Nied

Lets clarify what we're talking about here. Are we talking about weather the wings of a Valkyrie are structurally sound enough to carry a heavy weight outboard? Surely they could, remember we've seen them plow through buildings cars and bridges with little to no effect. If the structure of a Valkyrie can withstand that kind of stress I find it hard to beilieve that it couldn't bear 2000 kg on the outboard pylons. So that leaves us with the problem of adverse yaw and unbalanced loads, and what caused me to bring up the F-111. As david pointed out the reason the Aardvark carries larger weapons outboard is because of clearance issues. Carrying big bunkerbuster bombs on the inboard pylons would interfere with the wing folding. Is it too hard to beilieve that carrying an MER with two giant nuclear weapons inboard would also interfere with the wing folding on a Valkyrie?

The VF-4 doesn't normally carry a gunpod, however if required it can carry one (as seen in VF-X). In fighter mode I'd imagine it could be carried just off centerline(to avoid the nose fin) or close to one of the nacelles like in the Club-M kit (though that would cause all sorts of adverse yaw effects, see the thread below about the RMS-1). As for the cockpit, there's only one good picture of it this one right here. As you can see it looks pretty much like the late block VF-1 cockpit, only with a seperate HUD.

This is pretty intersting. Don't the Australians know how to load aircraft? Note that in terms of how it carries weapons, the VF-1 is a lot close to the F-111 than it is to the F-14.

When the F-22's pylons aren't being used the attach points are covered over so that they don't compromise stealth. I hear that the entire pylon can be ejected as well (though that would leave the attach points uncovered) to improve stealth and drag once the external stores have been used.

Ah but the MER is mounted further inboard than the pylons for the single RMSs. We'll have to look at the distribution of the pylon mounts on the Hasegawa model, but I'd bet that the MER would mount pretty close to where the middle RMS station would. Heck it might even be that the wing can better carry the wieght at the double MER than with the single pylon mounted further out.

What a about the Super Bug? Or the Harrier, A-10, or A-7 (on that one the sidewinder rails are inboard). Personally I find the three RMS pylons pretty plausible, at least for early block VF-1s (like the ones seen in the TV episodes). However I could see the outboard pylon being strengthened enough to carry an MER in later block models. After all if the wing was strong enough to carry three heavy missiles across it's length why couldn't it be strong enough to carry two missiles on the outboard pylon?

Well the only time we really see dual RMS outboard is in DYRL, and then they don't apear to be loaded with heavy nuclear warheads. Instead they're being used as BVR missiles to take out Battlepods. It's possible that in this configuration the two RMS-1s are actually lighter than the micro missile boxes. In the TV series, when the RMS-1s apear it looks almost like they're on three individual hardpoints.

The original F-14B had a pair of F101DFEs (Derivative Fighter Engine in essence B-1B engines modified for fighters) to replace the dangerously unreliable TF-30s in the orginal F-14A. However that program went nowhere and only one prototype was built. The F-14C was a related program that would incorperate some avionics upgrades along with the new engines. Later on in 1984 the F-14 prototype was re-engined with GE F110-400s (the same engines as in late block F-16s). Since the GEs were almost identical to the ones being put in new F-16s (and it was hoped at the time they would be installed in F-15s as well) they could be had for cheap, so the go ahead was given to start upgrading F-14As with the new engines (and the new avionics from the F-14C). At first they called this new version the F-14A+ but most of the Navy's inventory computers couldn't read that, so it was later changed to F-14B. The F-14D also uses the same F110-400 engines, but also has the new radar and cockpit that I mentioned in my post above.

Close (David is going to have a field day with this). The F-14D is either a new build or completely remanufactured F-14A, new engines completely new avionics and some minor structural changes. The canopy is the same yes, but what's under it is almost completely different. All new displays and gauges and even new seats. While I was watching M0 a while back I noticed that there still seemed to be alot of old fashioned "steam" gauges and such in Shin's cockpit. After consulting photos of the real thing and David (who by far deserves the title of resident F-14 expert) we came to the conclusion that it is in fact an old F-14A cockpit in an F-14D fuselage. The F-14B was developed in I think '88 and is an upgraded A, it has the same engines as the D, and some of the structural modifications, but none of the new avionics (and the same old A model cockpit).

I would say it's more analagous to an F-16D or F/A-18D. It does in fact serve a training prupose, in that it's used to familiarize pilots to flying that particular aircraft not actually teach them how to fly, but it also can be put into combat, and is particularly useful in situations where a second set of eyes come in handy. The VT-1 on the other hand looks to be an actualy trainer. It's primary purpose is to teach pilots how to fly and operate a variable fighter, equivelent to a T-45 Goshawk or T-38 Talon.

Doesn't work. The fuselage is completely different on a VF-1D, the nose and the fuselage would have no way of mating.

That looks awesome Gorgon. I agree with Aztek that it would be a better idea to model your ejection seat on the one in the DYRL VF-1. It would make it feel a lot more Macross, that and he's right about egress procedures as well.

Or some sort of "programmable" paint. The pilot just has to create a color scheme and feed it into the computer, which realigns the pigments as needed. Intended for stealth purposes(adaptive camoflauge), but the pilots keep defeating the purpose by wiring it up in bright primary colors. The worst part is there's similar products being developed now. Only for "smart" paper instead of fighterplane skin. They're already working on such a system. What I was refering to is different though. It's basically big vinyl apliques that you stick on the plane instead of paint. The idea is that if you ever need to repaint or repair a plane all you do is peel off the old apliques and stick new ones on. Over the long run this actually saves weight (older airplanse can gain several hundred pounds just from new layers of paint over the years). The other advantage is you can come up with new paint schemes out in the field then just print them out on a giant printer and stick them on the plane.

They probably use one of those new "paintless" techniques to come up with those new schemes. Just print out your new paint scheme on a giant printer and tick it on.

I work with a guy who was an avionics tech on Harriers, he was the one who told me about them. And you're right, for every thing to work right and spit you out the other side intact would be a miracle, I think it's more intended to up your chances of survival in case that kind of thing happens. Incedentally I think I've seen the video in question, I beilieve the aircraft that the guy got sucked into was an A-6 (or EA-6).

Ooh that one's a little higher resolution too. How's the cockpit coming on your model Vinnie? Haven't seen much of it lately.

But F-22raptor.com is pretty good too. Quite a conundrum eh?

According to Globalsecurity.org there's enough room for both the 1,000 lb JDAM and an AMRAAM in each bay. And there's also the Small Diameter Bombs to consider too, the main bay can hold eight.

Most Navy and Marine mechanics wear what's called a cranial. It looks almost like a leather flying helmet only it's been designed to shatter the trubine blades of an engine as it travels through it, thus any mechanic that gets sucked in would remove all the turbine blades in the path with thier head as they went through. As long as the engine is big enough for them to fit through they could make it out alive (probably some nasty burns and broken bones, but nothing a stay in a hospital could fix). Remember the turbine blades most jet engines are very stiff but also pretty brittle and can shatter when even small rocks are parts get sucked in (the technical term is FOD).

The HUD look to be at about eye level in the B-club pic. The Design Works one is a might small to tell. From the renders you've posted you're not going to have much room to raise the HUD any higher anyway. It's interesting that in the B-club pic the VF-4 apears to have that squared off gap between the canopy and nose that I had always assumed projected HUD data right onto the canopy. Perhaps the VF-4 uses a more primitive full canopy HUD that requires a primary HUD as well

Nice. Guess I was wrong about the HUD, the Eurofighter one looks good on there (especially from the pilot's point of view). You still might want to shrink down that MFD though, the proportions look wrong compared to that B-club pic you posted (which incidently was the one I trying to find from Vinnie). IT should look something more like this:

Hey Vinnie what ever happened to that picture you used to model the guns on your VF-4? Ever since WJ/Nanashi took down studio Kappa I can't find it anymore.

That's pretty good looking. A few things though: I don't beilieve that the VF-4 has a sperate HUD, I think it just projects HUD data directly onto the canopy (ala the DYRL VF-1 and all later VFs). Also you might want to lower the top of the main MFD a bit. Right now it would kill most of the forward visibility for the pilot (I wouldn't want to land on a carrier with something like that blocking my view). That and the proportions on the main MFD look a little off anyway, It's a little too tall.

The GU-9 has a big support strut right where the a clip would go if it attached the same way as the VF-11's gunpod. Plus there are no visible seams where a large clip would be.

Holy Crap!! That's from my blank? That's some great work hellohikaru!