Someone please enlighten me to what this ac is!
 

Bell & Ross: Zoom

I keep seeing it in inflight magazines. Its been annoying me for ages! Looks interesting assymetric!

I'm guessing UK 50s Bristol something maybe?

Thank you in advance

Looks like the Sud-Quest SO 9000 Trident.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2638/t6651001.jpg

I guess you are thinking of the T188, but the engines are not the same. I'm thinking 'artist's impression' unless John Farley can come up with something......

Definitely the Sud-Ouest Trident.

A fascinating mid-50s mixed-power fighter project. Wingtip turbojets for cruise, plus a multi-chamber rocket in the rear fuselage for take-off and hight speed interception.

Not much like the Bristol T.188 research aircraft which had a scaled-down Avro 730 wing. The T.188 had 2 of the useless Gyron Junior engines at mid-span, not at the wing tips. Rather an inefficient design, it had an endurance of about 25 minutes.... But I remember seeing the first take-off on TV when I was suffering from 'flu.

If you'd like to see it for real go to the Musee de l'Air at Le Bourget. Or at least it was there last time I was, 20 years ago (can it really be that long?).

http://www.aviastar.org/pictures/france/so_trident2.jpg

http://www.aviastar.org/pictures/fra...trident2_1.jpg

Sud-Ouest SO 9050 Trident II - interceptor

Fascinating thought!!
 

If only they had thought of variable tilt jet engines!!!

GIGFY:)

Try This Trident Test
 

I must admit to never really knowing how to visually differentiate between the SO 9000 Trident and the SO 9050 Trident II, until today.

Which is which? :)
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3006/26728920.jpg
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/5666/59687173.jpg

A is the Trident II.

Someone else did with the VJ-101:

Is it just me or is the F-104 Starfighter the love child of this beast?

:ok: I've learnt that a good indicator is the nose probe, if absent it's the Trident II. Air brakes are also on the rear fuselage, the undercarriage is longer, bigger cockpit and bigger wing.

Some ground shots of the Trident ( SO 9000) show what looks like a missing shroud on the intake area. I don't know if this is indicative of the engine type? Turbomeca Marbore's or Vipers?

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1058/trident.jpg

You learn something every day - I always thought the tip jets were ramjets.

DHfan,

That's exactly what I though about the tip-jets on the Soar-Meteor of '54, but I found out later that they were axial flow RR turbojets. I don't know if I got the ramjet notion from a newsreel, or if was that they just looked so small compared to their centrifugal neighbours!

Thanks guys for the replies - I must pop into the Le Bourget museum next time I'm near (most months!) to see if it's still there

older jet prototypes
 

All three jet prototypes that have been mentioned in this thread survive in european museums.


The Bristol Type 188 "All Steel" can be seen in the RAF Museum Cosford in
the UK.
Bristol Type 188 airplane pictures & aircraft photos - RAF Museums



The VJ-101 can be seen in the Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany.
Their Schleissheim display also has several protypes.
Deutsches Museum: EWR-Süd VJ-101 C, 1965



The Trident can be seen in the Musee de'l Air, Le Bourget, Paris, France.
Halls d'exposition> Site officiel du musée de l'Air et de l'Espace



Off all these early jet prototypes I like the Nord Griffon the best for looks.
Photos> Site officiel du musée de l'Air et de l'Espace


All of these museums are definately worth a visit and have many early jet prototypes on display.
I was just in Paris and the Trident is on display in the corner on a pole.
So go and enjoy!

Just browsing the Deutsches Museum site and found this link:
Deutsches Museum: EWR-Süd VJ-101 C
which answers the question posed by evanelpus..

For strange ram jet a/c see:

Leduc Ramjet Aircraft | Strange Vehicles

Leduc (avion) - Wikipédia

One of these was at Base Aérienne 125 Istres when I was there with the RAF Liaison Party in 1957-8. I saw it fly quite a few times, it took off from a trolley on rails, the trolly was jetisoned on t/o and the a/c landed on skids.