What if Aircraft

JudgeKing

New Member
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Found this on secret projects, the Beriev S-13. It was a Soviet copy of the Lockheed U-2.

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Translated from the
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After the crash of Lockheed's U-2 in Soviet Union in 1960, a special team of experts searched the site for a long time, collecting everything, down to the smallest particles hit by cars. The debris collected was first thoroughly studied by experts at the airport of the State Red Research and Testing Institute (GK NII VVS) in Chkalov. The most interesting equipment was sent to a variety of research institutes and design bureaus, and only the airframe remained on display at an exhibition center in Moscow's Maxim Gorky Central Park of Culture and Rest. But it soon disappeared, although the public did not care where the wreckage had been sent - to scrap or to a museum. In fact, here is what happened. All the remains of the U.S. secret glider were carefully sorted out and sent to OKB-49 at Taganrog, led by Beriev.

The very first to begin a deep study of captured equipment were the engine specialists. On June 28, governmental decree #702-288 was issued which called for replication of the Pratt & Whitney J75-P-13 engine. A copy designated RD-16-75 was built in Kazan at OKB-16 led P.Zubtsa. The American turbojet gas generator proved quite successful, and based on it was proposed to develop engines for heavy vehicles, including the Tu-104, instead of the RD-3M. The aircraft's intelligence equipment made possible the collection of significant amounts of information. the GK NII VVS concluded that an aircraft capable of flying at such high altitudes and long range with such limited weight was of great interest to the Air Force.

Two months later, on August 23, taking into account the proposals of the Ministry of Defense and the State Committee for Aviation Technology, the government issued decree #918-383 relative to the replication of the Lockheed U-2 spy plane and the material remains of the downed aircraft. The Soviet equivalent was designated S-13. The main goal of this work was a comprehensive study of design, technological and operational features of the U-2, and the development of design elements, materials and equipment for later use in domestic aircraft.

The main contractor for the work was OKB-49. Dozens of subcontractors had a hard time keeping up with the pace taken by the Beriev team because of governmental pressure. In the first quarter of 1962 the first two machines were required to be presented at the joint flight tests of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation Industry. Overall, plants #49 and #86 were ordered to produce five examples of the S-13.

The plants had less than two years to copy and test the ejection seat, parachute, high altitude suits and pilots overalls, fuel, engine oil, radio communications and flight-navigation equipment, radio and photographic reconnaissance, i.e. all the "stuffing" without which operation of an aircraft is not possible.

According to the results of flight tests consideration was given to the possibility of using the S-13 for atmosphere probing, destroying drifting enemy balloons and other airborne targets. At the same time, all aircraft were equipped with "73-13" (AFA-60) aerial cameras.

In early 1961, a tendency for the weight of the aircraft to increase was revealed. For example, the mass of the chassis had increased from 100 to 150 kg, while the SIGINT station was heavier by 10 kg, rapidly "flooded" by the weight of the other systems and units. Unfortunately, our industrial culture could not match American weight standards. By April 1, 1961, the metal fuselage layout and complete prototyping equipment were prepared, and by July 1, production of working drawings of the aircraft was completed.

To shorten the finishing work the production teams on the ground and the in-flight crew (aboard the Tu-16 flying laboratory) were handed over working drawings and technical documentation covering the completion of the RD-16-75 engine, hydraulic systems and mechanisms of control flaps, brake flaps and landing gear, pilot simulation, the autopilot system, and more. Many tests of wind tunnel models were performed at TsAGI, which showed extremely high aerodynamic performance. Suffice it to note that the maximum drag coefficient reached 25.

Everything went according to plan, but on May 12, 1962, governmental decree #40-191 abruptly called for all work on the S-13 to cease. The Russian version of the American Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance plane never appeared in the skies of the USSR. Despite this, the domestic aviation industry gained some experience to develop new materials, processes and technical solutions embodied later in modern aircraft.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
And It's American cousin
Convair ( General Dynamics) Model 200 series Which may have been the F35 two decades before the F35.
Powerplant: JTF22A-3-A with thrust of 14,000lb and 2 lift engines of 10,500lb each.
Performance: Mach 2 class
MTOW: about 30,000lb
Span: 27 ft 10.5 in (8.49m)
Length: 51 ft 1.5 in (15.58m)
Height: 18ft (5.49m)

Convair Model 201 CTOL variant, single and two seat variants, for VFR and all-weather operations, 74% common by weight with the Model 200 V/STOL version.
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Good one! I had forgotten about that Convair VSTOL aircraft!
 

JudgeKing

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More stuff from secret projects, this time it's the abortive
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.

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PaulMM (Overscan) said:
A resolution was passed by the Communist Party in 1989 tasking Sukhoi with developing a conceptual design of a multirole fighter-bomber.The S-37 was a single engine canard delta (single and twin seat versions were studied) designed to replace the Su-7/-17, Su-25, MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft in VVS service and for export to friendly nations. The latest "AirLand Operation" doctrine called for CAS (Close Air Support) as deep as 150km beyond the front lines. The task for the S-37 was to destroy surface static and mobile targets, air defence systems, perform reconnaissance missions, plus destruction of enemy aircraft and helicopters.

Chief designer on the project was Vladimir Babak, and operational experiences with the Su-17 and Su-25 in Afghanistan were taken on board in the design. To reduce the time and costs of designing and producing the S-37, it was planned to use existing systems, or those already under development for other new aircraft. A fly-by-wire control system allowed relaxed static stability.

The avionics suite included a multimode radar (possibly based on N010 Zhuk) and an underfuselage optronic system (resembling the SU-24M's Kaira), with a built in "Pastel" RWR for warning and ARM targeting and ECM pods on the wingtips (Sorbstiya). The initial design used the R-79 engine, already used on the Yak-41M, with the thrust vectoring nozzle removed, possibly to be replaced by AL-41F later on.

Up to 800kg of armour was included to protect the pilot, engine and other critical airframe components. 17 hardpoints (9 underfuselage and 8 under the wings) allowed carriage of a the whole spectrum of available weapons. According to Yefim Gordon a single GSh-30 cannon was mounted in the starboard wing root, but this isn't clearly visible on the display models.

Wings had folds to reduce ground footprint.

Unfortunately, the collapse of the Soviet Union brought funding to a halt. Sukhoi had touted the project in 1991 to foreign countries, looking for a partner to invest the money needed, but were unsuccessful. The new Russian airforce were also unhappy with the single engine design. Babak's team worked for some time on a new project "237" modified to use twin engines, the status of which is currently unknown.

S-37 Project

Length: 17.65m (Bedretdinov), 17.5m (Butowski)
Wingspan: 12.08m (Bedretdinov), 11.8m (Butowski) (8.64m folded)
Wing Area: 50 sq m
Height: 5.74m

Maximum speed: 1500km/h at low level, Mach 2.0 at height
Maximum altitude: 17000m
Range, 3000kg payload: 800km (low level) 1,500km (high level)
G load: +9/-3g
Supersonic G load: 8g
Acceleration from 600km/h to 1100km/h at 1000m altitude: 14 secs
Acceleration from 1100km/h to 1300km/h at 1000m altitude: 7.2 secs

Engine: 1 x R-79M turbofan
Thrust: 18,143kg

Weight, Maximum: 24,970kg
Weight, Normal takeoff: 16-18,000kg
Weight, empty: 12000kg
Internal fuel capacity: 8,300kg
Normal combat payload: 5000kg
Maximum combat payload: 8000kg

Sources
  • Piotr Butowski Lotnictwo Wojskowe Rosji Tom 1, Lampart, 1995
  • Ildar Bedretdinov The Attack Aircraft Su-25 and its derivatives, B & Co, 2002
  • Tony Buttler & Yefim Gordon Soviet Secret Projects: Fighters since 1945 Midland Counties, 2005

Triton said:
Sukhoi Su-37 (1992)

Type:
Single-seat and/or two-seat multi-role combat aircraft.

Program: First shown in model form at late 1991 trade shows, including Dubai '91; some wind tunnel tests completed; at basic design stage in 1992; foreign partner then being sought for development.

Design features: Single-seat or tandem two-seat compound delta configuration, with close-coupled foreplanes; wings fold for stowage in minimal space; engine air intakes beneath root of each foreplane leading-edge, with curved leading edge extension forward of the top lip of intake; survivability features include 800 kg (1,765 lb) of armor to protect pilot, power plant, and critical airframe components, and reticulated foam to protect fuel system and tanks; specification based on Su-25 experience in Afghanistan, called for transonic low-level attack performance, high agility and degree of low observability impracticable with large podded engines.

Flying controls: Fly-by-wire; sweptback foreplanes controllable +10/70 degrees, wing trailing-edge evelons, leading edge slats, and rudder.

Landing gear: Retractable tricycle type; twin nose wheels, single main wheels; minimum runway hardness 7-8 kg/sq cm (110-114 lb/sq in).

Power plant: One Soyuz/Tumansky turbofan, 180 kN (40,500 lb st) with afterburning; provision for flight refueling probe.

Accommodation: Pilot only or crew of two in tandem, on ejection seats in armored cockpit.

Avionics: Radar in nose, offering low-altitude terrain following and terrain avoidance at transonic speed, attack guidance against land and sea targets, simultaneous tracking of ten targets, and location, tracking, and fire control functions against low-flying targets at all speeds, including hovering helicopters in surface clutter; laser range finder and target designator, including rear-ward designation; laser and radar warning systems; chaff/flare and other decoys; podded multi-channel thermal imaging system for 58 nm (100-150 km; 62-93 mile) standoff attack range; cylindrical ECM jamming pod (approx. 4 m; 13 ft 1.5 in long) on each wing tip.

Armament: One 33 mm GSh-30 gun in starboard wingroot extension; ten underfuselage and eight underwing attachments for laser and TV guided air-to-surface missiles, anti-radiation missiles, 16 anti-tank missiles, pods of 85 to 370 mm rockets, retarded and conventional bombs up to 1,500 kg and podded 30 mm guns.

Equipment: Optional photographic, infra-red, and TV reconnaissance pods.

Dimensions external
Wing span: 11.80 m (38 ft 8.5 in)
Wing span, folded: 8.10 m (26 ft 7 in)
Length overall: 17.50 m (57 ft 5 in)

Weights and loadings
Max fuel load: 8,300 kg (18,300 lb)
Max external stores: 8,000 kg (17,630 lb)
Normal T-O weight: 16,000-18,000 kg (35,275-39,680 lb)
Max T-O weight: 25,000 kg (55,115 lb)

Performance (estimated)
Max level speed at height: Mach 2 class
Max level speed at sea level: Mach 1.22 (810 kts; 1,500 km/h; 932 mph)
Approach speed: 135-140 knots (250-260 km/h; 155-162 mph)
Touchdown speed: 119 knots (220 km/h: 137 mph)

Time to accelerate at 1,000 m (3,300 feet) from 325 to 595 knots (600 to 1,100 km/h; 370 to 685 mph): 14 s

Time to accelerate at 1,000 m (3,300 feet) from 595 to 700 knots (1,100 to 1,300 km/h; 685 to 807 mph): 7 s

Service ceiling: 17,000 m (55,775 ft)
Nominal combat radius with 3,000 kg (6,615 lb) stores: 810 nm (1,500 km; 932 miles)
g limits: +9/-3
Maneuvering limit at supersonic speed: +8 g

Source: Lambert, Mark ed. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1992-1993 Jane's Information Group Ltd. 1992 p. 244.
 

kwaigonegin

Colonel
The SU 37, MiG 1.44 all played a critical role in the creation of the T50/PAKFA we see today.
I'm especially impressed with the Mig 1.44.
If funding was no issue and not so much red tape and political meddling, it would've been an amazing aircraft and no doubt would've been the most advance fighter in the world until the Raptor came online.
 

B.I.B.

Captain
Does this count? in the what ifs

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Actually, the snowbird is the first human powered aircraft that flies by flapping its wing to fly continuously.
Unfortunately, that's it, the wings flap up and down and lacks the complexities of a birds wing


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of an eagle owl in flight

just imagine to flying if man was able to master and build a wing that works like a birds.
 
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