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Arsenal VG-90

1949 X-PLANE

History of Arsenal's VG-90

In the period shortly after World War II (1939-1945), Air France's road to seriousness was long and arduous. However, once the war in Europe ended in May 1945, progress was made. The Arsenal de l'Aeronautique, a state-owned military aircraft manufacturer founded in 1934, produced several jet-powered prototypes in the late 1940s that would help the entire French aviation industry - starting with the VG-70.

The VG-70 was used as a technology demonstrator with swept wings and turbojets. Although its flying career was short, it provided the data needed to help the company with subsequent plans.

While the VG-70 was a promising proposal, it was limited in adaptability to larger, more powerful engine units and was somewhat of a technical dead end. The related VG-71 should fit the more powerful Rolls-Royce Derwent engine, while the VG-80 should follow the Rolls-Royce Nene, but neither of these suggestions are encouraged.

When the French Navy needed a new carrier-based jet attack fighter, the company developed its VG-90 platform based on learnings from the VG-70. The VG-70 competes with the Aerocentre/SNCAC NC 1080 and Nord 2200 offerings.

Like the VG-70, the VG-90 has a streamlined metal hull and is mounted in a single-seat cockpit forward of the center of the boat. The wings, in turn, are mounted on the shoulders on the sides of the fuselage, and the leading edge has more recoil than the trailing edge. The fins remain traditional - a vertical fin sits above a pair of low-lying horizontal planes. A flat, fully retractable landing gear was also retained.

Since metal plays an important role in the fuselage structure, the tail relies on a metal substructure with a plywood skin.

The main difference between the VG-70 and the newer VG-90 is the repositioning of the latter's air intakes, which have now been converted into a pair of narrow ports that match the shape of the sides of the fuselage. This runs counter to the VG-70's ventral air intake, which was initially seen as a promising design quality but ended up being a limiting feature.

The VG-90 is powered by a Hispano-Suiza (Rolls-Royce) Nene turbojet with 5,000 pounds of thrustmuch higher than the VG-70's German Junkers Jumo 004 wartime turbojet with 1,980 pounds of thrust.

The suggested fixed armament for the fighter is the 3 x 30mm Hispano-Suiza cannon, which does a good job of "hitting" the target at the time. Arrange for the aircraft to carry 2 x 1,100 conventionally dropped bombs to strike.

In addition, air-launched missiles supported on wing rails and via internal chutes were considered.

Arsenal built two VG-90 prototypes and recorded their first flight on September 27, 1949. The second prototype has different weapons - 2 x 20mm cannons, 2 x 7.7mm machine guns, internal launch rocket packs (RAC 50 rockets) and underwing launch tracks for additional rockets (16 x T10 rockets or 80 x RAC 50 rockets) . The model first flew in June 1951.

Flight testing of the VG-90 was fraught with problems, with both models ultimately being lost in separate crashes - each taking the life of their respective test pilots. On May 25, 1950, one of the landing gear panels loosened and hit the stern, causing a loss of control and inevitable crash. On February 21, 1952, the violent slap was blamed for tearing off the tail section and spiralling the mutilated plane to the ground.

Although the plane equipped its pilots with ejection seats, the system malfunctioned, resulting in casualties. There were plans to build a third prototype, which would be powered by an 8,818-pound thrust SNECMA Atar 01F-series turbojet, but this variant did not come into physical form due to problems encountered with earlier prototypes during flight testing.

The program was eventually terminated, and none of the three designs offered by the three competing companies were adopted by the French Navy.

When completed, the VG-90 will have a length of 13.4 meters, a wingspan of 12.6 meters and a height of 3.5 meters. Empty weight is 11,250 pounds and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 17,840 pounds. Performance specs include a top speed of 570 mph, a range of up to 960 miles, and a service ceiling of up to 42,640 feet.

Climb to 4,500 feet per minute.