20th+

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

A prototype of Russia's prospective fighter jet was displayed at the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky outside Zhukovsky, Russia, July 20, 2021.

The Sukhoi Su-75 "Checkmate" (Сухой Су-75; LTS, short for Light Tactical Aircraft in Russian), is a single-engine, fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft under development by Sukhoi for export and for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Sukhoi Design Bureau also designates the aircraft as T-75 with marked registration RF-0075.

A prototype was unveiled at the 2021 MAKS air show with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in attendance. The Checkmate's maiden flight is expected in 2023 and initial deliveries are planned for 2026-2027. The Checkmate is designed to be low cost and for export, and may compete with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Shenyang FC-31 aircraft of the same light to medium-weight category. Production is forecast to be 300 planes over 15 years.

According to the chief executive of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, the LTS ‘Checkmate’ Fighter Jet is expected to cost US $25-30 million each. Rostec is anticipating that Argentina, India and Vietnam are primary export destinations of the aircraft, as well as some African countries could buy the aircraft.

The Sukhoi Su-57 (Сухой Су-57; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a single-seat, twin-engine stealth multirole fighter developed by Sukhoi for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The aircraft is the product of the PAK FA (ПАК ФА, short for: Перспективный авиационный комплекс фронтовой авиации, Perspektivny Aviatsionny Kompleks Frontovoy Aviatsii, lit. ''prospective aeronautical complex of front-line air forces'') fighter programme that would form the basis for a family of stealth combat aircraft. Sukhoi's internal designation for the aircraft is T-50. The Su-57 is the first fighter in Russian military service to feature stealth technology.

According to Sukhoi, the multirole fighter is designed to have supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and integrated avionics to overcome the previous generations fighter aircraft as well as ground and naval defences. The Su-57 is intended to succeed the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force and entered service in December 2020. The fighter is expected to have a service life of up to 35 years.

Overhyped?
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Expert: Justin Bronk
00:58 - Russian Air Power since Cold War
05:53 - Technical difference: East vs West
11:35 - Su57: Russian Stealth
15:06 - The Scary Stuff
21:31 - Major recent changes for Russian Aerospace
27:17 - Recommendations

Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-8

Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-8 walkaround > .

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Pt. 1, design philosophy and features > .
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Pt.2 > .

A lot of the characteristics that make the 190 a deadly fighter are difficult to quantify. It's not the planes speed, maneuverability or any other easy to measure performance standard. In fact, for most of the war, it's performance was only about average as compared with other front line fighters. What made the 190 special was the designer Kurt Tank's design philosophy which was unusual at the time.

Focke-Wulf Ta 152 H-1 Extreme Speed At High Altitudes > .

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Gloster Gladiator (SS.37)

Gladiator - The Forgotten Battle of Britain Fighter - mfp > .

The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.

Developed privately as the Gloster SS.37, it was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more formidable foes during the early days of the Second World War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat.

The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France, Norway, Greece, the defence of Malta, the Middle East, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War (during which the Royal Iraqi Air Force was similarly equipped). Other countries deploying the Gladiator included China against Japan, beginning in 1938; Finland (along with Swedish volunteers) against the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War; Sweden as a neutral non-combatant (although Swedish volunteers fought for Finland against USSR as stated above); and Norway, Belgium, and Greece resisting Axis invasion of their respective lands.

The South African pilot Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories with the type.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Gladiator

Surplus Power (Western Desert, Siege of Μalta)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpg2RML3ELA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrpWcm8V3k4 .

Monday, September 21, 2020

Hurricane

Sea Hurricane > .
The Only Surviving Sea Hurricane | Restoration Classics > .

Between 1936 and 1944, 14,231 Hawker Hurricanes were built of which about 20 remain. This is the story of the restoration of the oldest and rarest, the only surviving Sea Hurricane out of 700 converted during WWII.

Hawker Hurricane Heist - The Spy Who Stole an RAF Fighter > .