Thom

True a toss or loft (spotters Q - what's the difference? ) with a buddy-lase is one way of doing it but far better to get some SF dude to do it from the ground so you can bravely run away at a greater distance! To step back a couple of posts, the Litening/JRP/EPW2 fit mentioned by WolvoWill is indeed a current fit but I can't see either the Litening or the JRP making much difference in terms of weight distribution. They weigh c*ck-all compared to an EPW2. Bear in mind that, when you discuss moving the wings, you're not just talking about moving Cg but also Cp and its the relationship between these which is crucial.

You don't necessarily need the laser firing to release the weapon. You can toss it for better stand off and then lase at the right time to catch the bomb as it falls. Or better yet, get somebody else to do it for you!

The F3 is longer in both areas. There is a stretch between the rear cockpit bulkhead and the wing box - look at the position of the canopy hinge for an easy way to spot it. Gives the WSO a better downward view, but also allows an extra fule tank to be fitted (tank 0) which gives a bit more endurance. When the F2s were upgraded to F3s they were fitted with a more powerful propulsion system, (RB 199 mk 103/104 IIRC?) which featured a 14" longer jetpipe/burner. The tail is a different shape to accomodate this too - look at the fillet below the rudder. The main reason the F3 was stretched originally was to accommodate the 4 Skyflash semi-conformally, the engines are just a bonus. Weight and balance will be an issue, for sure. You're the armourer, do you ever remember any fits which used the rear shoulder pylons only? I've certainally never seen any, but I fly Hawks, not Tonkas.

There is a name for it. It's a tactical take off. Designed to get you through the MANPAD layer as quickly as possible. You clean up, stay low until a set speed and then punch upwards at the speed of a thousand gazelles. Used commonly in Agf/Iraq to avoid the threat of all those hand launched SAMS.

Now, I'm not F3 qualified, but I can get access to several F3 books at work and if there is anything definitive which isn't remotely classified I'll clear it up later. But I'm pretty certain that the tailerons would be unlikely to hit the tanks unless you were in Mech Mode - as I understand it the SPILS and the CSAS limit the movement of the tail surfaces under normal operation and in any case, the control surface deflection you'd need to hit the tanks at the kind of speeds when you'd be in 'batwing' would generate mahoosive G! I was tempted to say that it's a CoG issue too, but that may not be correct, as the F3 is long enough to taxi in 67 wing (and normally does) with the big jugs on, but if you do that in a GR you might well end up doing a wheely! However, it may be also due to the relative positions of CoG and CoP that you limit the sweep. If you get one behind the other it becomes negatively stable, and results in a spontaneous reverse-assembly! Thom

I watched a Lima Fit F3 get airborne last week and it was a spectacle. The curvature of the earth must've helped. True, you mainly see Mike fit jets if they're carrying tanks at all... But, I don't think it's an issue with the number of tanks available - there is an enormous stack of palletted 2250ers here at Leeming. I think its because the big jugs limit you in G quite significantly! Thom