My god the ignorance and arrogance in this thread is immense!! it has already been established that the UK Wont build it’s own national aircraft for bean counting reasons not that it can’t, Quite the opposite considering BAe’s fingers are in alot of aviation pies combined with vast experience of it’s predessesors and RR being argueably the most successful engine mfgr in Europe.

the systematic destruction of British aviation industry both civil and military in the 60’s by both foreign entities and the labour party definitely damaged British capabilities to make matters worse the truly brilliant british designs at the time didn’t acheive the export success they deserved(i could make a list but everyone knows what they are), Harrier and Hawk only mustered a slight reprise but the capabilities to create a go it alone project are still there

PS: anything i say on this subject is not to be taken seriously as i am a British Aerospace engineer, thus my bias is far greater than anyone else’s.

I do agree, however the post-war financial situation in Britain precluded lots of high cost projects even if they were good. We just didn’t have the money to back them up.

We just hope it doesn’t become a surface to air car then?

The EJ200 should give them plenty of power over the afterburnng Spey engines that were fitted to Thrust SSC.

EJ200 approx 20,000lb static full reheat
RB168 (Spey 202) Approx 20,500Lb static full reheat
Thrust SSC had two Spey’s the Bulldog 1 EJ200 (plus a rocket of course).
I think the aerodynamics are going to be the most important aspect.
The engine intake will also play a role, those on Thrust SSC were quite restrictive.

The Blue Danube was more like the mk1 ‘bomb’. It was the first British atom bomb in service, or as they prefer to call such things ‘bomb, special’.

Ah the joys of the Victor and the Vulcan. Far preferred the latter as most of the bits acually fitted. Did a Victor taiplane change at Saints during a major- we had to try three different t/p’s before we found one that would fit and as for panels- forget it. All replacement panels needed cutting and drilling to fit unlike most of the Vulcan ones which just needed a bit of a trim. As for the small amount of Victors 2’s built it would appears that the CAS of the time was more enamoured with the Vulcan as there were questions concerning the structural strength of the Victors back end.

Cheers
Mad Jock

Both the mk1 and mk2 prototypes were lost due to tailplane failure. The first was attributed to weak design. This was rectified on subsequent a/c. I heard from the older BAe workers that the second one failed because the pilot pushed it a little too far.

Rob,

Didn’t you once tell me that the parts of the Victor weren’t interchangable between different airframes?

Cheers

Cees

About the only thing I found that was interchangable was a drain line from the HDU to the scoop. 😉
But seriously, most systems were completely different.
There was a stub-wing added (18in) at the root as part of the wing span increase.
The inner mainplane to rib 212 was different.
Different engines
CSDU’s with a/c generaters
The fuel connections were different.
RAT’s.
The mk2 had no 2 or 9 tanks.
The shock-bodies on the wings (Whitcomb pods or window boxes)
An air cooling intake at the fin root.
Longer wing tips.
Alot less batteries.
Just off the top of my head.

Mind you, it still had a morse key at the AEO’s station.

There were Vulcan tankers as well – XH558 was a tanker for a while. Vulcans needed an external gondola to perform that function though.

That wasn’t a gondola that was a skip 😀

you mean this one?

Definately a weather balloon.

Really, what I am trying to say is Top Speed is not everything! The F-15 can do Mach 2.5 and the F-22 ~ Mach 2. Does that mean the F-15 is Superior hardly. The advantage of the latter is it can fly around @ Mach 1.5 – 1.8 Mach for extended periods. So, top speed is a relative term in fighters…….

A high top speed coupled with high acceleration means you can break-off or re-enter a combat when it suits you. All other things being equal of course.
However, it has been known for more than 30 years that most air combat takes place at high subsonic speeds.