KerbalX

IMPORTANT

This stock replica uses a custom livery and requires a custom flag package to display the paintjob. You can get it in the google drive folder linked below - just unpack the .zip file to your Flags folder and you are good to go.

LIVERY LINK

A New Yorker in England

In the early 1960s United Kingdom’s Fleet Arm Air aircraft lineup consisted primarily of second-gen transsonic jets like the De Havilland Sea Vixen. While formidable in the 1950s they started showing their age in the era of supersonic missile carriers. The UK was one of the very few early Cold War powers to possess a formidable carrier fleet and after the Hawker P.1154 project was cancelled they were faced with a very real possibility of being left without a supersonic jet.

The American F-4 Phantom already proved it’s reliability as a carrier aircraft in US Navy service, but British carrier operations differed significantly from the US ones. Aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy like the HMS Ark Royal were significantly smaller than US supercarriers, had weaker catapult systems and utilized ramps to launch aicraft off their decks - the US F-4 needed significant modifications to handle these conditions. To kickstart the domestic aviation industry many parts of the new F-4K were made in the UK - most notably the wider RR Spey 201 turbofans that were placed in modified, enlarged nacelles. A unique system was fitted to the front gear which could be hydraulically extended to increase the angle of attack on takeoff. Spey engines produced significantly more thrust than the US J79s but due to their increased size they made the FG.1 more draggy which decreased top speed while increasing low-altitude performance compared to the US Phantom.

The FG.1 and it’s RAF cousin - the FGR.2 were reliable workhorses and saw service into the 1990s. They saw use all around the territories of the Kingdom from the cliffs of Dover to the Falklands and - despite some slightly temperamental engine characteristics - were quite liked among the British pilots.

This replica is a test and exploration of techniques involving using flags to recreate liveries on aircraft - I will learn from it’s shortcomings and expand on things that turned out well. I hope you enjoy flying it out!

AG1 - Toggle reheat
AG2 - Toggle flaps
AG3 - Toggle airbrakes
AG4 - Raise/lower the front gear assembly

v1.0 - Initial release
v1.1 - Smoothness of the engine section greatly improved.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 991
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.10.0