British Aerospace EAP

The British Aerospace EAP (for Experimental Aircraft The tailn of a Tornado was used as the basis of the unit
Programme) was a technology demonstrator aircraft de- tted the EAP in order to reduce cost.[2]
veloped as a private venture in the 1980s and which eventually formed the basis for the Euroghter Typhoon.

History

In 1982, British Aerospace (BAe) exhibited a mockup of

the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) at the Farnborough
Airshow as well as the Paris Air Show in May 1983. The
ACA combined several years of private venture research
by BAe, costing around 25 million, with similar studies done by MBB (in the TKF-90 project) and Aeritalia.
Plans were made by the three companies to produce two
technology demonstrator aircraft based on ACA under
EAP at Loughborough University
the name Experimental Aircraft Programme.
The British Government announced it would make a nancial contribution to the EAP but a lack of funding from the West German government meant that the
planned second airframe was cancelled. The sole EAP
aircraft (serial ZF534) rst ew on 8 August 1986.[1] The
UK Ministry of Defence invested almost 80m in the
EAP.

The initial denition of what became the Euroghter

project started soon after the EAP project was initiated.
Without the research input from ACA and EAP, the Euroghter would not have been possible. While the similarity between the EAP and the Euroghter/Typhoon
is striking there are some important dierences; the
cranked delta wings of the EAP have been replaced with
The EAP aircraft was built within the development fa- a straight delta, the size of the n has been much reduced
cility (No. 2 Hangar) at British Aerospace, Warton; and and the rectangular intake of the prototype has been recomprised three major fuselage structures; front, centre placed with one with a smiling conguration.
& rear. The front fuselage contained many innovative The EAP aircraft was retired from service on 1 May
structures in Carbon-ber-reinforced polymer compos- 1991, and was located in the display area of the Aeroites and aluminium-lithium alloy. The centre and rear nautical and Automotive Engineering department of
fuselage structures were conventional, with a modied Loughborough University. It was used to show the
Tornado n. The right hand wing assembly, manufac- Aeronautical Engineering students the components of a
tured at the Samlesbury plant of BAe, was a co-bonded ghter jet. Its port wing had been removed at the root to
carbon bre composite assembly proving new tooling and show both the aerofoil cross-section and some of the inmanufacturing techniques which were put to good use ternal components. Several other components have been
later on the Euroghter programme. The left hand wing removed from the aircraft for the purpose of viewing.
assembly was manufactured at the Corso Marche facility
of Alenia in Turin. The foreplanes were manufactured
in carbon composite at Preston/Samlesbury; detail design
and manufacture of the windscreen and canopy assem- 2 Departing Loughborough Uniblies was by Aerostructures Hamble, Southampton.
versity
The Experimental Aircraft Programme was designed to
research technologies to be used for a future European
combat aircraft. The EAP was tted with a variety
of advanced electronic equipment, including three CRT
displays and a HUD similar to the F-16's. A pair of
Turbo-Union RB199104 afterburning turbofans, powerplant of the Panavia Tornado ADV provided power.

On 26 March 2012 the EAP left the Aeronautical & Automotive Engineering Department at Loughborough University following the RAFs request to have it displayed at
the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. The AAE department at Loughborough received a BAE Hawk 200 during March 2012 to replace the EAP as a teaching and
1

research aid.[3]
Modied Panavia Tornado n, tted to the EAP
Fin again
The nose
The front
Side view
Port wing

EXTERNAL LINKS

Bibliography
Braybrook, Roy (June 1986). A Come-Back in Canards. Air International 30 (6): pp. 267276, 304
307. ISSN 0306-5634.
Air Britain News. May 2012. p. p.614. ISSN
0950-7442.
Taylor, John W. R. (1988). Janes All The Worlds
Aircraft 198889. Coulsdon, United Kingdom:
Janes Defence Data. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.

Fake pylon missile

6 External links
3

Specications (EAP)

Data from Janes All The Worlds Aircraft 198889[1]

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 48 ft 2.75 in (14.7003 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 7 in (11.76 m)
Height: 18 ft 1.5 in (5.525 m)
Wing area: 560 sq ft (52 m2 )
Empty weight: 22,050 lb (10,002 kg)
Max takeo weight: 32,000 lb (14,515 kg)
Powerplant: 2 Turbo-Union RB199-104D 3spool turbofan engine, 9,000 lbf (40 kN) thrust each
dry, 17,000 lbf (76 kN) with afterburner
Performance
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)

See also

Related development
Euroghter Typhoon

References

Notes
[1] Taylor 1988, pp. 292293.
[2] Braybrook Air International June 1986, p. 307.
[3] Air Britain News, May 2012

EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON from Greg Goebels

AIR VECTORS

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