I need a few questions answered?

[McColm]

Hi there,
I've got a few questions that need answering.

1) Can the Typhoon eurofighter take off and land on a grass strip?


2) Has the T-45 Goshawk being considered for use on the new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy?

3) Has the current fleet of RAF Hawks ever been fitted with a in-flght refueling probe?

4) Could the RQ-4 Global Hawk be modified to carry a human pilot?

Many thanks,
Steven McColm

 

[Antonio]

My vote is:

1) no

4) no

 

[toura]

Hi Malcom
The Bae Hawk 208 for Malaysian air force
has an in flight refueling probe on the
right side of the fuselage.
It is a single seat plane
Bye

 

[fightingirish]

2) No, modern computer simulators will be used for pilot training.
Maybe some RAF Harrier T9/T12 will be used for a few years, especially in the early phase during the transition to the F-35B and qualification trails of QEII. Anyway, first reports from the test pilots say, that the F-35B is very easy to fly during vertical landing and hover manoeuvres.

4) No, just a hafnium isomer battery and weired manned Global Hawk concept for a stupid Popular Mechanics article .
Link: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,855.msg37922.html#msg37922

 

[Michel Van]

to 1.
No, the Eurofighter weight is full loaded 20 tons. It just sink into a grass strip
but it need only 300 meter for takeoff (and 700 meter for landing)
that can be a runway, highway or a street !

to 2.
that more a British political question, because T-45 is build under licence by Boeing for U.S.NAVY

to 4.
in theory yes (see V-1 into V-1R or Junkers EF126),
but for Wat? a low cost ground attack aircraft ?

 

[McColm]

I was just thinking to answer question 1, that the cutbacks in hardened surfaces (the decommission of some of the airfields in the UK) that a grass runway could be used.
Although the Jaguar and the F-16 did conduct tests.

Question 2. The Jaguar carried out trials on an aircraft carrier, I would have thought a naval or a carrier deck version would have been in service with the Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm.

Question 3. In-flight refueling probe is not fitted to RAF Hawks. As there are cutbacks, the Hawk can undertake the ground attack and fighter roles.

Question 4. A cheap(er) ground attack, reconnaissance aircraft

 

[fightingirish]

Question 2:
The carrier based Jaguar M was a pure French venture and only tested on French carriers which have/had the CATOBAR system.
The F-35B for the Royal Navy will take off short with a ski jump and land vertical (STOVL).
But IF the Royal Navy buys the Superhornet or Rafale instead of the F-35B and changes their Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier from STOVL to CATOBAR, then that would be a total different discussion.

 

[Matej]

1. It is not optimised to do so. So it can be done only in the emergency/war situation. The wheels are relatively small without any dirt remover, that's the main problem. But when the surface is dry and narrow, it can be done.

4. Yes it could (meaning that it is doable), but there is no reason to do so. Human on board with the all support systems will use most of the usefull load, so the plane will be useless then.