China's V/STOL studies, concepts & considerations
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A simple measurement reveals that the electromagnetic catapult rail on the LHD is similar in length to Fujian's No. 1 and No. 2 catapults. The LHD also has arresting cables.
Yes, if it's a medium-sized fighter jet without vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, like the J-35, the LHD can launch it within its maximum takeoff weight range, just like an aircraft carrier.
Gentlemen, why aren't you discussing this?
There's no doubt about the V/STOL aircraft.
Allegedly illustrations from a patent filed by Shenyang on a STVOL design. The forward pair of retractable lift fans produce 40% of vertical thrust, and the rear pair of swivel nozzles produce 60%.
I can see them putting this on J-35.
I personally, cannot, anymore than Boeing's patent for B-1 carrying cannons in its bomb bays.
Patents are patents. Whether it is worth developing, let alone procuring, is another matter.
Those lift fans seem way too small to provide wnough lift. F35b lift fan for example has diameter of 1.3 meters. And most of its lift comes from fast moving edges of the blades. One might have issues with just making fan turn faster as supersonic blade tips might lose efficiency.
Frankly, one would expect two fans of 1 m in diameter, each, if they are to approch the kind of lift a single 1.3 m diameter fan can produce.
Plus a flimsy, moving rotatable power axle arm feeding the fan might not be as efficient as a big, fixed axle that is built into a plane.
Frankly, one would expect two fans of 1 m in diameter, each, if they are to approch the kind of lift a single 1.3 m diameter fan can produce.
Plus a flimsy, moving rotatable power axle arm feeding the fan might not be as efficient as a big, fixed axle that is built into a plane.
tl;dr
PLAN has been looking into STOVL concept for a while now, earliest studies from the navy that they could find is something similar to X-36 but with a liftfan in the back. Later studies from 611 showed some kind of canarded aircraft, though the recent patent(by the time of post) is likely a dud because the amount of system commonality is too low.
Basic timeline is first, navy studies dating back for the past decade, then Shenyang AECC's high thrust turbofan study with a prototype completed recently, 601's tail single piece prototype for a single engined fighter with ruddervators, verification of 611's canarded proposal, 601's RC model that looked like a F-35 under going testflight, more navy studies and Shenyang AECC's liftfan. Seems like this project is meant to be a "fast and cheap" project not too unsimilar to Z-21 project.
Are you sure about the length of the model and/or the scale? Because a model that is 20 centimeter long in a 1/9 scale would mean that the real thing is only 180 centimeters long. Or do you mean 1/90?