They have fooled the president with the "Berkut" !

This is from todays Russian Aviation New’s (http://www.toad.net/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/royfc/today/acft_news.html) and tells a story that the S-37 “Berkut” was an effective advertising doodad for the builders !!

“A Forward-Swept Noodle

They have fooled the president with the “Berkut”

At the two last international aerospace salons in Zhukovskiy (MAKS-1999 and MAKS-2001), they presented the S-37 “Berkut” fighter, developed at the Sukhoy AVPK, as the main “hit.” A fighter with forward swept wings, an engineering revolution in aviation, an airplane of the future, etc. They especially reported to the president about the airplane. And they arranged the “Berkut’s” demonstration flights with a special effort. Until now it has been difficult to believe that all of this was elements of one grandiose engineering gamble. For us all, including the president, this “Berkut” was one big lie.

It’s as if there wasn’t time to investigate what reverse sweep represents. And what the people represent who for so many years have entertained the country with this engineering myth.

A 100 percent triumph

The black predatory body of the fighter with the wings “turned inside out” looked extremely effective in the sky. Even at the record-setting MAKS-2001 (537 companies from 34 countries; 150 flying vehicles of various brands), this airplane was doomed to success with the public.

At that, they received the intended emotional reaction to the “Berkut” not only from the ordinary visitors, but also from highly placed state persons headed by the president. It is no accident that Putin himself spent 40 minutes of valuable Presidential time at the Sukhoy AVPK pavilion.

One has to suppose such a vivid confirmation of radically advanced Russian design thought impressed everyone. The authors of the project itself didn’t tire of reporting about the fact that the airplane is undergoing successfully cycles of tests and in the near future finally will be ready to become a prototype of the longed-for fifth generation fighter. This itself was understood that the “Berkut”will be better than the European “Eurofighter” and the American JSF in its characteristics. The domestic media happily reinforced this belief. It was said, where will their airplanes with a conventional old-time wing be in comparison with our super-modern.

How much state money they have spent for the “Berkut” – no one has counted. However, really someone was able to think that huge state funds are being spent in an admittedly dead-end direction.

Stages of sweep

The “strange” fighter with the forward swept wing was lifted into the Russian sky for the first time by Hero of Russia test pilot Igor’ Votintsev on 25 September 1997. Everyone participating rejoyced. However, alas, this day will not become a legendary day in the history of the Russian aviation industry.

But – it all is in order. They started to build the “Berkut” as early as during the Soviet administration, and nearly 10 years passed before its embodiment in metal. All the work was financed from the state budget. It had been planned to build three experimental airplanes, one of which was to be destroyed in the direct sense of the word, being tested on the ground for reliability. The other two examples were supposed to fly. However, somehow it turned out that the was enough money for the construction of just one airplane. This singular one flies too, supposedly personifying by itself a visible form of the fifth generation fighter

At that, forward sweep really creates a sensation of an “engineering breakthrough to the future” (a quotation of the Sukhoy AVPK’s managers.) And for the rest, there is silence about the airplane under the stamp of a state and military secret.

True, the authors also are decently quiet that reverse sweep – a long time, well known design trend, has been repeatedly tested and recognized as a dead-end. No kind of an engineering revolution! As a matter of fact – the use of an outwardly striking, but previously doomed device.

They began to develop airplanes with a forward swept wing as early as the thirties in… Fascist Germany. While preparing for total war, the Wehrmacht tried to test and examine literally all theoretical endeavors. So it was too with forward sweep, which promised high maneuvering capabilities. There were even experimental examples of the Junkers Ju-287 bomber built with the wings “ahead.” But, alas, the bomber didn’t go into series production, inasmuch as the expected high characteristics didn’t happen.

By the way, two Junkers Ju-287 went to the Soviet Union as spoils of war. Soviet specialists tested them actively, but they also didn’t achieve comforting results.

In the U.S. in the eighties on orders of the Air Force, the Grumman X-29 with wings “ahead” was built. It was half the size of the S-37, and a quarter of the weight, and just as much cheaper. The first flight of the X-29 took place on 14 December 1984. Then they buuild another airplane, and before 1991 both aircraft had completed 616 flights. The conclusions, however, turned out to be unfavorable. The X-29 program was recognized as unsuccessful, reverse sweep for airplanes is a dead-end. They put the airplanes in a museum.

By the way, the Grumman company, having made a stab at a “reverse wing,” as a result did not win the competition for either the F-22 fighter or for the JSF. Although they did succeed in manufacturing the invisible B-2 bomber (better known as the “Stealth.”)

Why Russia is not the homeland of the “Stealth”

Nevertheless, Sukhoy had a chance for its own “Stealth.” As O. Samoylovich writes in the book, “Alongside Sukhoy,” in the ’80s and ’90s, there were attempts to create an invisible bomber, but they failed.

Incidentally, the fate of another bomber lie in the depths of Sukhoy. From the very book sponsored by Sukhoy “Su-27. The History of a Fighter” (author A. Fomin) it follows that from the middle of the ’80s, Sukhoy has been developing a tactical bomber based on the Su-27 under the designations Su-27IB, Su-34 and Su-34FN.

In the middle of the ’90s, an experimental example of the bomber was lifted into the air with pomp ((and circumstance)). But since then, the bomber still has not been built with very good state financing (in volumes of budget expenses – second after the “Topol’-M program). Directed at production of the bomber, the Novosibirsk aircraft building plant is still waiting for the airplane and hopes for future income from exports. Like waiting in vain: according to rumors from the Ministry of Defense, Sukhoy is already making attempts “on the sly” to close the program.

The situation is painfully familiar: they have made noise, they have made promises, they have received financing, but it turned out to be “nothing,” for which it is like answering to no one.

In the USSR, the first tests of flying vehicles with forward swept wings took place in the forties. In 1945, in accordance with a flight research institute assignment, P. Tsybin began to design an experimental glider with non-traditional wings for refining the aerodynamics of future fighters. In 1947, the LL-3 glider towed by an airplane lifted into the air for the first time. It gained altitude, then dived, including a dry booster, so that the glider could develop maximum speed. They built the LL-3 glider to great extent “on the grounds” of the Junkers Ju-287 trophy. Alas, the “reverse” wing didn’t justify the hopes of the Soviet aircraft builders.

They returned to the subject in the eighties purely out of experimental considerations. Then at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute they “blew” a model of an airplane based on a MiG-23 with reverse wings for several months, and in Novosibirsk a similar variant based on the Su-27. The results showed that a reverse wing is in no way called for in aviation.

Lets explain the situation. An airplane with forward swept wings can fly. As, certainly one can build a model of a car with an engine on the roof. And in some aspects “forward oriented” wings give certain maneuvering properties. But, extremely locally and with extremely limited modes of use. At the same time a mass of new problems arises. One of the greatest is aerodynamic divergence, simply said it is a physical phenomenon of a violent destruction of the lifting wing as a result of twisting.

Generally, according to the whole of various factors and characteristics, reverse sweep outrightly loses out to customary “straight” sweep.

Or rather: In the 20th century, mankind tried to use the features of a reverse wing several times, but every time it was certain that it is not advantageous. Why then at the end of the century in not the richest country was a group of “enthusiasts” able to convince everyone that in this mistake is the future of domestic fighter aviation?

A mistake or a confidence game?

It is difficult to believe that the managers of the project were not in the class of the “reverse” wing’s world history. It is even more difficult to assume that these people in good faith were mistaken regarding the prospects and real capabilities of the “Berkut.” Because flying over an airport for effect in front of the president is one thing and completely another are real tests and real aerial combat.

It is most interesting that after all the many years of triumphant reports about the “reverse” wing at the Sukhoy AVPK they prepared their own technical considerations regarding the fifth generation fighter. And have presented an airplane with wings of NORMAL SWEEP!

This means, the S-37 “Berkut” was an effective advertising doodad for the builders. By the way, recently they have started bashfully to call the airplane the Su-47. It is clear that it is to cover up officially the much talked about S-37 “Berkut” program – a scandal. And to conceal the unconvincing program of some kind of Su-47 is no sweat.”

Source: 15.08.02, Moskovskiy Komsomolets, Andrey Vail’ev

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Deino 🙂