Aussie fighter CAC CA-15 development

[JDK]

As is well known, it ended up looking like a Mustang that had eaten proper steaks, but it went through a fair number of different development phases.

[Dan K]

The R-2800-powered version would've been a winner, James (and you know it!).

[Swiss Mustangs]

somehow the model looks somewhat like a souped-up FW-190

it realy was a brute looking kite....



Martin

[RyanShort1]

somehow the model looks somewhat like a souped-up FW-190

Trying to look like a real fighter!

Ryan

[daveymac82c]

Hey James,

is there much left of the CA-15 besides photos and documents? Or is it similar to the Avro Arrow and lack there of?

-David

[JDK]

is there much left of the CA-15 besides photos and documents? Or is it similar to the Avro Arrow and lack there of?

There's more Arrow left than there is CA-15. AFAIK, there's no parts surviving. They even gave the engine back to the British!

[daveymac82c]

Now that is a terrible shame. It would be great to see at least some parts having survived, but in the time of its cancellation I suppose nobody had the foresight to save anything.

How did the project cancellation eventually happen?

With the Arrow the employees learned about it over the PA system in the factory and ended up grabbing as much as they could carry out with them. That's the only way there are surviving parts, plans, etc. left of the Arrow.

Oh, but I suppose the surviving pieces at the aviation museum in Ottawa were "saved" for eventual public display after they were so brutally blow-torched into more manageable pieces... ack, don't get me started.

-David

[JDK]

How did the project cancellation eventually happen?

It was obsolete at the time of its first flight (unlike the Arrow).

[Keith Gaff]

Hello James,

I believe there is still a little bit of the CA-15 left. Many years ago a spare canopy (just the perspex, no frame) was in the possession of the Moorabbin Air Museum and I know for a fact that it was transferred to a place that you and I regulary frequent. Whether it is still there I am not sure.

[Trey Carroll]

I'm seeing shades of FW-190 and Bearcat in there! And of course the Bear is made off of the 190. That's a neat looking fighter.

[k5083]

That first one with the elliptical wing is a bit of a looker, although with that cut down rear fuselage, it looks a bit lacking in keel area and if it were built, you could already see a bigger vertical tail in its future.

That 3-view and a little conjecture are enough to build a model from. A little stick-and-tissue one would make a nice looking scale free flight project.

August

[JDK]

Thanks, Keith, Martin!

I'm seeing shades of FW-190 and Bearcat in there! And of course the Bear is made off of the 190. That's a neat looking fighter.

Indeed. Difference is they were built to be compact this is a big beast. See the size of the men and Mustangs in the background. (CAC Photo)

[mustangdriver]

That is just a manly airplane to fly.

[Skyraider3D]

The Mustang vs CA-15 topic pops up quite regularly on the various forums. I've built 3D models of both aircraft. Here they are side by side at the same scale for comparison:



I am slowly revamping the CA-15 model to look a tad more realistic. Here's a test render:



I might convert it to the original design with R-2800 engine too, as I'm modelling that one for a Corsair project:



Likewise I've reworked the Mustang model to be more realistic:



Still some work to be done on both Mustang and CA-15, though. I hope the comparison was of interest at least.

Cheers,

Ronnie

[JDK]

Mmmmmm.

Ronnie - dumb question - is the two side by side to scale? I'm surprised the CA-15 is not that much bigger...