Sea Gripen

Sea Gripen

Surprinzator, cel putin pentru mine, Saab merge mai departe cu Sea Gripen.

Conform povestii, in afara de Brazilia suedezii de la Saab au identificat si alti posibili clienti pentru Gripenul ambarcat – India, Italia si Marea Britanie, tari care in anii viitori vor introduce in inventarele fortelor navale portavioane noi.

Saab vede pe harta o piata reala si viabila pentru a promova acest tip de avion, astfel ca se continua dezvoltarea versiunii navale a lui JAS-39 Gripen – mai exact, o varianta navalizata a Gripen NG care va purta numele de Sea Gripen.

Hai, ca-i logic pana aici. Desi, ma repet, e surprinzator – cel putin pentru mine.

Pe de alta parte, Saab se bazeaza pe cerintele de baza ale Flygvapnet in care s-a cerut ca avionul Gripen sa posede inca din faza de proiect capacitati STOL, capacitati similare avioanelor proiectate special pentru operarea de pe portavioane.

Autorul articolului care constituie sursa a ceea ce infatisez acum, a fost invitat sa verifice in practica “vocatia naturala” a lui Gripen pentru a deveni avion de lupta ambarcat si a efectuat un zbor pe un Gripen D in Linkoping.

Scopul zborului a fost acela de a verifica daca acest avion detine caracteristici care pot demonstra potentialul de conversie pentru specificatiile unei versiuni navalizate fara schimbari majore si fundamentale.

 Even with very little flight time, the flying qualities present in the aircraft quickly became clear to me. The Saab team, led by Tony Ogilvy, already has identified and mapped all the areas that need special attention and engineering that represent the greatest challenges in Gripen NG “navalization”. The focus of the work focuses primarily on correct sizing and positioning of a stop hook, as well as the necessary modifications so that the already robust Gripen’s undercarriage is able to withstand the high loads associated with landings on flight deck of an aircraft carrier, since, unlike a highway, it moves on all axes and prints a unique stress not only to the landing gear but to the whole structure of the aircraft.

The characteristics of the Gripen D in fact possess flight qualities compatible with the ones desirable for naval aircraft based on aircraft carriers. The accuracy of flight controls, stability at low speeds, the rapid response of the motor acceleration (which, by the way, is the same engine fitted to the F/A-18 Hornet) and AOA  great rapprochement that allows good visibility gives Gripen excellent credentials which may lead  the Sea Gripen project to a paradigm shift in the aerospace industry.

Sursa: Romulo Sobral/Gripen blogs, iar povestea pe lung aici.

 

– Iulian Iamandi –