
disconnectedradical wrote:I know that a lot of information regarding both airframes is classified, but given that we have high quality images of both the F-22 and the T-50, I think we can make some reasonable assumptions, estimates, extrapolations, and comparisons about the merits of each aircraft's aerodynamic shape.
Here are some pretty basic questions. Which aircraft appears to be overall less draggy? More specifically, at which regimes is each airframe better at? Which one has better adherence to area ruling? Which is more effective at generating lift and at what speeds?
If possible, I would like to minimize discussion on the powerplants and assume that both aircraft uses similarly rated engines. This isn't unreasonable; the so-called Type-30 engine that is supposed to supersede the interim 117 engine in the 2020 time frame is rated roughly the same as the F119. My reason for isolating this variable is that I strictly want to compare the merits of these two aircraft's aerodynamic qualities.
The problem with this question is that there is nobody who would have access to the F-22 classified data and the same for the T-50.
Considering a F-22 can go from 60,000 ft, to a crater in under 60 seconds in idle power, tragically for the pilot. The F-22 would be considered Very Low Drag compared to other jets.
I asked a similar question a while ago, about how to analyze the performance of a T-50. The answer I received was basically that a RC model jet wouldn't give usable data, and the CFD modeling is not likely to give objective data, that would compare to actual flight test data.