PZL-230F Skorpion

Looks like 6th gen Ace Combat super-duper unmanned future all purpose plane huh? No, it's just another forgotten canceled aircraft project from Poland...

The PZL-230 Skorpion was a proposed Polish low-cost attack aircraft. It was being developed by Polish manufacturer PZL Warszawa-Okecie in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a twin-engine, one seat Polish military CAS (Close air support) aircraft, armed with air-to-surface weaponry.

History

The PZL-230 Skorpion was a proposed Polish low-cost attack aircraft. It was being developed by Polish manufacturer PZL Warszawa-Okecie in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In the late 1980s, PZL started developing a new aircraft intended to combine high manoeuvrability, short take-off and landing (STOL) performance, and the ability to carry a 2,000kg payload while remaining a low-cost platform to procure and to operate. Original designs for the aircraft revolved around a twin-turboprop engine. At one point, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engine was selected to power the type. However, the proposal was radically changed following a decision to submit it to a requirement issued for Polish Air Force which sought a light strike and battlefield support aircraft; accordingly, the payload was doubled and the speed was raised dramatically. The revised design was instead powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305 turbofan engines. Named the Skorpion, it featured a fuselage afterbody that was blended into the wing along with a set of small canards behind the cockpit.

In June 1994, the Polish Ministry of Defense announced that the Skorpion programme would receive no further funding from the Polish government. The abrupt withdrawal of support after having been recognised two years earlier as a government-approved programme was widely attributed to the formation of a new left-wing Polish government led by Waldemar Pawlak. Despite fears that this was the programme's end, PZL decided to initially continue with development independently. By late 1994, according to the aircraft's chief designer, Andrzej Frydrychewicz, the aerodynamic configuration of the Skorpion, with the exception of the tail, had been frozen. As of its 1994 redesign, performance estimates for the Skorpion included a maximum level speed of 540 kt (1,000km/h), a 32,800 ft (10,000 m) service ceiling and a 300 km (160nm) combat radius. By December 1994, the stealth characteristics of the aircraft had been deemphasised. According to the company's estimates, the official development cost was promoted as being 11,500 billion zlotys ($65 million). However, Frydrychewicz speculated that this figure was relatively optimistic and may have been produced with political interests in mind.

Source: wikipedia.org

Despite efforts, the PZL-230 development program has been canceled due to development of the I-22 Iryda training/combat aircraft.

Performance (theoretical)

• Maximum speed: 1040 km/h (632 mph) at 5,000 m (16,404 ft)
• Maximum speed: Mach 0.85
• Minimal takeoff speed: 300 km/h (186 mph)
• Maximal landing speed: 250 km/h (155 mhp)
• Range: 600-1000 km (372-621mi) - based on armament
• Service ceiling: 13,700 m (44,900 ft)
• Rate of climb: 70 m/s (7,990 ft/min)

Armament

1 x GAU-12 25mm rotary cannon
2 x AGM-65G Maverick
4 x GBU-97 cluster bombs

ATTENTION: Use bombs at your own risk, each bomb is staged, has lot of funky stuff inside and may harm your PC.

Activate on minimal altitude of 1000m to avoid massive losses of fps

Features

• realistic flight model (speed limits, maneuverability, stability)
• fully operational recreated cockpit - you can play with cockpit view only, I recommend it :)
• fully recreated armament
• model based on blueprints and only existing plywood prototype

Action Groups

AG1 - cockpit open/close

AG2 - flaps down/up

AG4 - 25mm cannon on/off

AG6 - carpet bombing mode :))

AG7 - emergency pilot seat catapult

B - aerobrake
G - landing gear up/down
Q/E - gear turn (deployed on ground)

For screenshots I used Stork Island map from MisterT

I hope you'll enjoy!