[quote name='Austin' date='08 February 2010 - 06:28 PM' timestamp='1265633438' post='103993']
Looking at the small all movable Vertical Stabilizer and 3D TVC , my thinking is some advanced variant of PAK-FA will do away with VS and will only rely on 3D TVC once the engine and TVC has proven to work and is fail proof.
This will make the PAK-FA highly unstable giving it greater maneuverability and reduce its RCS even further.
What do you think on this Arun ?
[/quote]
Quite possible. I am nor sure quantitatively how much role the tail plays at supersonic speeds. As an aside the tail as it is now a a very light (composite material) structure, thus not such a weight or stealth issue. The only issue (a minor one) is its drag at supersonic regime
Another interesting possibility could be merging tail with elevator to make it a slightly V tail.
Looking at the small all movable Vertical Stabilizer and 3D TVC , my thinking is some advanced variant of PAK-FA will do away with VS and will only rely on 3D TVC once the engine and TVC has proven to work and is fail proof.
This will make the PAK-FA highly unstable giving it greater maneuverability and reduce its RCS even further.
What do you think on this Arun ?
[/quote]
Quite possible. I am nor sure quantitatively how much role the tail plays at supersonic speeds. As an aside the tail as it is now a a very light (composite material) structure, thus not such a weight or stealth issue. The only issue (a minor one) is its drag at supersonic regime
Another interesting possibility could be merging tail with elevator to make it a slightly V tail.