Modern jet aircraft. First jet aircraft

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Modern youth, and even mature citizens, it is difficult to understand what delight these flying machines, which seemed fantastic then, caused. Silvery droplets, rapidly dissecting the blue sky, excited the imagination of young people in the early fifties. The wide contrail left no doubt about the type of engine. Today, only computer games like War Thunder, with their offer to purchase a promotional jet aircraft of the USSR, give some idea of this stage in the development of domestic aviation. But it started even earlier.

What does "reactive" mean

There is a reasonable question about the name of the type of aircraft. In English, it sounds short: Jet. The Russian definition hints at the presence of some kind of reaction. It is clear that this is not about fuel oxidation - it is also present in conventional carbureted engines. The principle of operation of a jet aircraft is the same as that of a rocket. The reaction of a physical body to the force of the ejected gas jet is expressed in giving it an oppositely directed acceleration. Everything else is already subtleties, which include differenttechnical parameters of the system, such as aerodynamic properties, layout, wing profile, engine type. Here are possible options that engineering bureaus came up with in the course of their work, often finding similar technical solutions, independently of each other.

It is difficult to separate rocket research from aviation research in this aspect. In the field of powder boosters, installed to reduce the length of the takeoff run and afterburner, work was carried out even before the war. Moreover, an attempt to install a compressor engine (unsuccessful) in a Coanda airplane in 1910 allowed the inventor Henri Coanda to claim Romanian priority. True, this design was initially inoperable, which was confirmed by the very first test, during which the aircraft burned down.

First steps

The first jet aircraft capable of staying in the air for a long time appeared later. The Germans became the pioneers, although some successes were achieved by scientists from other countries - the USA, Italy, Britain and then technically backward Japan. These samples were, in fact, the gliders of conventional fighters and bombers, which were equipped with new types of engines, devoid of propellers, which caused surprise and distrust. In the USSR, engineers also de alt with this problem, but not so actively, focusing on proven and reliable propeller technology. Nevertheless, the jet model of the Bi-1 aircraft, equipped with a turbojet engine designed by A. M. Lyulka, was tested immediately before the war. The apparatus was very unreliable, nitric acid used as an oxidizing agent was eating through fuel tanks, there wereother problems, but the first steps are always difficult.

Hitler's Sturmvogel

Due to the peculiarities of the Fuhrer's psyche, who hoped to crush the "enemies of the Reich" (to which he ranked the countries of almost the rest of the world), in Germany, after the start of World War II, work began on the creation of various types of "wonder weapons", including number of jet aircraft. Not all areas of this activity were unsuccessful. Successful projects include the Messerschmit-262 (aka Sturmvogel) - the first mass-produced jet aircraft in the world. The device was equipped with two turbojet engines, had a radar in the bow, developed a speed close to sound (more than 900 km / h), and turned out to be quite an effective means of combating the high- altitude B-17 ("Flying Fortresses") of the Allies. Adolf Hitler's fanatical faith in the extraordinary capabilities of the new technology, however, paradoxically played a bad role in the combat biography of the Me-262. Designed as a fighter, at the direction of "above" it was converted into a bomber, and in this modification it did not fully prove itself.

Arado

The principle of a jet aircraft was applied in the middle of 1944 for the design of the Arado-234 bomber (again by the Germans). He managed to demonstrate his extraordinary combat capabilities by attacking the positions of the allies who landed in the area of the port of Cherbourg. A speed of 740 km / h and a ten-kilometer ceiling did not give anti-aircraft artillery a chance to hit this target, and American andEnglish fighters simply could not catch up with him. In addition to bombing (very inaccurate for obvious reasons), "Arado" produced aerial photography. The second experience of using it as a strike tool took place over Liege. The Germans did not suffer losses, and if Nazi Germany had more resources, and the industry could produce more than 36 Ar-234s, then the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition would have had a hard time.

U-287

German developments fell into the hands of friendly states during the Second World War after the defeat of Nazism. Western countries already during the final stage of hostilities began to prepare for the coming confrontation with the USSR. The Stalinist leadership took countermeasures. It was clear to both sides that the next war, if it took place, would be fought by jets. The USSR at that time did not yet have a strike nuclear potential, only work was underway to create a technology for the production of an atomic bomb. But the Americans were very interested in the captured Junkers-287, which had unique flight data (combat load 4000 kg, range 1500 km, ceiling 5000 m, speed 860 km / h). Four engines, negative sweep (the prototype of the future "invisibles") made it possible to use the aircraft as a nuclear carrier.

First post-war

Jet aircraft did not play a decisive role during World War II, so the bulk of Soviet production capacity focused on improving designs and increasing productionconventional propeller-driven fighters, attack aircraft and bombers. The question of a promising carrier of atomic charges was difficult, and it was resolved promptly by copying the American Boeing B-29 (Tu-4), but countering possible aggression remained the main goal. To do this, first of all, fighters were required - high- altitude, maneuverable and, of course, high-speed. How the new direction of aviation technology developed can be judged from the letter of the designer A. S. Yakovlev to the Central Committee (autumn 1945), which found a certain understanding. A simple study of captured German technology was considered by the party leadership to be an insufficient measure. The country needed modern Soviet jet aircraft, not inferior, but superior to the world level. At the parade of 1946 in honor of the anniversary of October (Tushino), they had to be shown to the people and foreign guests.

Temporary Yaks and MiGs

It was something to show, but it did not work out: the weather failed, it was foggy. The demonstration of the new aircraft was postponed to May Day. The first Soviet jet aircraft, produced in a series of 15 copies, were developed by the Design Bureau of Mikoyan and Gurevich (MiG-9) and Yakovlev (Yak-15). Both samples were distinguished by a redan scheme, in which the tail section is washed from below by jet streams produced by nozzles. Naturally, to protect against overheating, these sections of the skin were covered with a special layer made of refractory metal. Both aircraft differed in weight, number of engines and purpose, but on the whole they corresponded to the state of the Soviet aircraft building school of the late forties. Their main purpose was the transition to a new type of power plant, but other important tasks were also carried out: training of flight personnel and working out technological issues. These jet aircraft, despite the large volumes of their production (hundreds of pieces), were considered as temporary and subject to replacement in the very near future, immediately after the appearance of more advanced designs. And soon the moment arrived.

Fifteenth

This plane has become a legend. It was built in series unprecedented for peacetime, both in combat and in a paired training version. Many revolutionary technical solutions were used in the design of the MiG-15, for the first time an attempt was made to create a reliable pilot rescue system (catapult), it was equipped with powerful cannon armament. The speed of the jet aircraft, small but very effective, allowed it to win over armadas of heavy strategic bombers in the skies of Korea, where war broke out soon after the introduction of a new interceptor. The American Saber, built according to a similar scheme, became a kind of analogue of the MiG. During the fighting, equipment fell into the hands of the enemy. The Soviet plane was hijacked by a North Korean pilot tempted by a huge monetary reward. The downed "American" was pulled out of the water and delivered to the USSR. There was a mutual "exchange of experience" with the adoption of the most successful design solutions.

Passenger Jets

The speed of a jet aircraft is its main advantage, and it applies not only tobombers and fighters. Already at the end of the forties, the Comet liner, built in Britain, entered international airlines. It was created specifically for the transportation of people, it was comfortable and fast, but, unfortunately, it was not very reliable: seven accidents happened within two years. But progress in the field of high-speed passenger transportation was already unstoppable. In the mid-fifties, the legendary Tu-104 appeared in the USSR, a conversion version of the Tu-16 bomber. Despite the numerous flight accidents that occurred with the new aircraft, jet aircraft increasingly took over the airlines. The appearance of a promising liner and ideas about how it should be gradually formed. Propellers (screw propellers) were used by designers less and less.

Generations of fighters: first, second…

Like almost any technology, jet interceptors are classified by generation. There are currently five of them in total, and they differ not only in the years of production of models, but also in design features. If the concept of the first models was based on a well-established base of achievements in the field of classical aerodynamics (in other words, only the type of engine was their main difference), then the second generation had more significant features (a swept wing, a completely different shape of the fuselage, etc.) In the fifties there was an opinion that air combat would never again be of a maneuverable nature, but time has shown the fallacy of this opinion.

… and third to fifth

The dogfights of the sixties between Skyhawks, Phantoms and MiGs in the skies over Vietnam and the Middle East indicated the course of further development, marking the arrival of the second generation of jet interceptors. Variable wing geometry, the ability to repeatedly exceed the speed of sound and missile weapons, combined with powerful avionics, became signs of the third generation. At present, the Air Force fleet of the most technologically advanced countries is based on fourth-generation aircraft, which have become a product of further development. Even more advanced models are already entering service, combining high speed, super-maneuverability, low visibility and electronic warfare equipment. This is the fifth generation.

Dual Circuit Engines

Outwardly, even today, jet aircraft of the first samples do not look, for the most part, as anachronisms. The look of many of them is quite modern, and technical characteristics (such as ceiling and speed) are not too different from modern ones, at least at first glance. However, with a closer look at the performance characteristics of these machines, it becomes clear that in recent decades a qualitative breakthrough has been made in two main directions. First, the concept of a variable thrust vector appeared, creating the possibility of a sharp and unexpected maneuver. Secondly, combat aircraft today are able to stay in the air for much longer and cover long distances. This factor is due to low fuel consumption, that is, efficiency. It is achieved by applying, in technical language,double-circuit scheme (low degree of bypass). Experts know that this combustion technology provides more complete combustion.

Other features of modern jet aircraft

There are several of them. Modern civil jets are characterized by low engine noise, increased comfort and high flight stability. Usually they are wide-body (including multi-deck). Samples of military aircraft are equipped with means (active and passive) to achieve low radar visibility and electronic warfare. In a sense, the requirements for defense and commercial designs today overlap. Aircraft of all types need efficiency, however, for different reasons: in one case to increase profitability, in the other - to expand the combat radius. And today it is necessary to make as little noise as possible for both civilians and the military.