Chapter 792: Early Warning Aircraft Needed
A roll rate of 140° per second, if placed within the range of the entire fighter jet, is not an astonishing number.
The distant F16 Mirage 2000, the nearby J-10 and Rafale, all far exceed this number, and the high ones can even reach more than 300° per second in net configuration.
However, it is obvious that these aircraft are designed to be highly agile.
For a heavy fighter that is not good at this - in fact, it has always been a shortcoming in the past, this number has improved quite significantly.
And all of this was recorded by the J-11AS flying slightly behind.
“1121, your roll is very fast, and the rolling process is smooth, with almost no altitude loss, which is very good.”
Even for top test pilots, after two test flights Rest is also needed between subjects, so the two planes in the sky are taking advantage of this time to make radio contact.
“I feel that this has not reached the limit of the strength of the aircraft body, but I am afraid that it is impossible to provide a higher rolling moment with flaperons alone.”
Fu Guoxiang’s The voice was mixed with a slightly rapid breathing:
"I will turn 180° first and try to increase the speed by 100 degrees."
At the same time, as the first rolling test ended, there was a burst of applause in the tower.
Although today's wireless data transmission efficiency does not support processing high-definition images, by integrating an additional set of antennas and sensors inside the prototype, some basic flight data can be transmitted back to the tower in real time.
This improvement is actually dispensable for a smooth test flight, but if there is any malfunction or even an accident during the test flight, it may become the key to solving the problem.
Although this kind of thing has not happened for several years, everyone still has to keep this string in their hearts.
If aviation safety is relaxed even a little bit, there is a high probability that it will be a direct landslide.
"Mr. He, it seems that your aircraft structure upgrade has been very effective."
Chang Haonan looked at the flight parameter curve displayed on the screen in front of him, and his tone became much lighter.
Although He Ming next to him looked calm on the surface, the corner of his mouth that was suppressed by the general until he spoke still revealed his inner excitement:
"Body structure upgrade We have actually determined the theoretical effect before. Now that we can implement this theoretical effect, we must thank you, including Mr. Chang, for providing us with new technologies and new processes for Project No. 11.”
Of course, his statement is not entirely false.
The Su-27SM next door, which uses the same airframe, made its first flight more than half a year ago, verifying the effectiveness of this configuration.
In addition to the improvement in structural strength, which relieves the restrictions on roll at the flight control level, more importantly, the length of the flaperons in the new configuration is significantly increased, occupying almost the entire trailing edge of the wing. , and therefore be able to participate more actively in rolling.
But the design is the design, and the object is the object.
Otherwise, the planes built by Stan Aviation would not be so uncomfortable.
For China, which has just figured out how to build the basic model Su-27SK, it is already very rare to have no problems after a major structural and process upgrade.
“Actually, Lao Fu feels that there is no problem. In terms of structural strength alone, this aircraft actually has a lot of room for improvement. I heard that Sukhoi is preparing to give a Su-27SM prototype a handle. Install the AL31FU and try to see where the limit is.”
AL31FU is the engine used by the No. 711 technology demonstrator. Compared with the AL31F, it has increased thrust and, more importantly, has thrust vector control (TVC) capabilities. .
The Flanker's body is inherently large, and the two engines are installed far away from the central axis, so the moment of inertia is very large.
In the past, the main factor that restricted the increase in roll rate was structural strength, so this problem was not very obvious.
Now, as Fu Guoxiang said, flaperons alone can no longer meet the requirements.
However, everything has two sides.
If a TVC nozzle is installed, then the original simple burden can provide rotational torque in one turn.
In this case, the engine position is far away from the center line, which actually becomes an advantage. "Let's do it step by step."
Chang Haonan put his hands behind his back:
“After the turbofan 10 is completely completed and finalized, upgrading TVC capabilities will definitely be put on the agenda.”
Thrust vector, To be honest, it may not be of much use.
But something is better than nothing.
For a high-thrust engine, the thrust-to-weight ratio will not be lost much, and the TVC nozzle will not consume life when it is not working.
As long as you use it once, you will earn blood.
However, the priority can indeed be slightly later.
After all, China has never accumulated technology in this area in the past.
A rotatable nozzle itself is not difficult. The difficult thing is to write this thing into the flight control.
He Ming didn't press for it, he just mentioned it in passing, so the attention of several people quickly returned to the display screen.
After the first test, Fu Guoxiang conducted several more tests in the transonic range with steps of 100km/h.
As the speed increases, the efficiency of the outer wing flaperons will decrease, so the roll rate will inevitably be affected.
However, even at the lowest speed of 1350km/h, it still maintains a level of about 60° per second, which is far higher than before the improvement.
"It seems that the four simulated mounts brought with it do not have a great impact on the performance of the aircraft..."
He Ming touched his chin and nodded, obviously interested. The test results are very satisfactory.
"This is also the innate advantage of the Su-27."
Chang Haonan replied:
"When we first started Project 11, 601 also studied whether we could consider using the two engines. A conformal fuel tank was installed in the middle to further extend the range, but later research revealed that the gains outweighed the losses, so you have not seen this plan. Instead, an aerial fuel receiving device was added to the Flanker's body. A good location for the pylon is between the two air inlets in the middle of the fuselage. This is a low-pressure area, so the resistance is very small. Generally, large-size ammunition is hung here instead of under the wings.
If four mid-range bombs of the size of R77 or Thunderbolt 12 are mounted in parallel, the impact on flight performance will be almost negligible.
While the two were talking, the data on the screen also showed that prototype No. 1121 began to slow down and returned to level flight.
Today’s test content has been completed and it is time to return.
"Mr. Chang, according to the current progress, the basic flight performance test will probably be completed soon."
He Ming suddenly said:
"The next step is to wait. The test bombs of PL-12 and PL-13 will be delivered, and then the airborne avionics and fire control systems will be tested.”
"Thunderbolt 12 should be fine. The 1493 radar itself can cover the entire envelope. But if we want to test the Thunderbolt 13, I am afraid that the early warning aircraft will need to provide additional target information at a longer distance."
Compared to just now Just mentioning TVC casually, this matter is indeed more important.
This is true both for the Thunderbolt 13 and the entire Chinese Air Force.
"The ring project can no longer be counted on. I heard that the David Kingdom has even begun to prohibit technicians from the 14th Institute of Electrical Engineering from approaching the aircraft."
Chang Haonan put on his coat. Walking outside, preparing to greet the triumphant test pilot, he said to He Ming, who was half behind him:
"However, the Air Police 200 that first flew at the beginning of the year has now been equipped with a real radar array. If no major problems are found in the electronic equipment and data link, it will definitely be able to catch up with your test firing and target practice."
(End of this chapter)