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StratoVulcan Tests MUP II & AUAR Carriage
Vulcan Family Expands - SuperStrato Targeted
OrigamiAirEnterprises has begun testing its new Multipurpose Underwing Pylon II (MUP II) and YM25-1 Advanced Unguided Aerial Rocket (AUAR) systems on its recently unveiled F292-4 StratoVulcan multi-role aircraft, the latest variant of the Vulcan family.
OrigamiAirEnterprises chose the StratoVulcan as its test platform due to their aircraft's recent rollout and inherently good stability and performance.
Initial tests have found flights with the pylons fitted but no load placed are comparable to flights without the pylons; the differences in weight and drag being negligible to performance.
Tests with two YM25-1 AUAR pods fitted have shown the aircraft to be slightly slower and have shorter range, but still quite capable nonetheless. Even with two pods fitted on the pylons, the StratoVulcan can still be equipped with flaps, slats and other surfaces and operate with them without difficulty.
The YM25-1 AUAR pods are advanced versions of the YM16-1 low drag multipurpose pods with 2 sets of fins fitted for directional stability and clamps fitted on its top for interaction and mounting with the MUP II system. The design of the clamps enable pods to be launched off the pylons with just a source of forward thrust.
Testing of the systems is expected to continue several weeks.
Development of the Vulcan family of multi-role aircraft by OrigamiAirEnterprises (OAE) is expected to continue, following the recent bout of popularity of the new F292-7 Super StratoVulcan. While OAE believes it is unlikely more than a few hundred examples of the Super StratoVulcan were actually produced by others (following several thousand views), its success has encouraged the continuation of development of the series. As a result of its viewership spike, the F292-7 is now OAE's most popular copy paper airplane after only a few months.
Currently, OrigamiAirEnterprises also has improved versions of the original F292-1 Vulcan in testing. Because of extensive commonality between the designs of the YF292-8 and YF292-9 prototypes and the original model, OAE expects full conversion capability.
If testing is successful and OAE does choose to operate these new variants, it appears likely many of its F292-8/-9 aircraft could be converted from F292-1 models. OAE previously announced its intention to retire the original Vulcan from duty within the next few weeks, after several months of service as a multi-role fighter and trainer aircraft.
TurboVulcan Testing for Long Range Strike
OrigamiAirEnterprises began testing its new Turbo Vulcan multi-role aircraft for compatibility with OAE's Multipurpose Underwing Pylon II (MUP II) system, two XM26-1 SMP (Small Multipurpose Pods) and added dorsal fins. The addition of these technologies have made the chosen aircraft one of the most intricate in OAE's current test fleet.
The aircraft, designated JF292-5, is intended to test whether or not the Turbo Vulcan can accommodate the compromises in performance with the added drag and extra weight of the added parts. If successful, the Turbo Vulcan could potentially serve as a high speed cruise missile carrier in the tested configuration, and upon landing be refit with more pods or be stripped of the additional weight and redeployed without the additional equipment in its regular configuration.
All of the technologies fitted to the demonstrator can be removed and replaced as desired with ease, something OAE hopes will enable greater versatility for the aircraft should the tests prove successful. In its clean configuration, the Turbo Vulcan has already proven itself fast and able to climb very well.
Update on Vulcan Family Testing: The JF292-5 was declared as having acceptable performance, and demonstrated its ability to have its pylons fitted and removed as desired. While the aircraft was given a testing "J" prefix, it is expected that this sort of configuration may become more normal for Vulcan family aircraft in the future.