Does anyone knows about the actual status of the WS-19 development? Has it been flight tested yet, or is it still in ground tests? or has it even been tested at all?
Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
- Start date
Does anyone knows about the actual status of the WS-19 development? Has it been flight tested yet, or is it still in ground tests? or has it even been tested at all?
Are you implying that WS-19 started ground testing only months ago? Going somewhat faster than WS-15 (ground-testing in 2005?), expect WS-19 to enter service in a long, long time, i mean, if ever.
Not comparable situations. The WS-15’s engine core was first tested back in 2008. A complete prototype engine wasn’t assembled until around 2013-4. The component technologies for the WS-15 didn’t even exist at the start of the project, and it’s probable that the WS-15 underwent redesign over time as more component technologies matured. That’s why the WS-15’s development has taken so long. They weren’t just building a new engine but developing the entire technological base from scratch.
The WS-19 won’t need the time to develop a new technological base. It’s using component technology derived from the WS-15. Given that the WS-15 is already in batch production testing that will mean the WS-19’s prototyping and development testing phases should be much shorter. We got an image of the WS-19 from two years back, so technically there’s already an engine probably two years into its testing process.
Flight testing should primarily be for airframe integration testing and subsequent optimization. That comes near the end or completion of production prototype testing. When China was flight testing the WS-10 on a flying testbed and then a J-11 they didn’t have the facilities to simulate different air conditions and didn’t have confidence or experience with modern engine testing methods, but normally these tests are done on a platform in specialized wind tunnels. Turnaround times with the latter method is much shorter, and it involves a lot less work with regards to maintenance, design revision, and setup. China’s engine testing infrastructure has become a lot more developed, so it’s unlikely we’ll see the WS-15 go onto a flying test bed the way we say the WS-10. By the time it’s flying in the air it will probably be in one of the prototype J-20s doing the aforementioned integration testing.
And yes, that image is a test prototype of the WS-19.
I believe the WS-15 has been flight tested already. It's just that it has not been mass produced.
Sounding like a frog here, but, I'm more interested in the WS-19. It's actually the most important Turbofan for a China considering the shifting focus to seapower and UAV systems.
Sounding like a frog here, but, I'm more interested in the WS-19. It's actually the most important Turbofan for a China considering the shifting focus to seapower and UAV systems.
I dont think that anyone here knows if the WS-15 has been flight-tested or not.
And no, the WS-19 is not more important than the WS-15. The contrary is the case. The WS-15 is much more important than WS-19.
I think there was a piece of news/rumor regarding WS-15 was in a fly test back in 2018, but that was it...
Hendrik_2000
Brigadier
These days you don't need flight tested until you need to integrate the engine with the plane. As previous post explained China infrastructure is better now they can test it in simulation facilities instead of flight tested. they definitely tested it for sure