable, or stealth technology.
In September 1983, study contracts were awarded to seven airframe manufacturers for further definition of their designs. By late 1984, ATF requirements had settled on a fighter with a maximum takeoff weight of 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg), a mission radius of 800 miles (1,300 km), supercruise speed of Mach 1.4-1.5 and the ability to use a 2,000 feet (610 m) runway.[6] A request for proposals (RFP) for the fighter's engine, called the Joint Advanced Fighter Engine (JAFE), was released in May 1983. Pratt & Whitney and General Electric received contracts for the development and production of prototype engines in September 1983.



A request for proposals (RFP) for the fighter was issued in September 1985. In May 1986, the Air Force changed the RFP so that final selection would involve flying prototypes. In July 1986, proposals were provided by Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Northrop, and McDonnell Douglas.
Two contractors, Lockheed and Northrop were selected in October 1986 to undertake a 50-month demonstration/validation phase, culminating in the flight test of two technology demonstrator prototypes, the YF-22 and the YF-23. Under terms of agreements between Lockheed, General Dynamics, and Boeing, the companies agreed to participate in the development jointly if only one company's design was selected. Northrop and McDonnell Douglas had a similar agreement.
Because of the added weight for thrust vectoring/reversing nozzles and related systems on the F-15 S/MTD research aircraft, the Air Force changed the runway length requirement to 3,000 feet (910 m) and removed the thrust reversers on the ATF in late 1987. Two examples of each prototype were built for the Demonstration-Validation phase: one with General Electric YF120 engines, the other with Pratt & Whitney YF119 engines. The first YF-23 made its maiden flight on 27 August 1990 and the first YF-22 first flew on 29 September 1990.



Flight testing began afterwards and the second aircraft for each competitor was to be ready in late October 1990, but after some early development problems, the GE engines would only be ready 6 months later.
Worried by less than satisfactory data concerning the agility of the first prototype, Northrop engineers were convinced that it wasn't good enough so, after meeting with their team, Northrop's program manager Steve Smith and chief engineer/designer Bob Sandusky knew they had at least an extra 6 months so they proposed a last minute design change from the V tail to a 4 Poster configuration aided by 2D thrust vectoring nozzles like the YF-22 had, for the added maneuverability. Authorized by CEO Tom Jones, the second prototype would be finished with the new 4 Poster tail design in December, 1990, only having it's GE engines installed in April 1991, making it's first flight on the 12th.







The first YF-23  with P&W engines(PAV-1), supercruised at Mach 1.43 on 18 September 1990 and the second YF-23 with GE engines(PAV-2), reached Mach 1.6 on 29 April 1991. The YF-22 with GE engines achieved Mach 1.58 in supercruise. Flight testing continued until August 1991.
The maneuverability of PAV-2 was totally superior to PAV-1, which would be comparable to an F-15.







The TVC nozzles gave the plane a much tighter and sustained turning radius in a combat scenario, so much so that PAV-1 was rapidly relegated to systems testing, leaving all performance flight testing to be done by PAV-2, which had the now final EMD proposed design.





Following flight testing, the contractor teams submitted their EMD proposals for ATF production.



Following a review of the flight test results and proposals, the Air Force announced the Lockheed YF-22 with Pratt & Whitney engines as the competition winner on 23 April 1991. The YF-23 design was considered stealthier and faster, but, even with the design change to improve this aspect, the YF-22 was still more agile and furthermore, had a projected greater weapons load capacity in it's weapons bays.





The Lockheed team was awarded the contract to develop and build the Advanced Tactical Fighter in August 1991. The YF-22 was modified into the production F-22 Raptor version. The Northrop YF-23 design was later considered by the company for modification as a bomber, but the proposals have not come to fruition."







Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline DFZ

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #64 on: February 16, 2018, 04:29:54 AM »
So, after quite some time away from this forum, almost done updating this page, all pics blocked by Photobucket were restored so yand the following model is my most recent finished model...

F-35ADF

What if the F-35 went through an evolution similar to the F-16's? The second main variant of the F-16 was the ADF(Air Defense Fighter) so, here you have the F-35ADF of the Portuguese Air Force, circa 2030.





With within visual range air combat performance in mind, Lockheed Martin engineers give priority to agility and engine power, that, coupled with all the electronic capabilities it already had, would make the F-35 a much more capable fighter.





Wingtip LAU-129 launchers would be an option added for when stealth isn't really necessary...























This thread is now up to date, more to come soon...

Zen
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"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #65 on: February 16, 2018, 04:55:52 AM »
Ahh that's a lovely F-35 there Zen!

Love those very rare low-viz Portuguese markings too!

Brian da Basher

Offline Acree

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #66 on: February 16, 2018, 05:06:52 AM »
That's outstanding modelling!  They all look amazing, but that Gnat is especially pretty!

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #67 on: February 16, 2018, 06:21:56 AM »
Wow!  So much input in one installment is quite impressive. 

Like what you did with that old Testor's MiG-37 kit as it is a vast improvement over the original. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Online finsrin

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #68 on: February 16, 2018, 06:51:49 AM »
Bit overwhelmed and enjoying it.  All are finished super well. :smiley:
Gotta take time to browse slowly, let pictures sink in.

Offline AXOR

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #69 on: February 16, 2018, 07:06:32 AM »
Hi there :smiley:
I know them from the other forum,but when I see them all together is even more impressive...great builds...just great !
Alex

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #70 on: February 16, 2018, 11:48:31 AM »
Beautiful new models you've added here.  Tell me, when the British MoD disposed of their Harrier fleet early, did Portugal pick up any "near new" ones to augment their fleet?

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #71 on: February 17, 2018, 03:42:10 AM »
Some great work there.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #72 on: February 17, 2018, 10:52:23 AM »
This latest stuff is absolutely beautiful, though the YF-23 #2 is definitely a whiff as the YF-23 without vectoring was more agile than the YF-22 with it, according to the flight test summaries I've seen; Northrop lost the competition on the management side, not the technical side.

I love that F-16W and look to apply at least some aspects of it to something similar.

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #73 on: February 18, 2018, 02:33:23 AM »
So much whiffery goodness on display here!  :-*
Cheers,
Moritz

"The appropriate response to reality is to go insane!"

Offline DFZ

  • Bitten by the Viper...
Re: Wings of Zen
« Reply #74 on: February 18, 2018, 05:56:27 PM »
Love those very rare low-viz Portuguese markings too!

Brian da Basher


Ya, very rare indeed. I wish the PoAF would use them more, a few of their Vipers had the Lo-viz scheme during a short while, just during a NATO exercise back in 2009...

That's outstanding modelling!  They all look amazing, but that Gnat is especially pretty!


 :smiley: Little bugger came out better than i expected, used the RW "Asas de Portugal scheme"  used on their T-37's scheme, just tweaked it a bit. I'm not one of many colors but that was a good change of pace from all the gray tones... ;)

Wow!  So much input in one installment is quite impressive. 

Like what you did with that old Testor's MiG-37 kit as it is a vast improvement over the original. 


I had something like that in mind since i bought the kit, never really liked the look of the nose and wings. Still, if i was building it now, some things would be different, might have to buy another one to try out the new ideas. ;)

Bit overwhelmed and enjoying it.  All are finished super well. :smiley:
Gotta take time to browse slowly, let pictures sink in.


Glad you like them, mate. :smiley:

Hi there :smiley:
I know them from the other forum,but when I see them all together is even more impressive...great builds...just great !


 :smiley: Thanks! Yep, i have them there too but it's a bit easier to have it all in one thread here, easier to find then spread out in different threads.

Beautiful new models you've added here.  Tell me, when the British MoD disposed of their Harrier fleet early, did Portugal pick up any "near new" ones to augment their fleet?


 :smiley: That would be a very good option, even if it was only for spares. I still have the Hasegawa 1/72 AV-8B+ for the Portuguese Marines too. Because of that build, met a couple of real world Marines who told me that, although impossible in reality, they'd loved to see that happen cause both the Harrier and A-10 are 2 of the most respected by all Portuguese Marines. Still, like me, they also believe that an F-35B would be the way to go in the future. When the system is fully operational, i believe it will be as good as they say it will.

This latest stuff is absolutely beautiful, though the YF-23 #2 is definitely a whiff as the YF-23 without vectoring was more agile than the YF-22 with it, according to the flight test summaries I've seen; Northrop lost the competition on the management side, not the technical side.

I love that F-16W and look to apply at least some aspects of it to something similar.


That's the question that started that whole idea, i've read articles that spoke of the YF-23 being faster but not being as agile as the -22 in post stall regime and sustained turning rate... and even the Northrop guys say in the "Web of secrecy" doc, that they went for speed and stealth and Lockheed went for agility with the more conservative layout...
Then, you listen to Paul Metz and he says it was as good or better than the -22... also, i've always liked 4 poster design aircraft and i'd never seen the YF-23 like that before so, it was the obvious choice. ;) Imagine the Northrop engineers going: "So they wanna dogfight, huh? Let's give'm what they want..."  >:D
I've also read about the decision being about the management and that the US gov didn't trust Northrop because of the B-2 program and it's problems.
The YF-23 would also need a lot of work like the Raptor, as you surely know, the proposed F-23A design was so different. There's one being built on the ARC forum, the guy's using the 1/48 Hobbyboss kit, quite a surgery to get it up to the production design. Much respect for that brave and talented modeler. :icon_alabanza:
Re the F-16W, i still consider it my best so far...  :-*
I'm going to build a few more twin tail Vipers, wanna build the YF-16 and the rest of the variants using the "What if the 401F-3 configuration was chosen?" excuse...  ;)
Please get that Viper going, the world needs more Viper whifs! 8)

Some great work there.


So much whiffery goodness on display here!  :-*


Thank you all for your generous words, gentlemen, much appreciated!  :icon_alabanza:  :icon_beer:
Glad to know you like the bunch, i've been having a load of fun whiffing, haven't built a real world model in the last 2 years. 8)

Next will be another Viper and a Raptor... the Raptor is the Revell 1/72 kit in flight mode and OOB with a whif paint job and markings.
The Viper is the Hasegawa 1/72 F-16E with some extras like F-2A control surfaces, an LOAN/ AVEN hybrid and a DSI. Imagine that the F-16E/F were developed from the Agile Falcon concept? Not the original design for the Agile Falcon, no widened or stretched fuselage, just new wings and horizontal stabs.
IMHO, the F-2A missed the purpose of the idea, why make it heavier if they didn't have a more powerful engine? Obviously, the mission requirement is different from the F-16's in USAF use so agility improvement was probably secondary, not a priority, i guess... but still, i've never really liked the F-2A as much as i like the regular Viper, the F-2A's nose is horrible, so is the canopy, and the stretched fuselage simply looks too long... but that's just my opinion, of course... but, enough words, i'll give you something to look at... ;)



Shouldn't take too long to finish now...

Zen
 :icon_meditation:
"Stick and stones may brake some bones but a 3,57's gonna blow your damn head off!"