ADDAX-1/S New Zealand Combat Aircraft

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Hi folks,

Looking for details/information on theearly '80 New Zealand ADDAX-1 and ADDAX-S combat aircraft proposals (see Pics below). Thanks in advance.

[links dead - Admin]

Regards,

Greg
 
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Hi folks,

Further to my above post I have this:
addax1.jpg


Does anyone have more?

Regards,

Greg
 
The Addax Superior Combat Aircraft Designs
http://www.lulu.com/content/159141
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_9/159000/159141/10/preview/addax_introextract.doc

Australian Military Experimental and Prototype Aircraft
http://www.lulu.com/content/161532
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_9/161000/161532/11/preview/aust_exp_extract1.doc


Military Aircraft, Designed and Built in Australia
http://www.lulu.com/content/168187
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_9/168000/168187/8/preview/War_birds.doc
 

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Good article in Air international April 1983 - 'From VAX to ADDAX...the story so far.'

AXM and AX model preceeded the Addax-1
 

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Courtesy of elider:
 

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There is very little information on the firm behind the aircraft, one IML Corporation as well. Sometime in late 2003, there was an auction of some items from the estate of one Dave Williams, who allegedly worked on the project. Lot 56 consisted of 4 wooden mockups, blueprints and other technical documents and the lot was appraised at £120 pounds to £160 but eventually sold for £70 to some lucky guy who I've been trying to locate for the past 4 years through the auction house but to no avail. Here's a pic of the lot from the catalogue of the auction house.

 

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I have some scans that i would like to add to this subject but dont know how mant posts i need to make before i can attach them.

RIPPER
 
From Australasian Post Magazine Jan 20 1983
Found in back shed when cleaning out
Sorry about the quality of the scans, but the magazine is not in good shape
and I had trouble posting because higher quality scans were to large

RIPPER
 

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RIPPER,

Many thanks for the post. Seem to be the same models that were sold at auction I talked about earlier. Any idea what paper Dave Williams was referring to?
 
amsci99
Sorry but all the information that I have is in the scans or on this site

RIPPER
 
One thing notable about the Addax-S, if the drawings are to be believed, is the location of the main landing gear. If the wheels are really located as depicted when extended, then unless the aircraft's Upper Surface Blowing can allow it to lift off in a level attitude, it's going to require a very high takeoff speed to permit the aircraft to rotate for flight. The initial F/A-18s had this same problem, which was only solved by having the rudders toe in to create an additional downward force for rotation.
 
F-14D said:
One thing notable about the Addax-S, if the drawings are to be believed, is the location of the main landing gear. If the wheels are really located as depicted when extended, then unless the aircraft's Upper Surface Blowing can allow it to lift off in a level attitude, it's going to require a very high takeoff speed to permit the aircraft to rotate for flight. The initial F/A-18s had this same problem, which was only solved by having the rudders toe in to create an additional downward force for rotation.

It most likely wouldn't rotate, something like a B-52, it would just lift off in a level flight attitude, which, as you stated, would mean it would need some incredible USB. However, even with USB, not being able to achieve a higher alpha for the wing on T.O. simply doesn't make any sense.

Also, conversely, it would have to land at a higher landing speed since it would have to land in the same attitude to keep the moment caused by the cg wrt to the main gear from slamming the nose down so hard it would probably break the nose gear, if not the aircraft itself.
 
It's just a shame that Dave Williams and Paul Moller (of Moller Skycar fame) never collaborated. If they could have sat down over a box of crayons, imagine the zero carbon footprint intercontinental hypersonic amphibious VTOL personal aircraft that we could all have in our garages now.
Even as a kid, I always wondered how this sort of stuff made it into Jane's year after year.
 
So, whatever happened to the Addax designs? Vapourware? Scam? Suppressed by the Men in Black?
 
overscan said:
Indeed. This article makes it clear this is not a serious design.

...Yeah, but it's still a neat enough design that if Scott Lowther did a resin kit of one, I'd seriously consider buying one despite the fact that I *despise* working with resin.
 
Anyone know where I can get buy a copy of "Addax Superior Combat Aircraft Design" by Raymond Deeb? I have **heard** of some of the sugguestions made in the leaflet, and as an Australian in the aviation bussiness in the era I am very perplexed. As far as I knew, IML Group was better known as IND Models - yes makers of custom car and later aircaft models and certainly not a serious venture.
 
I'm a New Zealander and I've never heard of this at all. Fascinating! Thanks to everyone who's shared info and photos.
 
taildragger said:
It's just a shame that Dave Williams and Paul Moller (of Moller Skycar fame) never collaborated. If they could have sat down over a box of crayons, imagine the zero carbon footprint intercontinental hypersonic amphibious VTOL personal aircraft that we could all have in our garages now.
Even as a kid, I always wondered how this sort of stuff made it into Jane's year after year.

Phalanx. Dragon.
 
Kiwis design a tank-killer for farmers


NEW ZEALAND, better known for lamb chops, is dabbling in combat aircraft design. The IML Group Project AX combines the not-too-dissimilar roles of crop dusting and ground attack in a package defined by the twin tenets of Enclosed Volume Utilisation (EVU) and Combat Sensitivity (CS). IML Group is a 12-man consultancy more usually employed on livery design, homebuilt aircraft, and planning work for automotive and aerospace companies. Project AX is the brainchild of Dave Williams, an ex-de Havilland Hatfield apprentice. According to Williams, the "classical" aeroplane layout—slender cylindrical fuselage and discrete wing— makes inefficient use of the volume enclosed by span, length, and height. Project AX, with a broad lifting fuselage, offers a high EVU. Upper-surface blowing and circulation control over wing and fuselage provide high lift. Combat Sensitivity is the vulnerability of a design to that "golden bullet' which ruins the pilot's chances of completing his mission. The F-14, F-15, and even the A-10 are Combat Sensitive, says Williams, with either the radar or the cannon essential to the mission vulnerable to enemy fire. To minimise AX CS, vital components are dispersed about the airframe —main armament is eight Oerlikon KCA 30mm cannon arranged in the nose so that one shell will not disable all firepower. The powerplant installation above the fuselage is shielded from ground fire. Project AX is available in a multitude of versions. The turbofan powered military AXM is available with paired Rolls-Royce Speys, Garrett AirResearch ATF3s, General Electric TF34s, or Pratt & Whitney F100s (hopefully unreheated). The turboprop-powered agricultural AXA is available with a single Pratt & Whitney PW120, Garrett AiResearch TPE331, or Rolls-Royce Dart. Soviet turbofan and turboprop installations are on offer. Powered by two ll,000lb-thrust Speys, AXM has a 14,200lb empty weight and a 40,500lb maximum takeoff weight with 11,000lb of fuel and 15,00lb of ordnance. Spey-powered AXM has a 430kt maximum level speed and a 300 n.m. close-air-support combat radius. Armament includes six or eight forward-firing 30mm KCAs—total firepower 10,800 rounds a minute—and six or eight 0-5in machine guns firing rearwards and downwards from a ventral location. The internal weapons bay can carry 20 500lb bombs. For comparison, the PW120-powered AXA weighs in at 7,000lb empty and 24,500lb fully loaded, with 6,200lb of fuel and 11,300lb of chemicals. The 2,100 s.h.p. turboprop propels AXA to 260kt and 650 n.m. radius. How serious is all this? Private venture work began in 1980 and IML intends to sell AX development rights to a prime contractor able to muster the estimated $25,220,000 required, hopefully before the end of 1982. IML reports great interest, with submissions and comments from Governments in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Interested, at an estimated flyaway cost of $2-7 million apiece? Then write to Dave Williams, IML Group Aerospace Products Division, PO Box 1202, Gisborne, New Zealand.



https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1982/1982%20-%200353.html
 

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SIR—'Your recent article on future fuels and mention of Lockheed's work in developing configurations for aircraft powered by cryogenic fuels (Flight, May 9, page 1303) prompts me to mention an approach that has yet to be tried by manufacturers. In our work for our clients, both in the surface and air transport industries, we are constantly involved in safety from an impact protection (of occupant) standpoint, and in view of the "Hindenburg Syndrome" we have always felt that the use of cryogenic fuels should warrant a closer look at new airframe configurations. In a conceptual design sense, Lockheed's and other proposals have all been evolutionary developments of existing concepts, which, while good from a technology use point of view, do not offer the best solution to the problem of packaging high volume volatile fuel. Having gone back to first principles, and respecting the need not to push materials technology too hard, our solution was to evolve a modern biplane transport aircraft. In this the fuselage is a lifting body (wide type), harping back to Burnelli's concepts, fitted with a high primary wing and a lower secondary wing (almost a brace rather than a wing). The fuel tanks are located at the wing tips, linking each wing and being located well away from the passenger zoning. The additional area provided in these mainplanes means reduced span, and it is believed that a wing structure accommodating such tip loads can effectively be produced Although speeds would not be much above Mach 0-9 at cruise, we feel that such a configuration would make more sense than adapting present configurations. We are sure that the biplane concept could be revised now that the industry has outgrown its urge to produce supersonic airliners. I am sure that even BAe will agree that the need for greater fuel efficiency means that the next century will see a radical change in aviation targets.


IML Group Aerospace DAVE WILLIAMS Products Division (Director, PO Box 1202 Gisborne International New Zealand operations)


Mr Williams' design for a hydrogen powered high-capacity airliner of "circa 2080" features a lifting body fuselage and fuel tanks between the tips of the biplane wings.


https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%201959.html
 

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PaulMM (Overscan) said:
SIR—'Your recent article on future fuels and mention of Lockheed's work in developing configurations for aircraft powered by cryogenic fuels (Flight, May 9, page 1303) prompts me to mention an approach that has yet to be tried by manufacturers. In our work for our clients, both in the surface and air transport industries, we are constantly involved in safety from an impact protection (of occupant) standpoint, and in view of the "Hindenburg Syndrome" we have always felt that the use of cryogenic fuels should warrant a closer look at new airframe configurations. In a conceptual design sense, Lockheed's and other proposals have all been evolutionary developments of existing concepts, which, while good from a technology use point of view, do not offer the best solution to the problem of packaging high volume volatile fuel. Having gone back to first principles, and respecting the need not to push materials technology too hard, our solution was to evolve a modern biplane transport aircraft. In this the fuselage is a lifting body (wide type), harping back to Burnelli's concepts, fitted with a high primary wing and a lower secondary wing (almost a brace rather than a wing). The fuel tanks are located at the wing tips, linking each wing and being located well away from the passenger zoning. The additional area provided in these mainplanes means reduced span, and it is believed that a wing structure accommodating such tip loads can effectively be produced Although speeds would not be much above Mach 0-9 at cruise, we feel that such a configuration would make more sense than adapting present configurations. We are sure that the biplane concept could be revised now that the industry has outgrown its urge to produce supersonic airliners. I am sure that even BAe will agree that the need for greater fuel efficiency means that the next century will see a radical change in aviation targets.


IML Group Aerospace DAVE WILLIAMS Products Division (Director, PO Box 1202 Gisborne International New Zealand operations)


Mr Williams' design for a hydrogen powered high-capacity airliner of "circa 2080" features a lifting body fuselage and fuel tanks between the tips of the biplane wings.


https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981 - 1959.html


I saw it before,but didn't know what was it,thank you my dear Paul;


 
Janes All-The World's Aircraft 1985 - 1986
WILLIAMS
DAVID WILLIAMS
Chief Engineer, PC Box 20, Hadley Castle Works, Telford,
Shropshire TF1 4RE
Telephone: 0952 44321 extn 2633
ADDAX/LCRV
Detailed descriptions of the Addax-1 fighter/ground
attack aircraft project and the proposed Addax-S supersonic
fighter can be found in the Addenda to the 1982-83
Jane's, under the heading of the IML Group in New
Zealand, The originator of the Addax design, Mr David
Williams, is now based in the UK.
In early 1985 discussions were being held with NASA,
under the title LCRV (lift configured research vehicle), with
a view to establishing research programmes to evaluate
specific features of the LCRV STOL fighter, although this
would not include validation of the complete configuration.
Preliminary discussions also began with a British manufacturer
in early 1985 to evaluate the possibility of
initiating a HiMAT type RPV programme, to assess the
capabilities of the LCRV in respect of agility and STOL
performance.
 
Janes All The Worlds Aircraft 1982 - 1983 (Addenda)

This is the only proper entry it got:
 

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I've dug up my copy of Air International March 1983 to re-read the article. It's a pretty interesting read. Crappy photos from phone attached.
 

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PaulMM (Overscan) said:
I've dug up my copy of Air International March 1983 to re-read the article. It's a pretty interesting read. Crappy photos from phone attached.

Nice article my dear Paul.
 

Those links are all dead now and searching the Lulu site turns up nothing. Does anybody know what happened to these documents?
 
DSC03396.JPG addax1.jpg DSC08438.JPG I know it's an old thread, but I thought I would share a few pictures of a large Addax model I picked up years ago on ebay.
Hollow fiberglass construction, taken in the bed of a Ford Ranger. That other model is a Space Shuttle prototype by McDonnell-Douglas, big and heavy!
No wings or Fan cover on the Addax. Concept painting is from the internet.
 
Nice! It's a long way from home, I think?
Yes, it is! I bought it from a guy in Florida who thought it was a Disney prop of some kind. I had no idea what it was either. Shipping would have been crazy, he was going to drive to visit his girlfriend here in Denver and offered to deliver it a few weeks after the sale. Worked out great! I have no idea how it ended up in Florida though.
 
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