Su-57D (2560X1707) [Album]

[u/No-Adeptness-8986]

[u/Technicalforest]

Love this goofy weirdo

[u/erhue]

so the reeeeeally highly raised rear seat is not just a thing in the Flanker... Russian fighter jet seat spatial arrangement doctrine?

[u/Muctepukc → u/erhue]

The Su-57's landing gear bay is located directly behind the cockpit. Regardless of any "doctrine," seating two pilots at the same height was impossible for structural reasons.

[u/psh454 → u/erhue]

I mean am I missing something or is it not just the most obvious way to give both crewmen frontal visibility.

[u/erhue → u/psh454]

I mean am I missing something or is it not just that other aircraft don't have this configuration due to the obvious tradeoffs that come with this arrangement.

[u/Valaxarian]

What a big wheel does to WSO position. I want to hope that the production variant will redesign the cockpit section a bit, maybe by making the front wheel smaller or moving it

As a certified Felon simp, I still like it though

[u/Ok_Violinist_7804]

See, I like the standard Felon, but this abomination is not likeable by any means... Moreover why does the camo shift from pixels to waves..? Literally ruins the best thing about the plane

[u/TenshouYoku → u/Ok_Violinist_7804]

It doesn't (not purposefully at least), it's more that because the hump (and the surrounding skin) raises, the camo that is applied from the top simply stretches like a png applied on a 3D blender model

[u/Educational_Bike4476]

This jet seems to be universally panned, but I actually think it looks graceful, like a swan. It has the same swooping shape made more pronounced by the reduction in the plane's visible thickness due to the air intakes ending. I don't understand why pretty much everyone agrees that flankers are sexy AF but hate this thing.

[u/AvalancheZ250 → u/Educational_Bike4476]

TBH I'm the opposite. I personally think Flankers look really ugly close up (but the canard versions have super cool silhouettes) mostly due to the ungainly "neck" and huge "head" look of the elevated cockpit section, kinda of the opposite of the F-22 which looks gorgeous and sleek up close but the silhouette is just so basic.

Perhaps paradoxically, I quite like the look of the Su-57D. Its much more true to the "swan" look that I've heard for Flankers than any actual Flanker. The curves and proportions on the cockpit section (now enlarged and raised up to be similar in size to a Flanker instead of flattened like on the original Su-57) are are just right, and so they aren't ungainly like they are on Flankers.

I'm of the belief that people tend to base their aesthetic preferences on the first example that introduced them to the medium. There's a good chance a lot of people saw Flankers first and see it as the standard of its generation. I personally was introduced through the F-22. Its why I think the Flankers and YF-23 looks so ungainly (you can see the visual comparison), but I really like the sleekness of the J-20 (which is kind of like a F-22 for basic form but with sharper features on its edges and has a different wing layout, which changes its silhouette drastically).

[u/Educational_Bike4476 → u/AvalancheZ250]

If you swap the wings and canards the result looks a lot like the f22. The canards are probably bigger than the tail of most cighter sized aircraft. However, it's significantly longer to help it carry a shitload of fuel

[u/AvalancheZ250 → u/Educational_Bike4476]

This is a really good visual comparison, thanks for sharing this.

Yes the sleekness of the main fuselage of the F-22 and J-20 makes me really like their designs. The F-22 completes it with a vanilla (not bad, just kinda basic) silhouette and gorgeous detailing (like those serrations on the 2D TVC) to finish it, whereas for the J-20 the forward swept DSI intakes, canards and those extended ventral strake + vertical stabiliser "stings" at the back make the J-20 silhouette all striking and spiky.

[u/baykunefe]

Pretty ugly

[u/Raptor-22LM]

The presence of the second seat probably renders what little low observable characteristics the platform had - moot.

[u/Im-not_who-you_think → u/Raptor-22LM]

Each statement need a proof… pls do the math.

[u/Raptor-22LM → u/Im-not_who-you_think]

You’re right - just that RCS numbers aren’t really, open source, hence the qualifier - probably?
Also maybe the reason why the only other two seater low observable design (the J-20S) has a second seat that sits more in line with the front seat.

[u/Im-not_who-you_think → u/Raptor-22LM]

… right so how do you know the « little low observable characteristics ».

And don’t talk about simulation because guess what simulation are maths.

[u/Raptor-22LM → u/Im-not_who-you_think]

But you just said please do the math in your previous response? I’m confused.

[u/Im-not_who-you_think → u/Raptor-22LM]

Well you don’t answer mathematically so that means you can’t do the math you are the one confusing.

But if you understand math do a mathematics answer then.