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Now open! The J-20's weapons bay doors

Greg Waldron
 on August 26, 2011 6:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) |
J-20.weapons.bay_.1-500x296.jpg

This week's batch of Chengdu J-20 photos apparently show the aircraft with its weapons bay doors open. 

Something has been bothering me about the J-20, and finally I realize what it is. The aircraft's landing gear and weapons bay doors all have long, straight edges.  I don't claim to be an expert on stealth technology, but aircraft covers with angled edges seem de rigueur on more recent western types, most notably the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Note the shape of the panels and weapon bay doors in the picture of an F-22 model below. Square, sharp panel and door edges are kept to a minimum.

At Aero India, a Boeing test pilot told me that the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet has angled edges for its panels because this helps to improve its low observable characteristics.  I've also been told numerous times that canards are a serious foopah on a stealthy aircraft. 


F-22 image for door story.jpg


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