Spill the beans already.Guys, I think I have a surprise… just give me a bit more time to be sure - and you know what that means for me- but I’m sure you will like it.
Shenyang FC-31 / J-31 Fighter Demonstrator
- Thread starter RedSky
- Start date
Guys, I think I have a surprise… just give me a bit more time to be sure - and you know what that means for me
Guys, I have to apologise: Firstly because I kept you in suspense longer than I originally thought and even more because I didn't find the certainty that I always set for myself as a benchmark.
... but you're right, enough waiting; so first just the facts and then my interpretation: I have information from a very reliable source that at the end of August four J-35/31s were spotted simultaneously on the factory premises in Shenyang.
The interesting thing about it - and this is the weak point - is that I'm not exactly sure what they are exactly: I actually thought that the J-35 could be distinguished from the land-based version J-31 or whatever it's called, mainly by its larger wingspan and slightly different wing geometry. The gap between the wing and the tail unit is not visible anyway due to the low resolution.
Unfortunately, this is not as clear as I thought, but my "impression" is that three of the machines are the same and one is different... it's just that I would assume that only one is a naval version J-35 and the other three are more likely J-31 (?).
My understanding was also that another difference between the J-35 and J-31 was the blended hump behind the cockpit on the top in the fuselage. Is that not the case anymore in latest prototypes?Guys, I have to apologise: Firstly because I kept you in suspense longer than I originally thought and even more because I didn't find the certainty that I always set for myself as a benchmark.
... but you're right, enough waiting; so first just the facts and then my interpretation: I have information from a very reliable source that at the end of August four J-35/31s were spotted simultaneously on the factory premises in Shenyang.
The interesting thing about it - and this is the weak point - is that I'm not exactly sure what they are exactly: I actually thought that the J-35 could be distinguished from the land-based version J-31 or whatever it's called, mainly by its larger wingspan and slightly different wing geometry. The gap between the wing and the tail unit is not visible anyway due to the low resolution.
Unfortunately, this is not as clear as I thought, but my "impression" is that three of the machines are the same and one is different... it's just that I would assume that only one is a naval version J-35 and the other three are more likely J-31 (?).
as it seems this was the case in comparison to the FC-31, but the new J-31 (?) has the same hump