Are scaled powered models supposed perform similarly to the real sized thing?
Definitely not in the hard numbers, but I'm wondering if it's an accurate portrayal of the general characteristics of the airframe.
J-20... The New Generation Fighter III
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Definitely not in the hard numbers, but I'm wondering if it's an accurate portrayal of the general characteristics of the airframe.
Yea of course, that's what I meant too.
Also interesting to hear him talk about the airplane's configuration and its contribution to high alpha performance... all heard about CAC's choosing of this config for its manouverability.
It really seems to be a matter of yaw stability. I guess a triplane approach might actually be inferior if the tails disrupt control of yaw?
It's garbage; dogfighting in an era of off-boresight SRAMs is essentially a mode of suicide.
What's more important is sustained turn rate performance and maneuverability at long-distances.
Also, the lerxes are not implemented, you don't see the anhedral-dihedral canard-wing setup, the all-moving tailfins are not implemented; I don't think the propellers simulate jet intakes, etc.
What's more important is sustained turn rate performance and maneuverability at long-distances.
Also, the lerxes are not implemented, you don't see the anhedral-dihedral canard-wing setup, the all-moving tailfins are not implemented; I don't think the propellers simulate jet intakes, etc.
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I think a key note is that the wings are oversized. The J-20 has a much narrower aspect ratio, compromising much of its vaunted super-maneuverability in the name of reduced drag. It won't be that much more agile in real life, even when you remember that it's a cardboard cut-out being flown by rear-mounted propellers.
Also, the RC guy is afraid of instability because he doesn't have computer controls and computer modeling to control for intentionally unstable and hence maneuverable aircraft. That the J-20 seems so eerily stable is not a good sign.
Also, the RC guy is afraid of instability because he doesn't have computer controls and computer modeling to control for intentionally unstable and hence maneuverable aircraft. That the J-20 seems so eerily stable is not a good sign.
He's using gyros for stability control. It's probably contributing heavily to the stability of the model. Hard to tell how stable or not the actual J-20 is given that all the videos we've had have been shaky and really distant.
Just some background regarding the model he used. Yes, he gets a lot of facts wrong.
Talking about why the genera design works well for high alpha.
I'm not going to say the RC represents the real deal, but it's nonetheless really interesting.
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plawolf
Lieutenant General
While there is probably some truth to the results of the RC model (hey, it's not like serious aircraft makers don't use scale models for testing and evaluating different configurations), people should not get too carried away either supporting or bashing this.
While the videos already posted are fascinating if not a little flattering for CAC and the J20, the far more relevant video is this.
I won't bother repeating what he said since you can all go watch the video yourselves, but the key for me is that in it, the maker of that RC model explains that he did not make the model to represent the J20, but rather, he just took the general configuration of the J20, which matched his own ideas about what the ultimate high Alpha plane should look like, and adjusted an F22 model.
That to me indicates that the general configuration of the J20 is inherently extremely maneuverable and has the potential for truly unmatched high Alpha capabilities. However, that does not mean that the J20 will automatically be the most maneuverable airplane ever, because that is not the only design criteria.
For a real plane, the designers would need to consider countless other factors, requirements and limitations, and may well have had to make some sacrifices to meet other design and performance benchmarks.
We should not look at those videos and think that the J20 is going to fly circles around the likes of the Su35 or F22, if might well be able to do that, but we cannot draw that conclusion with a straight face based on that RC model, especially when it is not a very faithful representation of the J20.
What we can take away is validation that the J20 configuration is capable of truly exceptional maneuverability, and that the J20 should be able to give any aircraft a good run for it's money in a dogfight, and that it is not going to be the lumbering, straight-flying bomb truck detractors have been trying to paint it as ever since they gave up trying to argue it was all a giant hoax and that the plane does not actually exist.
While the videos already posted are fascinating if not a little flattering for CAC and the J20, the far more relevant video is this.
I won't bother repeating what he said since you can all go watch the video yourselves, but the key for me is that in it, the maker of that RC model explains that he did not make the model to represent the J20, but rather, he just took the general configuration of the J20, which matched his own ideas about what the ultimate high Alpha plane should look like, and adjusted an F22 model.
That to me indicates that the general configuration of the J20 is inherently extremely maneuverable and has the potential for truly unmatched high Alpha capabilities. However, that does not mean that the J20 will automatically be the most maneuverable airplane ever, because that is not the only design criteria.
For a real plane, the designers would need to consider countless other factors, requirements and limitations, and may well have had to make some sacrifices to meet other design and performance benchmarks.
We should not look at those videos and think that the J20 is going to fly circles around the likes of the Su35 or F22, if might well be able to do that, but we cannot draw that conclusion with a straight face based on that RC model, especially when it is not a very faithful representation of the J20.
What we can take away is validation that the J20 configuration is capable of truly exceptional maneuverability, and that the J20 should be able to give any aircraft a good run for it's money in a dogfight, and that it is not going to be the lumbering, straight-flying bomb truck detractors have been trying to paint it as ever since they gave up trying to argue it was all a giant hoax and that the plane does not actually exist.
Couldn't have said it better.
Engineer
Major
Plane spotters on Chinese forums reported that J-20's color looks slightly different from different angles, and that the color came out in photographs don't actually look like the real thing. The paint is obviously special material, so it is entirely possible for the plane to come out as grey in the early photograph.
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