in the late 50s the uk discovered the worlds largest oil field in the north sea and thus became the richest nation on earth (again) this allowed several projects including the tsr2 to mature and enter service.
the gr1 vulture (in service name for the tsr2 because it looks like a bird of prey and keeps the v bomber line alive) was a massive success. several export customers including the us opted for the vulture ahead of the f111.
in the early 80s bac decided to see just how far they could push the design and went all out to create a monster with canards, full digital fly by wire controls,lerx wing root extensions,massively blown control surfaces, 2d thrust vectoring, rolls royce (whod bought bristol/siddley) pushed the olympus engine to a staggering 60,000 lb of thrust each (this isnt bs they were testing the olympus at 68,000 lb thrust in the mid 60s before the plug got pulled!!!).
the result was nothing short of blistering pace and at least as manouverable as the f15 eagle
the empty weight came down 45,000 lb the loaded weight was 70,000 and the max take off weight was increased to 120,000 lb with a max weapon load of 20,000 lb giving it a better power to weight ratio than any fighter at that time,
the power combined with the tiny frontal area combined to make a strike aircraft that was completey uncatchable by any manned aircraft at low level and still holds the world record at sea level (1350 mph!!) it also holds the british record speed at altitude of mach 3.02 (it couldnt top the blackbird). it also holds several time to climb records
here is the prototype
realising the potential for such a capable design the mod autherised a fighter/bomber version for use with the raf and royal navy (for use with the ark royal indefatigable and hood 3 2800 feet long nuclear powered pykrete behemoth carriers)
the only real differences being a fighter style high mounted canopy (looks alot like an f4 phantoms canopy but flatter) and the assorted air - air and air-ground munitions (including a liscense built aim 54 pheonix with british developed radar)
the fgr1 entered service in 1983 and replaced both the bucaneer and lightning jets respectively (the tornado european plane the british never entered into the consortium). its performance was nothing short of stella (although it was a complex beast for ground crews)
the top speed at sea level was 1250 mph and mach 2.6 at altitude ( mach 2.9 dash speed was permitted but only for short periods due to heat build up )
typical weapon load included 4 sky flash (similer postion to the f15) 2 pheonix and 4 sidewinders on wing pylons (outer pylons) + a total air-ground load of upto 16,000 lbs on the 4 inner wing pylons and the internal bombay.
the bomb bay could house air-ground weapons (including lgbs) 4 ky flash/2 pheonix and 2 skyflash or could be used purely for extra fuel. there was also a nose mounted vulcan gun (same position as f4 phantom).
the inner pylons could also host extra fuel tanks
how do i get this made??
what an absolute monster of a plane the acceleration is obscene! fantastic job with it :) 1 question how much power have you given it? the prototype had 60,000 lb thrust the gr1 wouldve had 85,500!!