When I look at the exhaust configuration for the YF-23, I have wonder how efficient it would have been at different flight speeds. It looks to me like there isn't really an external nozzle at all; it appears to have quite a fixed structure. I suppose that there could have been internal nozzles withvariable cross-sections, but it seems rather strange to me that such an advanced aircraft wouldn't have had both internal and external nozzles with variable throat areas to maximize efficiency.
Was this done, perhaps, to maximize RCS reductions by eliminating external moving parts?
yf-23nozzle.jpg
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Posted: May 20, 2013 - 8:38 PM
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Guysmiley
Posted: Feb 12, 2010 - 08:54 PM
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Joined: May 26, 2005 - 08:39 PM
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The engine nozzles were indeed variable. The photo you posted is of the engine bays with no engines in them.
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