Miragedriver
Brigadier
Back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s the Chinese aviation industry begin a couple of interesting designs which would have changed the PLAAF if they could have been produced. The first is the Chengdu J-9, which was a canard ahead of delta wing design similar to the Viggen. Due to engine performance problems this wonderful design would not become a reality.
The second was the Q-6. This was a reversed engineered version of the MiG-23. However due to limitations (at the time) of the Chinese industrial capacity the engine was not reliable and the MTBO of the engine was rumored to be only around 100 hours. Additionally the FBW system utilized hydraulic actuators at the control surfaces which resulted in a heavier than the simple mechanical-hydraulic controlled variable-sweep wing of MiG-23, thereby reducing the weapon payload, fuel capacity and combat radius. There was also an attempt to reverse engineer the avionics from the F-111 (a gift from the Vietnamese). However, this proved to be too ambitious for the industrial, scientific and technological capability at the time. All of these situations resulted in prolonged development, and contributed to the final cancellation of Q-6.
Most importantly was the amazing technological breakthroughs for the Chinese aviation industry that occurred because of these canceled programs.
I would like to dedicate this thread to the aviation “Evolutionary cul-de-sac’s”. Aircraft that could have been (J-9), Aircraft that should have been (F-20 tigershark) and aircraft that never should have been.
Please post your photos, comments and videos. I look forward to hearing from the vast pool of knowledge that we have here at Sino Defense.
Thank s Again
The second was the Q-6. This was a reversed engineered version of the MiG-23. However due to limitations (at the time) of the Chinese industrial capacity the engine was not reliable and the MTBO of the engine was rumored to be only around 100 hours. Additionally the FBW system utilized hydraulic actuators at the control surfaces which resulted in a heavier than the simple mechanical-hydraulic controlled variable-sweep wing of MiG-23, thereby reducing the weapon payload, fuel capacity and combat radius. There was also an attempt to reverse engineer the avionics from the F-111 (a gift from the Vietnamese). However, this proved to be too ambitious for the industrial, scientific and technological capability at the time. All of these situations resulted in prolonged development, and contributed to the final cancellation of Q-6.
Most importantly was the amazing technological breakthroughs for the Chinese aviation industry that occurred because of these canceled programs.
I would like to dedicate this thread to the aviation “Evolutionary cul-de-sac’s”. Aircraft that could have been (J-9), Aircraft that should have been (F-20 tigershark) and aircraft that never should have been.
Please post your photos, comments and videos. I look forward to hearing from the vast pool of knowledge that we have here at Sino Defense.
Thank s Again
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