Gloster f.5/34
- Thread starter merlin
- Start date
Since the Air Ministry insisted that the Gloster had no priority whatever, development proceeded under the sponsorship of a lady of means, whose only prerequisite was that all prototypes must be painted shocking pink, to match her Rolls Royce. That, and it's a base color which I never use in the final color wash.
Ah! Secretary of State for Air 7 June 1935 – 16 May 1938 (30 psi please and give the windscreen a wipe)
Same Lady Lucy Houston that sponsored the Schneider trophy team?
Poppy was the wealthiest woman in the world.
I'd go with tail 1. Maybe clip the top.
The Bristol type 146 had a nice one:
License could be found for all manner of pre-war projects. She also offered similar amounts to the RN and Army! Suppose that a German spy 'lost' her will? That in this TL that does not happen? £5 million?
Any chance that Folland would come up with something like the Reaper if still at Gloster for the cannon fighter bid?
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Yes, it shows how many Countries were producing the Mercury, and therefore it is a plausible (IMO) WI to imagine that such Countries would have been interested in ordering the Gloster mono - given that the prototype flew earlier and the RAF ordered it.
And incidentally, my reading of the wiki entry shows that the Poles only looked for a different engine for the PZL P.50 after continuing problems with their Mercury installation.
Seems the P&W 1830 Twin Wasp would be a nice option. License built, might have inspired other designs.
Admiral Beez
Banned
There are some pics of the f.5.... fourth pic suggests the undercarriage needs to be fully recessed, otherwise drag will be high.
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Admiral Beez
Banned
Maybe the FAA should have license built the Caproni Vizzola F.5. An attractive machine, IMO
Maybe the FAA should have license built the Caproni Vizzola F.5. An attractive machine, IMO
Dont think the wooden construction would work too well at sea.
"There are some pics of the f.5.... fourth pic suggests the undercarriage needs to be fully recessed, otherwise drag will be high."
Agreed - the only semi recessed wheels could increase drag, so either that is accepted for any initial aircraft - with the benefit of a wheels-up crash landing; or that's something to rectify for any production aircraft.
Agreed - the only semi recessed wheels could increase drag, so either that is accepted for any initial aircraft - with the benefit of a wheels-up crash landing; or that's something to rectify for any production aircraft.
For FAA use the F5/34 has another fundemental problem. That is that Folland designed it with a one peice wing spa that spanned from wingtip to wingtip. This creates a numbe of problems,vis a vis;- fitting folding wings requires a complete rengineering/redesign of the main spa, also you cannot do major repairs by simply swapping a wing as you could on both Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft. An ATL solution is to have Folland given a design contracy to build a naval fighter based on the F5/34 as soon as he starts at British Marine Aircraft in early 1937. Stipulate folding wings from the start and for engines start with the Bristol Taraus or the Armstrong Siddley tiger VIII, with an eye to the Alvis Leonides(Major) Engine or the Bristol Hercules as a later option (in this case either the RN or a fairy godmother funds the development and early production of the Alvis engines)
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Folland will be redesigning the wing to incorporate a fully retractable undercarriage that rotates 90 degrees, as well as other naval gear, so don't worry. It's not like he doesn't have enough work to do fitting the early Griffon onto the Mercury airframe. James Martin could help with the wing-fold mechanism. He's quite good with mechanicals and stuff.
Nice mock-ups how about timeline, Mk numbers and engines types? Please
Timeline and Mk nos are too complex for my tiny brain, but the engines are the P&W R-1830 S3C4-G, Merlin, Griffon single stage, two-stage, and Centaurus. Other PODs are required, such as the early Griffon, OF COURSE. It doesn't even have a name, except Folland Fighter. The Alvis Pelides and Pelides Major can be substituted for the P&W engine, and the Centaurus, if it comes to that, with another POD, but that requires that the AM drink from the fountain of wisdom, in the temple of ASB.