As part of the MAKS aerospace show held in Zhukovsky near Moscow, the promising Russian training aircraft SR-10 was presented to the general public. Hundreds of thousands of spectators could "live" watch a small red car rise into the air. The new jet plane attracts the attention of spectators first of all by the negative sweep of the wing (–10 ° along the leading edge). It is the unusual aerodynamic configuration that is one of the main "highlights" of the new Russian trainer aircraft. The SR-10 made its first flights on December 25, 2015.
The SR-10 jet trainer was created by the team of the Design Bureau SAT ("Modern Aviation Technologies"). CP-10 stands for “jet plane minus ten”. According to the developers, it is intended for training pilots and participating in various airplane sports competitions. The aircraft is able to perform aerobatics with a maximum overload from +8 to –6 g. The aerodynamic configuration of the SR-10 allows the pilot to perform aerobatics using the super-maneuverability elements that are typical for 4th and 4th generation fighters.
The SR-10 two-seater cockpit was designed according to the tandem scheme, it is equipped with ejection seats of the "0-0" class, which makes it possible to ensure the safety of the crew of two throughout the entire range of speeds and piloting altitudes. Thanks to the widespread use of modern composite materials in the airframe design, the designers managed to significantly reduce its weight and increase the service life.
According to the assurances of the official website of KB "SAT", in comparison with their counterparts, the SR-10 has the following advantages:
- the cockpit provides the most comfortable working conditions;
- ease of use due to the built-in system diagnostics system;
- the aerodynamic scheme used allows pilots to safely perform any aerobatics.
SR-10 was designed and built by the Design Bureau "Modern Aviation Technologies" (KB "SAT") - a private company that previously was engaged in the repair and modernization of the existing fleet of Czech trainer aircraft L-39 Albatros, which are in service with flight educational institutions of the Aerospace Forces Russia. Their production at the Czech plant Aero Vodochody was stopped back in 1999. It was this fact that at one time prompted the specialists of the SAT Design Bureau to develop an aircraft that would replace the Czech-made “flying desks”.
The head of the SR-10 trainer project, Maxim Mironov, notes that the development of the aircraft has become an initiative project of the design bureau. At the same time, the work immediately received the status of a decision of the Russian Ministry of Defense "On the procedure for the development, serial production and supply of SR-10." At the present time, at least two hundred Albatrosses remain in flight schools, which were acquired during the years of the existence of the Soviet Union. It is unlikely to update the fleet of these aircraft due to the sanctions policy of Western countries towards Russia. Therefore, the SR-10 has virtually no alternative, Mironov believes.
In terms of its concept, the new trainer aircraft differs little from the Czech L-39: a minimum of onboard equipment and a maximally simplified design. But the main feature of the Russian development is the use of a forward-swept wing. For the first time in the domestic aircraft industry, it was used on the experimental Su-47 "Berkut" fighter. Then the designers highlighted the following features of such an aircraft: excellent aerodynamics, even at low flight speeds, which is typical for aircraft with a forward swept wing; Another advantage was called excellent lift, which surpasses that of all aircraft with a classic wing design. In addition, the deployed wing improves the controllability of the aircraft during takeoff and landing. The probability of the aircraft going into a dead spin is significantly reduced. Excellent centering of the fuselage is also ensured. Since the power elements of the wing of the CP-10 aircraft are shifted towards the tail, and in the central compartment, space is freed up for placing the ammunition.
Thanks to the use of this aerodynamic configuration, the SR-10 actually became a smaller copy of the Su-47 with comparable aerobatic capabilities. For this, some have even nicknamed the new aircraft "Berkutenk", by analogy with a more powerful and adult machine. At the same time, in comparison with the L-39 Albatros, the CP-10 already has a two-threefold advantage in aerodynamics. The characteristics of this aircraft meet the requirements for training aircraft of generation 4+, and this, for example, is the more technologically advanced and difficult to manufacture Yak-130. During the demonstration flight at MAKS-2017, the CP-10 aircraft demonstrated a good climb rate. He also performed a turn with an angle of 80 degrees, a battle eight. Actually, he demonstrated the minimum that is necessary to master the basics of piloting a jet aircraft.
The SR-10 trainer is equipped with an AI-25 engine similar to the Albatrosov, but modified. The choice of this engine was driven solely by considerations of economy. A fairly large amount of these engines has been accumulated, which allows them to be used in the design of a new aircraft without special financial costs. KB "SAT" emphasizes that in the event of a contract with the Ministry of Defense, they are ready to offer the military a more advanced version of their aircraft with an AL-55 NPO Saturn engine. This engine was specially created for installation on training vehicles. It can be additionally equipped with an afterburner and a thrust vector control system. This solution can turn the CP-10 aircraft into an aerial acrobat. The issue of installing the AL-55 on the SR-10 has already been agreed with the engine manufacturer. In this case, the characteristics of the aircraft will increase in both flight and economic indicators.
“The SR-10 aircraft will allow implementing a three-stage training system for Russian Aerospace Forces pilots. At present, it is planned that primary flight training - taking off and landing, orientation in space - will be practiced by cadets of Russian flight schools on the new Yak-152 propeller aircraft, which is being created by the Irkut corporation. Then they will gradually be transplanted to the jet SR-10 and only then to the most complex - the combat training Yak-130,”says Vadim Kozyulin, a professor at the Academy of Military Sciences. According to him, at present the training of pilots is actually carried out on these aircraft, which is quite difficult for them, given the manufacturability of the Yak-130, and quite expensive. Two jet engines are installed on the Yak-130, for this reason the cost of one flight hour on it significantly exceeds the same indicators for the new promising Yak-152 and SR-10 aircraft.
It is reported that the production of CP-10 aircraft will be established at the Smolensk Aviation Plant. According to the head of the enterprise, Sergei Nikolsky, the plant is currently completing the process of modernizing production facilities for the production of new training aircraft. Here they are confident that the contract with the Russian Defense Ministry will be signed in the near future. In this case, deliveries of the first aircraft would begin in 14 months. It is planned that the first batch will consist of several dozen CP-10 aircraft, and over time, the Russian Aerospace Forces will completely replace at least 150 Albatrosses.
At the same time, all aircraft will be ordered in the most simplified configuration in order to reduce the cost. According to Nikolsky, this is justified from the point of view of the future use of aircraft - primary flight training and training cadets in the skills of piloting an aircraft equipped with a jet engine. However, the use of new aircraft may be broader. There is a possibility that new training vehicles will also be supplied to combat units to support flight training by pilots of attack aircraft, fighters and even bombers. A similar practice of using Czechoslovak L-39 aircraft existed in the flight units of the Soviet Union.
According to the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Smolensk", a trial batch of new CP-10 aircraft is already being prepared for production at the Smolensk Aviation Plant. The new aircraft has already passed the stage of factory tests, at present the enterprise and a private aircraft manufacturer are preparing to sign a contract for the supply of aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Forces. According to the Izvestia newspaper, the Russian Aerospace Forces may receive the first batch of new CP-10 trainer aircraft by the end of 2018. According to the newspaper, the aircraft will be used along with the Yak-152 turboprop and the Yak-130 jet.
The CP-10 aircraft is designed according to the normal aerodynamic configuration with a high-positioned forward-swept wing, a single-fin vertical tail and an all-turning stabilizer. The machine is equipped with one turbojet engine. It is planned to install AI-25TL engines on the first aircraft, which will later be replaced by more advanced AL-55I engines. The aircraft will also receive a "glass cockpit" created by the Ryazan Instrument Plant (GRPZ). The maximum take-off weight of the aircraft will be 2.7 tons. The use of a forward-swept wing will provide the aircraft with a number of advantages over a conventional wing: first, a forward-swept wing can significantly increase the aircraft's maneuverability; secondly, the wing allows you to reduce the radar signature of the vehicle; thirdly, this wing improves aerodynamic qualities. In addition, the forward-swept wing greatly simplifies the process of piloting the machine at ultra-low flight speeds. However, in flight, such a wing experiences significantly greater loads compared to an ordinary wing, it is this drawback that is the main difficulty in the development of aircraft with a forward swept wing.
According to the SR-10 project, the full development of which is to be completed in 2017, it will be able to reach speeds of up to 900 km / h in flight, fly at a distance of up to 1,500 kilometers and perform various aerobatics in the air. The designers of the new training aircraft believe that in order to master the SR-10, it will be enough for pilots to have initial flight training on a Yak-52 aircraft. At the same time, in terms of its flight and technical characteristics, the CP-10 is much superior to the outdated Czech L-39 in speed, climb rate, turn radius, maneuverability and, which is of great importance, the new aircraft is lighter than its Czech counterpart and wins in terms of price / quality ratio.
Despite the rather positive reviews in the Russian press about the aircraft, and about its prospects for entering the armament of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the very near future, there are many people who still doubt this project. The main doubts are related to the fact that the aircraft began to be created back in 2007 by two ordinary enthusiasts Maxim Mironov and Sergey Yushin, who founded the SAT design bureau. Doubts are associated with the design capabilities of the new design bureau, for which the CP-10 became the first aircraft designed. At the same time, KB SAT initially set about implementing a complex project, choosing a forward-swept wing for the new aircraft.
The need for this aircraft for the Russian Aerospace Forces also raises doubts. The Aerospace Forces already have a modern jet trainer aircraft - this is the Yak-130, which has already been successfully "copied" twice (Italian - Aermacchi M-346 and Chinese - Hongdu JL-10). At the same time, the Yak-130, if necessary, can take on the role of a light attack aircraft and is able to carry up to three tons of combat load. In addition, the Yak-130 is a twin-engine, which means a more reliable aircraft in terms of flight safety. The failure of one of its engines does not entail the loss of the aircraft. True, this medal also has a downside, the single-engine SR-10 consumes much less fuel than the Yak-130, which means it is more economical to operate.
In any case, if the SR-10 is really adopted by the Aerospace Forces, it will become the third Russian jet trainer after the Czech single-engine L-39 and the Yak-130, which is replacing them. Taking into account the Yak-152 turboprop trainer aircraft, which is currently being actively developed, which should become the first flying desk both in various aero clubs and in the Aerospace Forces, the so-called aircraft of initial flight training, the future of the SR-10 does not seem so cloudless. Some experts believe that expanding the diversity of training aircraft is unlikely to benefit the Russian armed forces.
Another reason for doubt is the forward-swept wing design itself. And these doubts are based on the historical experience of the development of such aircraft accumulated at this point in time. In particular, in Russia nothing, in fact, ended the work carried out by the famous Sukhoi Design Bureau with the promising naval Su-27KM and the subsequent Su-47 "Berkut". American designers did not make any progress in this direction either.
The designers of the SR-10 jet trainer themselves hope that their brainchild will interest the Russian military as a transition plane between the Yak-152 and the Yak-130 jet. The latter is a fairly large and complex twin-engine machine for its class, the transition to which for a wide mass of cadets may be associated with certain difficulties. Also in KB "SAT" they believe that their plane will be able to attract the attention of athletes. In any case, who will be right, designers from a young private design bureau or skeptics, we will find out in the near future.
SR-10 waiting for MAKS (photo: Evgeny Lebedev) sandrermakoff.livejournal.com
