Official Chengdu J-20 Discussion Thread
)When you have millions of fanboys in a country like China, there bounds to be a few who are so desperate to create news that they would waste time creating these things.
there are no expectations. We will know what J-20's cockpit looks like in x number of years time when we actually get the first picture of its cockpit.
Until then, the best guess is when we get the first photos of J-10B cockpit. That would give a lot of hints, since they are testing out a lot of stuff on J-10B first.
The runway test was stated to have occured either on 21st or 22nd of December. Some dude even took photos, although you can't tell much from it.
The aircraft looks stealthy but not revolutionary in aerodynamics, the PAK FA seems more agile but with less stealthiness but the J-20 looks frankly too conventional and up to a degree less stealthy than the F-22 and much less agile than the PAK FA i would rather say the T-50 will be more agile.
Any way an impressive feat by the Chinese this will increase a arm races around the world in terms of fighter design
Any way an impressive feat by the Chinese this will increase a arm races around the world in terms of fighter design
Oh I dunno -- all other 5th gen aircraft so far (F-22, F-35, PAK FA) all seem to have the same configuration. The sheer fact that the J-XX doesn't have rear tails and canards instead is revolutionary to an extent ( though our definitions of the word may differ).
Here's to hoping more photos will come out soon.
I fail to see how you can determine an aircraft's RCS and manoevurability base solely on looks.
It's either WS-10A or AL-31F. While I lean towards the latter, WS-10A is a very real possibility as well because of its recently improved manufacturing quality control. Either way, WS-15 will eventually power the aircraft.
There will be common features in all of 5th generation fighter jets, but it is the details that matter. You cannot "copy" the design of F-22, since designing the shape of a low observable aircraft requires enormous amount of calculation, testing and refining. Even the most minor adjustments have implications on RCS and aerodynamic performance. If it was that simple, you'd see alot more countries able to develop their own.
Some posters are saying the prototype's using 117S engines actually. I'm not sure if it's just groundless proclamations or not though.
Hopefully WS-15 will be ready by the 2017-2019 mark. At least Shenyang Liming isn't heading WS-15 this time...
Looks are decieving, but knowledge of acurate aerodynamics imply knowing the advantages of canards and tailplanes and the compromises to be done on a fighter due to stealth.
The PAK FA uses a highly blended wing fuselage increasing lift area and internal volume for weapons bays, this increases the internal volume in a much smarter way than in the F-22 and F-35.
On the YF-23 the lack of tails limits the aerodynamics and controlability of the jet, yes the lack of tails increases stealthiness but reduces stability, that is the reason most aircraft have tails and no V tails or butterfly tails.
Installing a canard does not make a fighter superior to one without it, it simply increases the main wing usefulness at high AoA and does the controlability of the tailplanes if they are foreplanes.
Now canards are not used on the F-35, T-50 and F-22 because there is no big advantage in using a canard over using tails, everything will be mission dependant and wing dependant.
The T-50 uses LEVCONs that work as canards without their limitations.
The new chinese fighter might have a diamond shaped wing if it is the case similar to the F-22 or a serrated wing with chevrons as the one of the replica BAE Aircraft,
The canards have shape limitations that are difficult to harmonise with stealth requierements, if you get a better shape you lose stealthines and viceversa.
Same is the wing, the shape has some aerodynamic requierements that many times are against stealth requierements.
The best shape for stealth is a diamond shaped wing basicly a rhombus not a delta or a sawed serrated wing as the one of the replica that basicly losses aft area essential for aerodynamic center of lift supersonic shifts..
The F-22 and T-50 for that reason have those wings that are basicly a delta with a semi diamond shape or a semi rhombus shaped wing.
Wouldn't the lack of tails (on the YF-23) easily be able to be compensated by FBW?
And are you saying that canards are un-stealthy compared to tails or just unstealthy in general? You sound like you know quite a bit about that so can you elaborate a little on the subject?
(Also I just want to point out the Northrop grumman proposal for the NATF had canards as did one of the submissions for JSF design. So there must be a fairly easy way to set off the detrimental effects of canards to stealth. The USAF and RuAF didn't go for canards was simply that they were more familiar towards conventional layouts and therefore were the safer option)