Vought "Advanced Interceptor" studies (SAMI, ADLI, HSV)

[KJ_Lesnick]

What's IHPTET?

 

[flateric]

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGLS_ruRU321RU321&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=IHPTET

 

[Pyrrhic victory]

Any idea on the armament? I don't see an internal weapons bay and real estate for comformal carriage or pylons is pretty scarce wit that inlet taking up so much room.

 

[KJ_Lesnick]

Flateric,

Sorry about that. If I knew IHPTET would come up that easily, I would have done that myself. Apologies


KJ

 

[Barrington Bond]

As promised...

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Hmm... looks like a B movie prop using a toothpaste cap for an exhaust....

Interesting.

 

[Barrington Bond]

Hmmm... looks like the same model that chap is holding on page 1 of this thread :

The same thought occurred to me ;D

Regards,
Barry

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Courtesy of Mark Nankivil, another "holy grail' is found

 

[blackkite]

Many thanks. I want to see these drawings for a long time.
I want to see engine cross section, too.

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Bill S gets credit for these scans - thanks Bill! Mark

[Admin - added scan by Mark from other topic]

 

[flateric]

thanks, Bill! thanks, Mark!

 

[Bill S]

One more and then I should quit for the night.
I would have loved to see some of these built.

Blended Arrow Supercruiser
Vought Archives

 

[circle-5]

Photos of the Vought Blended Arrow Supercruiser factory model. (Sir George Cox Collection)

 

[shockonlip]

Thanks guys!
Very cool!

 

[Stargazer]

Has the designation for this magnificent "blended arrow" design been found? I seem to recall it was associated to the "Top Secret" V-540 slot in some topic but I can't find it right now.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

I think V-540 can be ruled out as the plans are marked "Confidential" not "Top Secret".

 

[Bill S]

Has the designation for this magnificent "blended arrow" design been found? I seem to recall it was associated to the "Top Secret" V-540 slot in some topic but I can't find it right now.

So far I have only found AI numbers. If you look at the scans Mark posted and the general arrangement I posted last night you will notice the difference AI-XXXXs.

bill

 

[Stargazer]

Blended Arrow Supercruiser
Vought Archives

I think V-540 can be ruled out as the plans are marked "Confidential" not "Top Secret".

Just realized that my Vought index has V-518 associated to the QRI program, dated 1971. Now the three-view of the Blended Arrow shown in previous page carries the acronym QRI... Do we have the V-518 here?

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Its possible. "AI" studies span late 1960s to early 1970s and, almost certainly, V-518 was an version of one or more of these studies. I would hesitate to assume that the Blended Arrow Supercruiser is V-518 specifically without more evidence though.

 

[shockonlip]

There's a lot of info these neat models and design overview
sheets leave out.

Like is there VG in the inlets? Or are they fixed?

The engine nacelles are large in diameter and very short.
Especially if you extrapolate some room inside the front
of the nacelles for the normal spike hardware and maybe
room for some internal contraction, throat and subsonic
diffuser. Plus room for an ejector nozzle in the rear and there
isn't much room left for the turbine itself. This thing HAS to
have an afterburner function, but there is no length available
for it.

So, I really like blackkite's earlier idea that these are duct
burners.

Some cool length comparisons of a 60,000 pound thrust class
P&W JTF17 SST duct burner and a 30,000 pound thrust class
J58 SR-71/A-12 bleed bypass turbojet. The first picture is just
both base engines. The duct burner is shorter because its
augmentor function wraps around the engine core and the
turbojet's is behind the engine core.

Second shot is a side shot the P&W JTF17 concept demonstrator
with ejector nozzle which I believe also has a integrated thrust
reverser, and noise supressor (probably) which a military engine
wouldn't have. Remember this is also a 60K pound thrust monster!
Still the engine core is very short!

 

[shockonlip]

Forgot to mention that the photo source is AIAA 2009-4933:
"Supersonic Transport (SST) Engines". An excellent paper on
the RR Olympus, P&W JTF17, and GE4. There are many more
great photos. If you are a SST fan, I would recommend it.

 

[Stargazer]

Its possible. "AI" studies span late 1960s to early 1970s and, almost certainly, V-518 was an version of one or more of these studies. I would hesitate to assume that the Blended Arrow Supercruiser is V-518 specifically without more evidence though.

What really caught my attention is that the AI-0603 is the ONLY one of the manned Advanced Interceptor studies we have seen that carries the "QRI" acronym (the others are either AMI, ADLI or SAMI), and V-518 is the only project in Bernard Millot's Docavia list that specifically mentions the QRI "jet interceptor" drafted in 1971 (the year is also consistent with the AI program).

Some further search on the web has produced only one mention: QRI is described as a "Quick Response Interceptor" in the document INFLUENCE OF FUELS AND LUBRICANTS ON TURBINE ENGINE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE, FUEL AND LUBRICANT ANALYSES (Final report):

Evaluation of the influences of fuels and lubricants on a next generation Air Force Mach 3+ interceptor required definition of representative designs for the aircraft and engines, their operating conditions, and a complete design definition of the fuel and lubrication system for the engines. The first tasks were the definition of a representative interceptor mission and corresponding
aircraft chacteristics. USAF Contract F33615-71-C-1014 studies of the Quick Response Interceptor (QRI), performed by Vought Aeronautics, were used as the basis for the typical interceptor mission described in Volume I.
The mission consisted of a required high rate of acceleration to cruise, Mach 31 cruise, combat maneuvers, cruise back at Mach 3+, descent, and nominal loiter before landing. USAF Technical Report No. ASB70-12 ASB/MAD, prepared under the same Vought Aeronautics contract, also provided the aircraft configuration, lift, and drag characteristics (contained in Volume I) that were used
to determine apprcpriate engine type and size.

The candidate Pratt & Whitney Aircraft (P&WA™) study engines for the mission were the STJ346A afterburning turbojet and the STF378 duct heating turbofan. Tbe computer program used to compare and size the engines was developed at P&WA while supporting Vought Aeronautics with engine information.

The above document (very heavy PDF of 273 pages, takes yonks to download) describes the Pratt & Whitney engines in much detail, but not the QRI design, unfortunately.

Also of interest, you may have noticed that the AI-0200 basic design is extremely similar to the V-507 design submitted for VFX except for the horizontal tail surfaces which are pointed and turned down.

 

[blackkite]

Many thanks for sharing us wonderful pictures and documents of duct burning engine.

 

[pedrospe]

great aircraft model, thanks for sharing.


regards

Pedro

 

[shockonlip]

Awesome find Stargazer2006 ! Nice work!

Interesting that the duct heater lost this comparison.
Evidently subsonic loiter wasn't that important. I wish
they showed both engines next to each other. However,
for a Navy intereceptor I would think loiter would
be more important. But not sure.

Anyway, thanks again. Looking forward to reading it.

 

[airrocket]

One of the coolest looking jets I've seen many thanks for those pics.

 

[Mike Pryce]

Image of a P&W duct burning engine, called a Variable Stream Control Engine (VSCE), from 1978. Seems to be the same concept as the JTF-17A. Essentially a form of 'straight-through' plenum chamber burning, with an ejector/reverser nozzle.

Source: Hines, Richard. Variable Stream Control Engine for Supersonic Propulsion. Orlando : American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, 1978, Vol. 15. AIAA 77-831.

An explanation of how it works:

Pratt and Whitney has proposed the use of a variable stream control
engine (VSCE). This engine is similar to a conventional twospool
turbofan but incorporates a low emissions duct burner
located in the bypass duct and a co-annular exit nozzle. By
burning fuel in the outer bypass duct that surrounds the core, a
form of distributed propulsion may be achieved because the
burners may be operated at independent throttle settings. The
operation of this engine is described by Hines [54]. At takeoff,
the primary core burner is operated at an intermediate setting
while the duct burner operates at maximum temperature. This
effectively achieves an inverted velocity profile in which the
bypass jet velocity is 60% higher than that of the primary jet
core. This reduces jet noise by 8 decibels relative to a first
generation SST engine. This velocity profile achieves a
significant reduction in takeoff jet noise relative to a constant
velocity profile. During subsonic cruise, both burners are
operated at partial power, achieving a uniform velocity profile,
therefore providing a 20% lower fuel consumption at subsonic
cruise relative to first generation turbojets. At supersonic
cruise the primary burner is increased to takeoff conditions
and the duct burner is operated at partial power. At supersonic
cruise the VSCE is estimated to approach the efficiency of a
turbojet.

Taken from a project for an SST at Virginia Tech, the 'Javelin': http://www.dept.aoe.vt.edu/~mason/Mason_f/VTJavelinSST.pdf

 

[Bill S]

A few more AI model images scanned from the Vought Heritage Archives.


bill

 

[Stargazer]

V-518: Advanced Interceptor AI-0603 Blended Arrow Supercruiser project for U.S.A.F.'s QRI (Quick Response Interceptor) program (1971).

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Thanks to Mark Nankivil, a bigger scan of the image that started this topic.

 

[Bill S]

Configuration AI-0200


"VAD modified its much analyzed V-507 configuration proposed in the final Navy VFX competition to Mach 4.5 capability with twin composite powerplants, material changes, and redesigned air induction systems. The result illustrated in Figure 2-10, was an AI with good carrier suitability at the prohibitive expense of excessive weight and inadequate fuel volumes" From Advanced Airbreathing Interceptor Concept Studies Volume 1 - Summary Vought Aeronautics Division 1969


From the Vought Heritage Archives.


bill

 

[Bill S]

Configuration AI-0300
"In the VFX design competition, VAD evaluated numerous fixed-wing alternate designs. One such configuration employed the close-coupled canard planform of the SAAB Viggen. This design concept achieved the supersonic performance efficiency of a low aspect ration delta-type planform while retaining carrier suitability via efficient low-speed high angle of attack trim capability with the canard surface." "This single-engined, single-seat airplane had 2-D ramp inlets placed within the large canard pressure field. Folding wing tips were used for aerodynamic center control and improved directional stability at high Mach numbers."From Advanced Airbreathing Interceptor Concept Studies Volume 1 - Summary Vought Aeronautics Division 1969

From the Vought Heritage Archives.

bill

 

[Bill S]

Configuration AI-0400

"a "slender" wing-body alternative to the blended wing-body approach of AMI configuration AI-0102. This tailed double delta incorporates twin engines in a ventral pack beneath the wing plane. The 2-D inlet wedge is located vertically in the plane of symmetry to the nose landing gear attach point forward while reacting the left and right-hand variable ramp actuation loads against each other. A feature of this configuration la its high tail volume, permitting trim of high longitudinal load factors at target altitudes, with minimal induced drag penalties. A disadvantage of this configuration is excessive length imposed by requirements to keep the inlet apex aft of the bow shock wave and to provide an effective tail length behind the long wing chord. Structural weight is thus penalized in deference to improved aerodynamic performance in this configuration arrangement. From Advanced Airbreathing Interceptor Concept Studies Volume 1 - Summary Vought Aeronautics Division 1969

From the Vought Heritage Archives

bill

 

[Orionblamblam]

Are dimensions, performance etc. given?

 

[flateric]

Mark, Bill. Thank you so much. All over again!

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Nice finds Bill, you've been digging deep eh?!

Sure gets me fired up to get down there in July!

Thanks! Mark

 

[Bill S]

Are dimensions, performance etc. given?

Not for the configurations I previously listed. These were steps in the thought process.
As for performance, I only found a general chart about the mission profile
Safe reference as previous post. Vought Archives


bill

 

[Bill S]

Back in the early days of this discussion Mark posted a well worn photocopy of this slide.
Here is a scan of the briefing slide of the various manned and unmanned configurations
that were involved in the Advanced Interceptor program.


The second slide shows recommendations going forward with the program.
It is interesting to see the push for Advanced Unmanned Interceptors.


Slide credits Vought


Mark. ADLI = Advanced Deck Launched Interceptor


bill

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Nice find Bill - thanks! Mark

 

[Triton]

LTV Universal Hypersonic Test Vehicle concept lithograph painted by RG Flores circa 1968 found on eBay.

URL:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-HYPERSONIC-TEST-VEHICLE-CONCEPT-1968-LTV-CORP-LITHOGRAPH-jet-photo-2-/310407607346?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4845bc3432