Ducted fan aircraft

I disagree.
Performance breakthroughs are usually driven by factors other than practicality.
Many times, it's just some guy trying to do something different, or break some sort of meaningless record.. not necessarily for fame or fortune .. just for the personal satisfaction.. if it occasionally turns out to be practical too, all the better.

Racing competitions with cars and planes have been the source all sorts of terrific innovations, yet winning a race is not an exercise in practicality.

 

To the contrary, that is a wives tale. If you check out almost any modern feature in a car, almost none debuted in racecars or prototype/racing aircraft. The whole problem with aircraft is that we spend absurd amounts on almost no performance gain, or performance that only matters on paper, and makes the other operational features worse.

Burt Rutan didnt change aviation by thinking as complex as possible, he constantly talks about simplification, and how anybody can make something work by being complex...but a good design is as simple as possible. Same with the skunk works, they keep it as simple and cheap as possible. The first pair of stealth aircraft cost only $35 million for the entire program, and was created by a few guys who kept it as practical as possible.

There is a video on the MIT site about how almost all innovation comes from users who modify their equipment, not from professionals competing. Practicality creates most innovation. Aviation has to learn this sooner or later.

 

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/c/x/cxc11/papers/GT2011_46356_DUCTED_FAN_1.pdf

=tip clearance...

Aircraft engineering - Ducted Fan

=another DUCTED FAN discussion.

 

Hey Malish, is there any site where we could follow your daily progress? I really like your project...

 

Well, the only one is on Russian EAA forum. Henryk posted link to it somewhere on earlier pages. But it in Russian. Don't have time to write on both forums. But is soon we will get to final assembly and testing. I will post progress in here. Sorry...

 

Good luck! And if you post a link, most of us have automatic translators in our browsers...

 

Àññîöèàöèÿ Ýêñïåðèìåíòàëüíîé Àâèàöèè - PJ-II

 

Thanks Henryk.

 

Àññîöèàöèÿ Ýêñïåðèìåíòàëüíîé Àâèàöèè

=only Home in English...

 

We started the final assembly of PJ-II Ducted fan aircraft. To save the time(and money too) we decided to make temporary(none retractable) main landing gear to begin initial flight testing. Because our main goal is to test propulsion system first, and none retractable gear will not do much to aircraft performance itself. Because the mains, we also decided to make front gear none retractable too(it was retractable). We disconnected electric actuator and replaced well doors with cover.

You can follow progress on Russian EAA website, starting from post #140 on February 28th(28/02/14)
Àññîöèàöèÿ Ýêñïåðèìåíòàëüíîé Àâèàöèè - PJ-II
Of cause it's in Russian, but you can see the photos. And if you have a questions, please fill free o ask.

I'm sorry, but I don't have much time to translate everything.

 

Seems a wise decision to fix the gear until you can get the basics sorted. What weight is the entire aircraft coming out to?

 

We didn't do weigh and balance yet. But it's about 1000kg/2200lb MTOW

 

Look like the new Super Hornet F 18 intake shapes from the photo -very up to date !

 

Net, We are Russians stupid people F-18 КРАСАВЕЦ A Russian Mig-29 Лутше

 

=No, BUTY
Better.

 

http://www.reaa.ru/yabbfiles/Attachments/P3040790__Large___Large_.JPG

-motor instalation...thruster soon should be ready for tests !

 

Dal

http://mechanika.fs.cvut.cz/content/images/phd_grant/dalsi_aktivity/dalsi-aktivity-ul39.png
http://mechanika.fs.cvut.cz/content/images/phd_grant/dalsi_aktivity/dalsi-aktivity-lopatka.png

=UL-39 details...

 

Àññîöèàöèÿ Ýêñïåðèìåíòàëüíîé Àâèàöèè - PJ-II

=PJ II=preparation for flight \april ?\

 

http://www.reaa.ru/yabbfiles/Attachments/P4250065__Large_.JPG

=allmost ready !!!

 

wooow