Probably because where they strapped the new engine is where the center of thrust is on a regular Su-34.
It wouldn't work on something like a J-10 unless they replace the engine.
Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
- Start date
It wouldn't work on something like a J-10 unless they replace the engine.
No, but then naturally the next question would be "why not a model of a Su-27 or a F-15 or some other twin engine model instead".
Which leads us back to the answer of "they probably just have multiple models of various types of aircraft available, and chose to use Su-34 as the model".
Might even just be because it was the most expendable model.
You people are overthinking this. This is a project from a high ranking, but not top tier university in China. They use whatever model they can find because the important thing is to test the engine in flight and how the engine performs.
And on that note we really should be taking about the engine! Is this the first RDE to actually fly?
RDEs are supposed to be very fuel efficient.
They could maybe add one of these to a full scale SU-34 and fly long range patrols over the pacific with the other two turbines turned off. It could be used for sub hunting where it would be too risky to send a traditional propeller driven sub hunter.
The US did something similar at the start of the jet age where they had propeller driven bombers combined with additional auxiliary jet engines.
China does not currently use SU-34s though.
RDEs are supposed to be very sensitive to fuel types which I think is why the early versions have used oxygen and hydrogen.
If this test engine is using kerosene and air this could be a big advance
They could maybe add one of these to a full scale SU-34 and fly long range patrols over the pacific with the other two turbines turned off. It could be used for sub hunting where it would be too risky to send a traditional propeller driven sub hunter.
The US did something similar at the start of the jet age where they had propeller driven bombers combined with additional auxiliary jet engines.
China does not currently use SU-34s though.
RDEs are supposed to be very sensitive to fuel types which I think is why the early versions have used oxygen and hydrogen.
If this test engine is using kerosene and air this could be a big advance
It seems so, because the only other "first" widely reported in the west was this
Japan sent a RDE rocket engine into suborbit and ignited for 6 seconds. That is like moving test stand to suborbit rather than flying on its own.
Yeah I think if this is a sustained flight, especially across a wide range of envelopes, it should be a pretty big deal. RDEs are supposed to have tricky pressure instability issues which has been one of the primary focuses of development work. Being able to fly one around indicates that this engine’s detonation dynamics are stable enough that it can handle at least some dynamic pressure conditions. Which would suggest that they may be close to a design that is usable in practical applications. We could be seeing RDE powered drones and cruise missiles soon.
Is the RDE the only powerplant on the model?
Probably not. Better question is whether they flew the whole test with the RDE, with the model’s original engines only being present as a backup, and whether they used the RDE to take off (seems like they did though).