Introduction
Well I cant be the only one that thought that Boeing's Joint Strike Fighter X-32 was the ugliest thing made in a long time, but it did have some nice lines in places, so i used the wing and tail layout and made the rest up myself.
Background
The Joint Strike Fighter program had a requirement for one airframe that had different variants for different branches of the armed services to use, Boeing and Lockheed Martin created 2 different aircraft for the program with the Boeing X-32 loosing out to the Lockheed Martin X-35 which later entered service as the F-35
Story
As with most "loosing" creations it was a pity that both creations couldnt have been developed further to suit varying requirements, this is what happened with the F-16 and F-18 afterall. So Boeing teemed up with RamboJutter Ltd. to re-design, develop and produce a fighter largely based upon the loosing design from the JSF program. This aircraft was seen to provide potential end users with an alternative aircraft to the F-35 and thus reduce risk of all operators using the same equipment, afterall one significant fault that grounded the fleet would have massive operational consequences.
Design
Gone is the ugly short nose and chin intake, in its place is a longer nose, twin side intakes and a wider "belly" to accomodate undercarriage, ordinance (much in excess of the X-32 limits), the lift fan was located in an beneficial location between the intakes and very close to the centre of gravity of the aircraft, control is given by exhaust nozzles to all the usual locatations and computer assisted to allow for stable vertical flight. To enable it to be feasible a larger airframe was required allong with larger more powerful propulsion units designed and built by Rolls Royce. Utilising the new Meteor II AAM which is 75% the size of the Meteor I but packs the same punch and performance characteristics the Hunter II can load 6 of these missiles or a variety of other ordinance. As per the F-22 underwing pylons can be fitted for mounting external fuel tanks or ordinance at the loss of the "stealth" aspect of the build but can be useful for ferrying etc.
Pictures
Controls
AG1= Reheat
AG2= Enables vertical lift fan (AG8 needed before use for solely vertical flight) and computer
AG3= Ordinance bay doors
AG8= Disables main thrust engine
VTOL DN= slats
LG= Landing gear retract (doors sequenced)
Trim= Pitch trim
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Created On Windows
- Wingspan 42.0ft (12.8m)
- Length 57.3ft (17.5m)
- Height 15.6ft (4.7m)
- Empty Weight 17,519lbs (7,946kg)
- Loaded Weight 20,870lbs (9,466kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 3.876
- Wing Loading 49.6lbs/ft2 (242.0kg/m2)
- Wing Area 421.1ft2 (39.1m2)
- Drag Points 3412
Parts
- Number of Parts 1050
- Control Surfaces 0
- Performance Cost 4,074
its impressive. still dont like it. but credit where credit is. its impressive
me: looks up XF-32 “What in the FU—“
my aesthetic instinct: dying
WHY is that inlet THERE?! And so LARGE?!?!
Imma make this better... maybe.
Honestly, The X-32 holds a special place in my heart. I keep a picture of it in my wallet, and any time someone says "You look ugly" I just whip out the photo and cry because I'm so alone.
Nice build. Interesting to imagine what would happen if Boeing was pretty much the only american supplier of fighters.
BTW nice work on the missiles they look great :p
Very nice jet . Great build .
I love the way this flies the turn speed is great. I do honestly think you could have done a little bit better job tho on the VTOL system. There's no way a plane would be able to take off from the ground like that unless the main thruster was faced down. I think you probably could have done funky trees on the slats. Finally I think you should make your cockpits not as tall or as big on your fictional planes they stick out a little too much and take away a little bit of the realism. Overall this is a great plane I just think it could have used a little more attention on those aspects. :)
yeah the x-32 looked like s^ i thought it was a joke the first time I saw it