 | Does anyone remember...| Modern Discuss Does anyone remember... in the Other Eras forums; ...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design ... |
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09-26-2007, 06:24 AM
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#1 | | Senior Member
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...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design somewhere around 1977. The project persisted for something like ten years. Obviously never built/flown, but I have no idea the reason for it's ultimate demise. 
Last edited by Graeme : 01-09-2008 at 03:04 AM.
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09-26-2007, 06:50 AM
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#2 | | Senior Member
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Country: | ...a single-seat, advanced-technology, low cost, STOL fighter/attack design from NEW ZEALAND called the ADDAX-1, from around 1983. 
Last edited by Graeme : 01-09-2008 at 03:06 AM.
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09-26-2007, 12:16 PM
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#3 | | Senior Member
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Originally Posted by Graeme  ...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design somewhere around 1977. The project persisted for something like ten years. Obviously never built/flown, but I have no idea the reason for it's ultimate demise.  | I vaguely remember reading something about this; looks like many features of the Piranha were incoporated into Sweden's Gripen. I wonder how many engineers were involved in both projects? Interesting . . .
As for it's ultimate demise, it was probably the same reason so many other projects never reach fruituion: money. Why develop your own fighter, when you can spend half (?) as much money and buy one off-the-shelf from another country? | |
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09-26-2007, 01:08 PM
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#4 | | Der Crewchief
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Originally Posted by Graeme ...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design somewhere around 1977. The project persisted for something like ten years. Obviously never built/flown, but I have no idea the reason for it's ultimate demise. | I can tell you why it did not.
By the time this thing really started to get going, they bought the F/A-18 Hornet.
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09-26-2007, 01:44 PM
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09-26-2007, 01:45 PM
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#6 | | Senior Member
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Country: | [quote=SoD Stitch;277893]I vaguely remember reading something about this; looks like many features of the Piranha were incoporated into Sweden's Gripen. [quote]
...and that's the right answer.
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09-26-2007, 03:51 PM
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#7 | | Senior Member
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Originally Posted by SoD Stitch Why develop your own fighter, when you can spend half (?) as much money and buy one off-the-shelf from another country? | Interestingly the Swiss had produced an earlier 'fighter/ground attack' aircraft-the P-16. However it never went into production. So they did have experience. Less money than Sweden? 
Last edited by Graeme : 01-09-2008 at 03:08 AM.
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01-09-2008, 03:25 AM
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#8 | | Senior Member
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Country: | Came across a November 1992 edition of Air International. According to the author the project depended financially on successfully negotiating licensed production of the Piranha with "Middle East countries." Negotiations broke down and the project became too expensive for the Swiss to fund by themselves.
Interestingly a "major United States aircraft manufacturer" provided an "impartial assessment" on the project and concluded (in a report dated 1982) that its "performance in terms of sustained turn rate, rate of climb and acceleration will match the capability of the F-16A and exceed that of the F-5G/-20."  | |
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01-09-2008, 05:03 PM
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#9 | | Senior Member
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Country: | That I can believe. Look at the size of that thing! It likely weighed about 5000kg and had a HUGE thrust-to-weight ratio.
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01-14-2008, 04:04 AM
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#10 | | Senior Member
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Country: | I wonder how strong it was? Was it a blower upper, like the Zero?
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05-01-2008, 05:55 AM
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#11 | | Senior Member
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Country: | It looks like it belongs in a Sci-Fi Movie, Book or Picture the ALR Pirana and even the name sounds Sci-Fi planeish. But then perhaps that is just me... | |
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05-02-2008, 06:52 PM
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#12 | | Senior Member
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05-02-2008, 06:58 PM
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#13 | | Senior Member
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Originally Posted by Graeme Interestingly the Swiss had produced an earlier 'fighter/ground attack' aircraft-the P-16. However it never went into production. So they did have experience. Less money than Sweden? | That thing ended up as the first Lear Jet or at least the wings
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