J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VI
- Thread starter siegecrossbow
- Start date
- Status
Maybe because the J-20 has been made of far more durable materials than their much-vaunted U.S Counterparts? The PLAAF knows what their plane is capable of, and what environmental conditions it can withstand.
Probably because there’s already a fair number of them. These handful are being flown on short notice so they were taken out from indoors where most of them are.
US also keeps aircraft in active use outdoors.
There's no reason to believe the PLAAF's storage practices for the J-20 are radically different than the F-22's.
Yodello's point was "durable material of J-20", not the storage shelter.
These two arguments were linked. He explicitly suggested that they're supposedly stored differently because one has more durable coatings than the other.
Yes they are linked, but I don't see anything wrong with that logic that you seems to be refuting. More durable coating means they are less vulnerable to natural elements, therefor can be exposed under direct sun light longer than F-22. It is answer to the original question from SteelBird "How come they keep their state of the art aircraft in the open air and under direct sunshine like this?"
Or, what is the purpose of your post #4834? To confirm or to refute?
I don't think so. US practice for F-22s and F-35s does not mean they have to be under cover whenever they're not flying. You can find many photos online of F-22s at rest in the open air without cover.
You might be thinking about older F-117s and even B-2s, which required somewhat more robust hangar environments.
I recall that the F-22’s coating was not as robust as intended so it ended up being more closed hangar dependent than originally planned, and a part of the F-35 program (or its lead up) was about developing more resilient coatings for stealth fighters.
It's all relative.
The point is that however robust F-22's stealth coating was, it is robust enough that we do see them based outside in the open air at USAF bases even when they're not preparing to fly.
- Status