The J-36, J-50, GJ-11 and a handful of other prototype aircraft all adopted a similar structure (flying doritos) with no tails and a lifting body. Furthermore, the J-50 and likely J-36 are supersonic aircraft and I don’t believe there has been a supersonic flying wing yet. Why is China investing in this design so heavily and how are they able to avoid the major hiccups of similar aircraft that the West has faced?

  • companero [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    10 days ago

    My layman understanding is that the more geometric “features” a plane has, the less stealthy it is. I think a literal flying saucer would be ideal, but that’s not aerodynamic.