taildragger
You can count on me - I won a contest
- Joined
- 2 November 2008
- Messages
- 388
- Reaction score
- 462
Here's a sketch of an unknown aircraft recently found on eBay. Any ideas on what I bought?
My guess is that it's a proposed VTOL or extreme STOL aircraft intended for COIN applications.
The signature is dated 1974 (I think) which would be right for the SEA-type camouflage. If the A3... number is a civil registration, it corresponds to Tonga, so that's no help.
The center wing seems to form some sort of a louvered, jet-flap mechanism.
The ports on the aft fuselage could be reaction controls for pitch & yaw. No reaction control for roll is evident but it could be achieved by modulating the jet flaps. The "80 Oct" on top of the fuselage suggests avgas and a piston engine, which would mean that the jet flaps and reaction controls would be supplied by fan(s). Blowing through the jet flaps would be the only visible means of propulsion. There's what looks like a small exhaust pipe behind the left wing.
No weapons, stores stations or aiming mechanism is depicted so it might just be proposed as a demonstrator, but why the camo then? It looks too small to carry a useful weapons load.
My guess is that it's a proposed VTOL or extreme STOL aircraft intended for COIN applications.
The signature is dated 1974 (I think) which would be right for the SEA-type camouflage. If the A3... number is a civil registration, it corresponds to Tonga, so that's no help.
The center wing seems to form some sort of a louvered, jet-flap mechanism.
The ports on the aft fuselage could be reaction controls for pitch & yaw. No reaction control for roll is evident but it could be achieved by modulating the jet flaps. The "80 Oct" on top of the fuselage suggests avgas and a piston engine, which would mean that the jet flaps and reaction controls would be supplied by fan(s). Blowing through the jet flaps would be the only visible means of propulsion. There's what looks like a small exhaust pipe behind the left wing.
No weapons, stores stations or aiming mechanism is depicted so it might just be proposed as a demonstrator, but why the camo then? It looks too small to carry a useful weapons load.
