Textron AirLand Scorpion
The Scorpion is a tandem-seat twinjet aircraft with an all-composite material fuselage designed for light attack and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Production costs were minimized by using common commercial off the shelf technology, manufacturing resources and components developed for Cessna's business jets; such as the flap drive mechanism is from the Cessna Citation XLS and Cessna Citation Mustang, the aileron drive mechanism is from the Citation X. Textron AirLand calls the Scorpion an ISR/strike aircraft, instead of a "light attack" aircraft. The joint venture also states the Scorpion is intended to handle "non-traditional ISR" flights such as those performed by U.S. fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Scorpion is designed to cheaply perform armed reconnaissance using sensors to cruise above 15,000 ft, higher than most ground fire can reach, and still be rugged enough to sustain minimal damage. The Scorpion is designed to be affordable, costing US$3,000 per flight hour, with a unit cost expected to be below US$20 million. Although it is a two-seat aircraft, it can be flown by a single pilot. Textron AirLand selected Cobham plc to design the cockpit, which will feature modern flat-panel displays. The aircraft will not have fly-by-wire to keep costs down and simplify the design. The demonstrator, as well as production versions, are powered by two Honeywell TFE731 turbofans producing 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of thrust total.
I really like the look of this jet so I decided to make it! Quite detailed and even includes a retractable camera reconnaissance module in the belly (operated using trim down) Also features working flaps (VTOL slider) and a pretty accurate scale speed. Flies very nicely and looks pretty bad-ass for what is a relatively cheap strike airplane. AG2 for paveway bombs
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Predecessor Textron AirLand Scorpion - Work in progress
- Successors 1 airplane(s)
- Created On Windows
- Wingspan 38.3ft (11.7m)
- Length 41.5ft (12.6m)
- Height 11.0ft (3.3m)
- Empty Weight 9,370lbs (4,250kg)
- Loaded Weight 10,657lbs (4,834kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 0.632
- Wing Loading 48.2lbs/ft2 (235.2kg/m2)
- Wing Area 221.2ft2 (20.6m2)
- Drag Points 4114
Parts
- Number of Parts 130
- Control Surfaces 6
- Performance Cost 649