Re: New JF-17/FC-1 thread
The flying display was conservative compared to past film clips of the prototypes doing various aerobatics. Among previous displays, is one where the plane does a series of fast rolls.
In the first "official" flight of the first flying prototypes PT01, just barely a month after the plane left the production line, the plane was already doing rolls, flips, loops, fast turns and zoom climbs. Despite having an incomplete FBW, a new design doing aerobatics barely a month old is indicative of a plane that is born with very little flight problems and with all the right things to demonstrate such a high level of confidence. This is all ia sign of a thoroughbred, a plane born to fly and fly well.
The end part where the plane nearly goes vertical isn't really new. Every prototype since PT01 has done it. In fact, on its very first flight in front of officials. just as PT01 left the runaway, the plane pulled its nose for a steep nearly vertical climb before veering to the left.
The turn maneuvers in the recent flyover give me the impression the plane is capable of high angles of attack and has a good instantaneous turn rate. It does not seem to be underpowered doing all those near vertical climbs. I think the only thing I have yet to see the FC-1 does is to circumvent a circle in high speed, indicative of good sustained turn performance. We have seen an early J-10 video do just that.
