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Textron Scorpion Light Attack/ISR jet

Old 06-14-2020, 01:01 PM
  #11  
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A friend of mine was part of the initial design project. The airplane was much different, and was designed to have an internal cannon.

Textron came in and bought them out. Two of the immediate changes were “no gun!!”, Despite protestations from those who knew better, and I believe, a second seat added at that time.

It doesn’t seem like a bad plane, but the wing/intake juncture almost certainly makes the wing root a poor lifting surface, and I would personally guess, a source of a lot of turbulence and drag.

His opinion: they took a good idea and messed it up. He said drones could do the same job, cheaper, and with less risk.
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Old 06-14-2020, 01:59 PM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer View Post

His opinion: they took a good idea and messed it up. He said drones could do the same job, cheaper, and with less risk.
Some of the armed overwatch mission set. Not CAS, and probably not FAC-A IMO (my opinion is an informed one).

IIRC SOCOM looked at drones... not flexible enough and actually pretty expensive in their own right.
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Old 06-14-2020, 03:39 PM
  #13  
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Correct, Rick. He was referring to armed overwatch, not CAS.

For CAS, he said single-seat with more weapons capacity would be better. He also felt it was underpowered.

He had 800+ combat sorties in the A-37 in SEA, and I’d say he’s a pretty good judge of light-attack jet aircraft.
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Old 06-14-2020, 05:58 PM
  #14  
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The fact that they had to modify "Tweet" shows that ground support always has been a little short.
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Old 06-14-2020, 07:21 PM
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Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer View Post
A friend of mine was part of the initial design project. The airplane was much different, and was designed to have an internal cannon.

Textron came in and bought them out. Two of the immediate changes were “no gun!!”, Despite protestations from those who knew better, and I believe, a second seat added at that time.

It doesn’t seem like a bad plane, but the wing/intake juncture almost certainly makes the wing root a poor lifting surface, and I would personally guess, a source of a lot of turbulence and drag.

His opinion: they took a good idea and messed it up. He said drones could do the same job, cheaper, and with less risk.
You're mistaken about the wing...it's basically a glider the way it is now. It has a 11:1 glide ratio if i remember correctly...floats like a banshee
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Old 06-15-2020, 12:52 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by Liketoflyjets View Post
You're mistaken about the wing...it's basically a glider the way it is now. It has a 11:1 glide ratio if i remember correctly...floats like a banshee
Much more than that Bret said.
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Old 06-15-2020, 07:00 AM
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Originally Posted by USMCFLYR View Post
Much more than that Bret said.
I should think so. An airliner has a better glide ratio than 11:1, and the scorpion wing is relatively long and straight for a jet. Presumably shaped for optimal performance at lower speeds too (otherwise it would be swept).
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Old 06-15-2020, 08:54 AM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by rickair7777 View Post
I should think so. An airliner has a better glide ratio than 11:1, and the scorpion wing is relatively long and straight for a jet. Presumably shaped for optimal performance at lower speeds too (otherwise it would be swept).
The jet is designed for a stable ISR platform and a mainly level attack aircraft though you can obviously make some diving attacks too for certain ordnance deliveries. The MK-15 (ball turret), though speed limited on the Scorpion (not the AT-6), doesn’t have the same limitations with blanking as some shoulder mounted systems (e.g. ATFLIR). I’m pretty sure Bret’s answer to the glide was like 30:1.
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Old 06-15-2020, 08:56 AM
  #19  
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Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer View Post
Correct, Rick. He was referring to armed overwatch, not CAS.

For CAS, he said single-seat with more weapons capacity would be better. He also felt it was underpowered.

He had 800+ combat sorties in the A-37 in SEA, and I’d say he’s a pretty good judge of light-attack jet aircraft.
800 combat sorties in SEA would be one solution to the CHAZ problem...
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Old 06-15-2020, 12:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Excargodog View Post
800 combat sorties in SEA would be one solution to the CHAZ problem...
Much like the '60's, when they are out of weed, poof!
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