The British Aerospace (BAe) P.1216 was a planned Advanced
Short Take Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL)
supersonic aircraft from the 1980s. It was designed by the former Hawker design team at Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England that created the
Harrier family of aircraft.
The P.1216 was planned to be powered by a plenum chamber burning (PCB) equipped vectored thrust engine. This used three swivelling engine nozzles rather than the four used in the Harrier. The project was most notable for its use of a twin boom layout in place of a single rear
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
.
Background
Beginning in 1957 with the P.1127 the former Hawker design team at Kingston upon Thames undertook numerous studies into V/STOL aircraft. these studies identified that the best option was thrust vectoring using rotating engine nozzles. To obtain supersonic flight the design team concluded that
plenum chamber burning
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and co ...
(PCB) was the most thermodynamically efficient means of obtaining the necessary thrust augmentation.
[Buttler. page 289] PCB was developed for the
vectored thrust
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
Bristol Siddeley BS100
The Bristol Siddeley BS.100 is a British twin-spool, vectored thrust, turbofan aero engine that first ran in 1960. The engine was designed and built in limited numbers by Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited. The project was cancelled in early 1 ...
engine for the
Hawker Siddeley P.1154
The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA).
Development originally started under P.1150, which was essentially a larger and fas ...
and obtained the additional thrust by burning additional fuel in a turbofan's cold bypass air, instead of the combined cold and hot gas flows as in a conventional afterburning engine.
Design and development
The problem with using PCB was that its thrust developed considerably more heat, noise and thrust induced vibrations compared with that produced in the Harrier.
[ As a result, the rear fuselage configuration employed on the Harrier was not suitable.
Beginning in 1980 the design team began investigating possible solutions.][ By removing as much of the rear of the airframe as proposed in the preceding P.1212 and P.1214 designs they developed a small short fuselage with twin booms which removed the tailplanes from being directly in the path of the engine's exhaust. A similar solution to the three-nozzle problem was adopted in the later ]YAK-141
The Yakovlev Yak-141 (russian: Яковлев Як-141; NATO reporting name "Freestyle"), also known as the Yak-41, is a Soviet supersonic vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft designed by Yakovlev. It was used for testing.
Desi ...
prototype supersonic VTOL interceptor.
The configuration allowed for two nozzles at the front and a single 90-degree rotating rear exhaust which was more efficient than having to split it into the twin rear nozzles used on the Harrier.[Buttler. page 290] The booms provided a low drag location for the carrying of cannons in the front as well as missiles and avionics, while also shielding the jet exhausts from heat seeking missiles.[
Instead of the Pegasus engine whose design dated back to the 1950s the design used the Rolls-Royce RB.422.48 with PCB fitted only on the front nozzles.][ The design allowed the engine to be removed without needing to remove the wing as on the Harrier. To reduce weight the airframe was to use lithium-based ]aluminium alloy
An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principa ...
s, superplastic-formed diffusion-bonded titanium and carbon-fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
composites.[Buttler. page 291]
The booms had all-moving fins and differential tailplanes.
The P.1216 was extensively tested in model form during the 1980s, and a full-scale mock-up was viewed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
during a visit to BAe's Kingston factory in December 1982.
In 1984 they assembled in a test rig at Shoeburyness a Harrier airframe created from the damaged remains of T.Mk.2 XW264 and GR.Mk.1 XV798 to assist in their investigations in the effects of PCB.[
The project was extant from 1980 to 1988 and showed promise with only some hot gas recirculation issues having been identified.][
It was identified that the design offered the possibility of vectoring in forward flight (VIFF) which would allow large longitudinal decelerations thus making it a superior air combat fighter.][ However issues with the use of PCB, jet nozzle to airframe interference and control of the jet nozzles needed further investigation.][
The P.1216 was intended to meet ]Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
and Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
requirements for an ASTOVL aircraft, as well as a possible sale to the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. All these customers subsequently developed the F-35B
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
.
Specifications (P.1216-6)
See also
*Harrier jump jet
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after a bird of prey, it was originally developed by British ma ...
*Hawker Siddeley Harrier
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff an ...
*Hawker Siddeley P.1154
The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA).
Development originally started under P.1150, which was essentially a larger and fas ...
Notes
References
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{{Authority control
P.1216
Single-engined jet aircraft
V/STOL aircraft by thrust vectoring
Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United Kingdom