PICTURES: J-20 spotters still alive and well in China

Video of J-20 completing fourth flight:



It's been an incredible week to be an aviation journalist. We've seen black helicopters, new surveillance aircraft, first flight of the Su-35S, first flight of the Phantom Ray, the F-35 and F-22 in formation and, now, the third and fourth flights of the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter.

To top it off, tonight is the Collier Trophy award dinner, where the Sikorsky X2 high-speed demonstrator will be honored with the top prize of the US aerospace industry. Your blogger will be there, and so will Sikorsky's people. Let's hope we'll all be in a talking mood about stealth kits for MH-60s. (Ha!)

Back to the point of this blog entry, the Chinese are still content to let the local spotters in Chengdu have their way with J-20 pictures. The J-20 closed its landing gear doors after take-off for the first time during the third or fourth flight today, so we know the flight envelope is expanding. A new picture also offers a good peek at the dimensions of the center-line weapons bay.