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Russian stealth fighter aborts take-off at MAKS
- Russia's new 5th generation fighter plane, the Sukhoi PAK-FA/T-50, was forced to abort take off before a demonstration flight at the MAKS Air Show on Aug. 21, at Ramenskoye air base, near Moscow. The aircraft suffered a flameout in the right-hand Saturn engine. The second prototype of the stealth fighter failed to take-off after bursts of flames erupted from the engine.
Deploying the airbrakes and the two drag chutes after reaching a speed of around 60 MPH, Sukhoi’s test pilot was able to halt the aircraft well before the end of the runway.
A similar incident occurred two years ago when an F-18C belonging to the VFA-86 'Sidewinders' experienced a compressor stall during the catapult launch from CAT number four. The aircraft was taking off from the USS Nimitz in the Indian Ocean. It was fully loaded with fuel and weapons, and it is taking off to perform an on-call CAS in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Fortunately, the aircraft took off in spite of the loud bang and flames coming out from the port engine exhaust that in the second image seems to be operating without the afterburner.
The compressor surge is a particular kind of compressor stall that occurs when the hot vapour generated by the aircraft carrier’s catapult is ingested by the aircraft air intake thus creating a breakdown in compression resulting in a the compressor’s inability to absorb the momentary disturbance and to continue pushing the air against the already-compressed air behind it. Consequently, there is a momentary reversal of airflow and a violent expulsion of previously compressed air out through the engine intake producing some loud bangs from the engine and “back fires”.
The compressor will usually recover to normal flow once the engine pressure ratio reduces to a level at which the compressor is capable of sustaining stable airflow. Some engines have automatic recover
