Since Circle 5 seems to be slacking off, I went ahead and took photos of a display model of this proposal along with some family portraits with a P-3C model. Obvious on the model are the fuselage stretch, wing root inserts, larger tailplane and cosmetic changes to the nosecone and vertical fin. I don't think the nose and fin changes are a net improvement and the squared-off tail, in particular, gives the airplane an Antonovish look (no offense intended). It also looks like the cockpit eyebrow windows are different, but this might just be due to the different decals used.
Also notable is that:
- the payload bay contours seem to have been retained - this may have provided a little extra underfloor volume at minimal/no cost in drag or may just be due to a lack of ambition on the modeler's part. I'd think that this area would have to be redesigned in the airliner to eliminate the structural weight penalty associated with the payload bay, so guess that the modeler is to blame.
- the wingtip sensor fairings are also retained. I'd guess that these would have disappeared also.
Interestingly, or perhaps not, the original box for the model was hand-marked both "Chinese Electra" and "Passenger P-3".
I don't think that this project had much of a chance. The government of an ambitious developing country would seem unlikely to sign on to a failed (commercially) airliner design from 25 years ago, whatever it's technical merits.
