REQ: Info on Tempest GR7

[JetA1]

Hi All,

I am reading a book written by John Nichol, name of the book is
"Exclusion Zone". They fly aircraft called Tempest GR7.

I have now been googling around for a while, but simply did not find any
data on what sort of aircraft this "Tempest GR7" is. Does it even exist?
Could the novelist be referring to Harrier GR7? Probably not, since in
the book it has two engines. How about Tornado GR1? It has two engines
and some of them had calls like "Tempest" during war around Persian Gulf
in the beginning of 90's.

This is driving me crazy, I usually can recognise most planes and now I
hate reading a book where they fly all the time in a plane that I don't
even know what it looks like!

I would be happy if someone could point me to correct source of
information or just tell me that the whole Tempest GR7 is bollox.


Regards,

Janne

[John Mullen]

"JetA1" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All,
>
> I am reading a book written by John Nichol, name of the book is
> "Exclusion Zone". They fly aircraft called Tempest GR7.
>
> I have now been googling around for a while, but simply did not find any
> data on what sort of aircraft this "Tempest GR7" is. Does it even exist?
> Could the novelist be referring to Harrier GR7? Probably not, since in
> the book it has two engines. How about Tornado GR1? It has two engines
> and some of them had calls like "Tempest" during war around Persian Gulf
> in the beginning of 90's.
>
> This is driving me crazy, I usually can recognise most planes and now I
> hate reading a book where they fly all the time in a plane that I don't
> even know what it looks like!
>
> I would be happy if someone could point me to correct source of
> information or just tell me that the whole Tempest GR7 is bollox.

It's likely a fictional name. There was of course a Tempest during WW2
though.

John

[Paul J. Adam]

In message >, JetA1
> writes
>Hi All,
>
>I am reading a book written by John Nichol, name of the book is
>"Exclusion Zone". They fly aircraft called Tempest GR7.
>
>I have now been googling around for a while, but simply did not
>find any data on what sort of aircraft this "Tempest GR7" is. Does
>it even exist? Could the novelist be referring to Harrier GR7?

It's a fictional aircraft created for the book, loosely based on the
Tornado at a guess. Back in WW2 I seem to recall the Tornado and Tempest
competed for the same staff requirement, and the Tempest won so the name
languished a little: Nichol may have used a historical in-joke to use
his Tornado experience without being sued for libel.

>I would be happy if someone could point me to correct source of
>information or just tell me that the whole Tempest GR7 is bollox.

It's an invented aircraft, though more like David Mace's Soviet stealth
fighter (from "Shadowhunters") than outrageously fictional craft like
the Firefox: at a guess, meant to be "sort of but not quite" a real
aircraft rather than a complete fabrication.

Is the book any good?

--
When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.
W S Churchill

Paul J. Adam MainBox<at>jrwlynch[dot]demon{dot}co(.)uk

[ANDREW ROBERT BREEN]

In article >,
Paul J. Adam > wrote:
>In message >, JetA1
> writes
>>Hi All,
>>
>>I am reading a book written by John Nichol, name of the book is
>>"Exclusion Zone". They fly aircraft called Tempest GR7.
>>
>>I have now been googling around for a while, but simply did not
>>find any data on what sort of aircraft this "Tempest GR7" is. Does
>>it even exist? Could the novelist be referring to Harrier GR7?
>
>It's a fictional aircraft created for the book, loosely based on the
>Tornado at a guess. Back in WW2 I seem to recall the Tornado and Tempest
>competed for the same staff requirement, and the Tempest won so the name
>languished a little: Nichol may have used a historical in-joke to use
>his Tornado experience without being sued for libel.

Tornado and Typhoon, IIRC: Tornado had the Rolls-Royce Vulture X-24,
Typhoon the Napier Sabre H-24 (Jeez what a choice..). Tempest had
a new thin wing and a longer fuselage and a choice of Napier Sabre
or Bristol Centaurus and was very much the Typhoon done as it ought to
have been (mind, if the engines had worked right the Typhoon/Tornado
would have been in service for late 1940, and if it had it would have come
as a nasty shock to a lot of folk flying aeroplanes with balck crosses on
them).
Tempest, I'd therefore surmise, is meant to be some hypothetical
development of the Typhoon, maybe optimised for air-ground given the
"GR" designation.

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Time has stopped, says the Black Lion clock
and eternity has begun" (Dylan Thomas)

[Harry Andreas]

In article >, "Paul J. Adam"
> wrote:

> In message >, JetA1
> > writes
> >Hi All,
> >
> >I am reading a book written by John Nichol, name of the book is
> >"Exclusion Zone". They fly aircraft called Tempest GR7.
> >
> >I have now been googling around for a while, but simply did not
> >find any data on what sort of aircraft this "Tempest GR7" is. Does
> >it even exist? Could the novelist be referring to Harrier GR7?
>
> It's a fictional aircraft created for the book, loosely based on the
> Tornado at a guess. Back in WW2 I seem to recall the Tornado and Tempest
> competed for the same staff requirement, and the Tempest won so the name
> languished a little: Nichol may have used a historical in-joke to use
> his Tornado experience without being sued for libel.
>
> >I would be happy if someone could point me to correct source of
> >information or just tell me that the whole Tempest GR7 is bollox.
>
> It's an invented aircraft, though more like David Mace's Soviet stealth
> fighter (from "Shadowhunters") than outrageously fictional craft like
> the Firefox: at a guess, meant to be "sort of but not quite" a real
> aircraft rather than a complete fabrication.

In the early 90's there were some proposals to fit out the Tornado
with heavy duty weasel gear for sale to USAF.

Many professionals still can't quite believe that they went with
a single engine, single operator, limited range aircraft
for the mission.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur

[Ian]

"Harry Andreas" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, "Paul J. Adam"
> > wrote:
>
> > In message >, JetA1
> > > writes
> > >Hi All,
> > >
> > >I am reading a book written by John Nichol, name of the book is
> > >"Exclusion Zone". They fly aircraft called Tempest GR7.
> > >
> > >I have now been googling around for a while, but simply did not
> > >find any data on what sort of aircraft this "Tempest GR7" is. Does
> > >it even exist? Could the novelist be referring to Harrier GR7?
> >
> > It's a fictional aircraft created for the book, loosely based on the
> > Tornado at a guess. Back in WW2 I seem to recall the Tornado and Tempest
> > competed for the same staff requirement, and the Tempest won so the name
> > languished a little: Nichol may have used a historical in-joke to use
> > his Tornado experience without being sued for libel.
> >
> > >I would be happy if someone could point me to correct source of
> > >information or just tell me that the whole Tempest GR7 is bollox.
> >
> > It's an invented aircraft, though more like David Mace's Soviet stealth
> > fighter (from "Shadowhunters") than outrageously fictional craft like
> > the Firefox: at a guess, meant to be "sort of but not quite" a real
> > aircraft rather than a complete fabrication.
>
> In the early 90's there were some proposals to fit out the Tornado
> with heavy duty weasel gear for sale to USAF.
>
> Many professionals still can't quite believe that they went with
> a single engine, single operator, limited range aircraft
> for the mission.
>
The Tornado Mid Life Update was for a lot of things that ultimately the
government couldn't afford. Unfortunately the first gulf war came and
showed the RAF they could do with most of the upgrade, but they couldn't
find the money..........

[JetA1]

>
> It's an invented aircraft, though more like David Mace's Soviet stealth
> fighter (from "Shadowhunters") than outrageously fictional craft like
> the Firefox: at a guess, meant to be "sort of but not quite" a real
> aircraft rather than a complete fabrication.

Too bad that it appears to be fictional. This sort of lowers my respect
towards this novelist. I like it when writers keep their technical data
as facts. Tom Clancy has always been my favorite for that, every time I
check, Clancy has everything put correctly.

> Is the book any good?

Well, it is not the best one I've read, but yes, it is good. I like the
way Nichol writes. He is able to cover up some flesh around characters
of the book.

Rgds,
Janne