New challenge class?
Honestly I'm both surprised that this is possible with that airframe, and that this isn't a more common practice for the military.
New challenge class?
Honestly I'm both surprised that this is possible with that airframe, and that this isn't a more common practice for the military.
It has been done before. The US Navy has paid for a Franken-Tiger of a two seat F-5F forward fuselage to be attached to an F-5E main fuselage ( https://www.navair.navy.mil/node/11201 ). If my memory is correct it was also done with F-18s ( https://www.navair.navy.mil/node/14056 ) and F-15s ( https://theaviationgeekclub.com/israeli-air-force-f-15-frankeneagle-returned-service/ ).
I'm pretty sure it was done in the previous decades too, but just not advertised. I know of at least 2 A-4's that were 'saved' by swapping tail assemblies from other aircraft. It's a little different with the A-4 though, because splitting the aircraft into two pieces was required to change / replace the engines.
The only SR-71C is a Frankenstein of a B with a destroyed aft section and the rear of a YF-12. It never flew straight. It was nicknamed ""The Bastard."
A real grassroots stealth fighter is the Facetmobile. A homebuilt aircraft.
A lot of it has to do with the way documentation and work instructions work for aircraft. Without proper engineering procedures, there's no way to buy off the repair, which automatically makes the aircraft unairworthy. So to get the buy-off, a lot of time and effort had to go into figuring out the engineering to make it safe, how to accomplish the task without the production jigs, and writing work instructions.
Once upon a time, I pulled the navigation box out of an ERJ 145 in accordance with the work instructions to accomplish the approved engineering repair of a bulkhead that had cracked. Unfortunately, realigning it requires a tool, of which there are only four in the world. I ended up accidently downing the aircraft for a couple weeks until the Embraer engineers worked out how to accomplish the realignment without the production only tool.
We swapped wings and tails on MQ-1's and MQ-9's fairly often, but they are way more modular than something like an F-35. Plus, there were work instructions.
Appleseed said:A real grassroots stealth fighter is the Facetmobile. A homebuilt aircraft.
I suspect that was the result of a conversation that went something like this:
"There is no way you can.."
"Oh yes there is"
They do it with ships too. After a nuclear submarine smashed the bow on some rocks, they swapped over the bow of another ones that was being retired.
aircooled said:Appleseed said:A real grassroots stealth fighter is the Facetmobile. A homebuilt aircraft.
I suspect that was the result of a conversation that went something like this:
"There is no way you can.."
"Oh yes there is"
That happens a lot in the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Appleseed said:The only SR-71C is a Frankenstein of a B with a destroyed aft section and the rear of a YF-12. It never flew straight. It was nicknamed ""The Bastard."
The meme is a comin'.
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