Chinese Carrier Fighter Project !

[Planeman]

Qualifying statement: I am not an aero engineer, I'm just reasonably well researched with some very small but elluminating industry involvement

* Masking. Basically the engine intakes need a reasonably consistant inflow of air. If they are on top of the fuselage then the nose tends to disrupt the airflow when the aircraft flies at a high angle of attack (flying forward but with nose poiinting upwards). To put that in perspective, most aircraft wings stall at around 10~15(?check exact figures etc) degrees AOA - simplified explanation.

But if an aircraft can fly at high AOA 9say 30 degrees) without stalling, then there are several tactical advantages. Aircraft with forward swept wings (X-29, Su-47) can fly at high AOAs. The same goes for joined wings with forward swept rear sections provided you can stop the forward wing from stalling - there are several ways to do that but for a fighter's wing with sharp edge, one way I've thought of (completely my own thinking) is to make the forward wing all-moving, so that in high AOA flight it acts much like the all-moving canards of the X-29/Su-47.

aside from some dogfighting advantages (marginal in the great scheme of things), high AOA flight is good because it means that you can fly very slow (~expand?) and can decelerate very suddenly... which fits into my concept of a very short landing aircraft:

[Planeman]

Kitflubber, are you able to do animations of your model? If we animated the wing fold we could see what's possible and what isn't.

[kitflubber]

Planeman,

It is doable with Strata, but I need toread the manual -- have never done it. I was messing with it Friday, trying to make a walk-around viewing of the fighter.

[cthulhu77]

How would you handle folding the wing at the root?  I better buy more Bondo.

[kitflubber]

Hey, if it's composites, we'll just have the wing get really thin at the hinges like those hinges on cheap plastic toolboxes!    

[kitflubber]

Here's a kind of fake animation with a progression of superimposed images in Illustrator. I think the upper hinge and the pivot for the all moving surface should not coincide. Maybe move the folding hinge into the wing root a bit.

[kitflubber]

It looks like when it reaches the top of its fold, it would make sense of the outermost hinge to latch again, securing the wing in the upright position! Slick!

[cthulhu77]

Interesting...I'm going to have to do some serious cutting.

[kitflubber]

Planeman -- Irealize I did not get the positions of the wings right -- the hind wing sits outboard of the forewing. Should not affect the viability of the design.

[Planeman]

Clearly it'd need four hinge points per side, so eight in all. that's a lot of extra weight.

With the 3D model, is it possible to model internal objects like engines, weapons bay, undercarriage?

Also moving parts like control surfaces?  

[Planeman]

Su-27 empty weight: 16,380 kg
Su-33 empty weight: 18,400 kg -(folding wings & tailplane)

MiG-29 (basic) empty weight: 11,000 kg
MiG-29K empty weight: ???TBC

[Planeman]

I'm starting to map out a carrier strike fighter

[ysi_maniac]

 
This forum is becoming a HiTech OKB
           

[kitflubber]

Planeman,

Sorry for not posting for a while.

To the earlier question, yes, modeling internal features is doable --  you can get as elaborate as you like, it's just a question of investing the time (just like real modeling!).

I like the strike fighter wireframe -- the succession of profiles is something I wish I had drawn first with the Chinese Fighter 3D. Shipbuilders used the same technique I believe. I am still having a hard time with the lifting body shape at the aft end.

[cthulhu77]

Looks good, but I think it needs canards for the slowdown on landing...either that or larger chines.