And now for something completely different! Drabslap examines Sweden's exciting Gripen fighter with the help of clever model photography.

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Thanks!

Hi Drabslab,

thank you for this nice feature. Nice looking model and great pictures!

In the Netherlands we're in the midst of the discussions about the JSF.

Fokke and Sukke are the subject of a popular cartoon that comments on matters in Dutch society:

With the cartoon below the pointed out the heart of the discussion very well:

It has the title:
'Fokke and Sukke designed the JSF'


Fokke and Sukke are saying: 'A very important new feature is that the enemy... never will find out how much it cost!'


Jelger

The cartoon is from the website www.foksuk.nl and the credits go to the authors: Reid, Geleijnse & Van Tol. With posting this cartoon I have no intention to start up any (political) discussion about the JSF.

Nice photos, Drabslap! It is an interesting topic to be sure. We are also in the process of choosing the next generation fighter in Denmark.

More a political process than a rational choice. It is interesting to follow the process however, intransparent it might be.

Nice Gripen Drabslab. The takeoff pic looks just like one I took when they did landing trials in -93 or -94.

It's a bit weird though, if we compare modern planes with older. Gripen was first flown in 1988 and now, 21 years later, its still up do date. That's roughly the timeframe between a Fokker E1 or a Farman Longorn and a Gladiator or an I-16, or the latter and a Mig 19 or a F 100 Super Sabre.

And we still have three (3) A 32 Lansens flying metherological surveys. Those flew for the first time in 1952....

Tony

Thank you for the nice reactions. It is always a bit "tricky" to make a feature which is somewhat out of scope of the normal contributions to the site and then it is very reassuring to read that there is interest for it.

Military purchases are indeed not a military matter at all; economy, technology transfer, politics... often seem to play a more important role than the pure military performance.

That is not necessarily a bad thing.

If you have a thought on this, don't be shy and react to the article. As long as things remain polite and do not become a shouting match i don't see a reason why we should not be able to exchange views on this subject.

Hai,

Your remark fits perfectly into an idea that I had for another feature. Only, this one would even be more "technical" than the two features that I have already written, would require me to make two new models (which is a lot of time) and I am afraid that I would not have an audience for it.

Briefly, the airframe of the F-16 generation of planes is so good that the pilot becomes the weakest link. Current computertechnology makes it relatively easy to equip such "old" airframe with the newest developments in radar technology, the newest missiles...

This makes that new airframes, which performance remains topped by the physiscal limitations of the human being flying them, get competition of upgraded old airframe designs.

Very good basic designs like the Gripen receive new radars, missiles... and remain competitive.

To justify the huge cost for designing a new airframe, the manufacturer has to propose a quantum leap in performance and this means pushing the envelope in all domains (and not simply aerodynamics).

So while it used to be that another shape of a wing, or fuselage, or engine was sufficient to produce an airplane much better than anything existing it now requires many years of advanced (and super expensive) R&D without guanrantee of success, and it looks to me that this is one of the problems of the JSF.

That was a great read drabslap and also really good pictures.
Grippen has always been one of my favourite aircraft but just on looks i think the jsf has it beaten.
neil.......

for me the most beautiful plane ever is the F-16 with the more recent Rafale in a good second place

I guess my heart just aren't set on jets, just because there are no pistons, save the hydraulic system but the F 16 can raise my eyebrows a bit, mostly because the airduct, but also because of the canopy. Not a frame in sight. That's soooo cool.

Tony

Yes, it is clear that on this site World War II is king.

Somewher I wonder why?

Is it because the disctinction between the "good" and the "bad" is so easy to make?

No, I guess it's a bit more simple than that. At least in my case. When I was a kid anything with wings was cool, so I built more or less anything from Bristol Bulldog to McDonnell Phantom.

In my teens modelling got put to sleep by motorcycles, and even if I only had a Yam 125 at first I wanted a Laverda, because of the sound. I guess this has made a mark on my interest in planes too. If it's beautiful I like it, but if it sound good I love it.

As an engine designer I'm also humbled by the engineering of these old monsters, both inlines and radials. Everything that popped up as "brand new ideas" on bikes and cars in the 70's and 80's - fourvalve heads, turbo, injection, light alloy housings - was incorporated in the aero engines of the 30's and 40's.

In september I'm going to Germany to tick of Bf 109 and Fw 190 in my "birdwatchers" book, but mostly I will listen...

Tony

I am driving an Aprilia caponord.

It must be greater than great to design motorcycles. Yee, what a career. whatr exactly are you working on?

I know, horribly off topic but still very interesting

Related to my little Gripen article.

President Obama has just announced measures to stop out of control developments in military procurement and the use of not proven technology.

Well, let's not get too far off topic. First is an "assembly instruction".


When that is done, you just hang it into the rest, resulting in this.


Finally, with a well executed paintjob and a slight and subtle weathering, you may end up with this little baby, not too far from production.


You'll find some more info on the specification page

The sun might not shine every day even in a motorcycle factory, but when it shines - boy the way it shines!

Tony

That is really stunning and absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

It must be wonderfull to create scale 1/1 models which actually function and to do that for a living



I am impressed (and a bit jealous as well )

Related to my article on the Gripen:

Boeing claims that the US will "dumb down" the JSF-35 for international sales.

It is quite clear that Boeing has a lot of interest in casting doubt on the F-35 to promote its own new F-15 silent eagle.

However, it is also consistent with Lockheed Martin (the JSF main contractor) having two separate contracts, worth a total of $737 million, for

quote

to “design, develop, verify and test a version of the JSF air system that is as common as possible to the U.S. air system within the National Disclosure Policy.” This version is designated “International Partner Version.”

end quote

In plain language; the UK, The Netherlands, Norway... are alowed to pay massive sums for the development of the JSF, but ain't allowed to have it at the end.

Boy, this is really good news for Gripen ;-))))