RMAF operates the same identical flanker version as operated by Indian Air Force .
Our MKI does smoke & I have not seen RMAF MKM smoke during flying.
Can you provide picture of it.
Nope but I did seen it with my own eyes. So seeing is believing.
QUOTE="Manindra, post: 7554047, member: 143441"]
AL-31 FP engine life is already 1500 hrs.
AL-31FN is not such old engine then why its only 900 hrs ?[/QUOTE]
It is strange that you guys keep quoting a figure of 1500 hrs for the AL-31FP when the IAF themselves officially confirmed it at 1000 hrs.
The Rusting Sukhoi Dips India’s Fighting Fleet
By PRADIP R Sagar
Published: 14th Dec 2014
NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent India visit may have strengthened the ties between the two countries, but it’s still a question if it can resurrect India’s weakened fleet of Sukhois.
You can avoid the servicing of your car, but you can’t afford to do that with the country’s frontline Russian-made fighter jet fleet. The government, however, has done exactly that. Consequence: four air crashes and one death. The last Sukhoi-30 crash happened in Pune, in October, which led to the grounding of the entire fleet for a month, the longest ever it was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) since 1997, for maintenance checks.
Statistically speaking, the government has spent a whopping `2,263 crore in the last three years on repair and maintenance of its fleet of 200 Sukhois.
Details of the sorry state of affairs of the Sukhoi-30 fleet are now tumbling out. An internal audit carried out by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at the behest of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed there have been six cases of engine oil leak from aircraft accessory gear box—all arising out of poor quality control. The aircraft and gear boxes are under warranty, and the matter has been brought up with the Russians.
IAF sources told The Sunday Standard that the fleet has also faced several mid-air engine failure incidents in the past two years. IAF chief Arup Raha even admitted recently that the IAF’s Sukhoi fleet has maintenance issues which are being rectified.
Internal audit was carried out at the Sukhoi Engines Maintenance Division in Koraput, Odisha, which was set up in 2007 to overhaul engines of the Su-30 Mki, ever since the Russian jets were inducted into IAF in 1997. The Sukhoi engine maintenance plant has so far claimed to have overhauled over than 150 engines of Su-30.
The internal audit has also found various ineffective quality control systems. “Unclear documents, translation errors, deviations of actual part dimensions from the laid down technology limits, non-user-friendly and complex reference of technology have led to frequent updates and clarifications from the original equipment manufacturers,” the internal audit has pointed out.
Surprisingly, the Russian manufacturer has not been able to provide the HAL maintenance team a detailed translated manual from Russian to English. While disclosing shortcomings in the Transfer of Technology (ToT), the audit team has observed that “more than 4,000 change notices have been issued by the OEM (original equipment manufacturer), which is an indicator of severe shortcomings in the ToT.”
The Sukhoi-30 fleet was grounded for a month after the Pune incident. Sources said the main problem stems from “unresolved issues pertaining to repair and overhaul” between India and Russia, because of which maintenance of the fighter aircraft fleet has been suffering.
Sources added that because of mounting complaints, IAF HAS STARTED SERVICING THE ENGINES OF THESE FIGHTER JETS AFTER 700 FLYING HOURS, INSTEAD OF THE STIPULATED 1000 hours. Moreover, as a precautionary measure, “the engines are also being modified according to specifications provided by the Russian manufacturer. The engineering is being handled in Odisha by HAL.” IAF’s fleet of over 200 Sukhoi aircraft represents almost one third of India’s fighter jet fleet. While the aircraft are based at Bathinda, Halwara, Sirsa, Bareilly, Jodhpur and Bhuj in the North and West, its two squadrons are based at Tezpur and Chabua in the East.
Su-30MKI enjoys air superiority because of its engines. In horizontal flight, it can fly at 2,400 kmph or achieve a rate of climb of 230 metres per second.
The audit has also come down heavily on Sukhoi maintenance division for poor performance, which ultimately forced the IAF to depend on Russian engineers for the fighter jets’ repair and maintenance despite substantial money that has been spent in setting up repair and overhaul facility at HAL, Koraput.
“Corrective measures taken by the Sukhoi engine division were found to be very generic in nature, with very little emphasis on addressing the root cause,” the audit says. During the audit, it emerged that there is no system in place to ensure that all the publications supplied by the Russian manufacturers are updated as per the latest amendments received from time to time in the form of bulletins or change notices.
When contacted, neither the MoD nor the HAL responded to The Sunday Standard for clarification.
But an official of the Sukhoi engine division, Odisha, said on condition of anonymity, “Yes, there were some inherent design deficiencies in the technology provided by the Russian manufacturers, which are being raised constant with them. Translation errors in the manual were also noticed. But, the IAF is taking some of the corrective measures as advised by the Russians.”
i m saying let see if the engine emits smoke after 5 years or more due to wear & tear & maintenance quality.
LOL That would depends on how well these engines are maintained,don't you agree?
But I still do not get your point on the above or the earlier post.?
One personal observation is Russian jet fighters do emit more visible exhaust smokes than most other made.
Martian2 statement that "Interestingly, recent Russian AL-31 engines are almost smokeless." is worth researching into.
How much time does it take to make one as compared to a regular J-35
China is already testing a world class LBP WS-15 engine and it ought to be ready for initial mass production by latest 2017.
I will post an interesting article by Martin on the WorldDefense Forum back in June, 20, 2012 on the issue of high bypass ratio for non-supercruising F-35 and low bypass ratio for supercruising F-22 and J-20.
World Turbofan Aircraft Engines
19 tons (or 190 KiloNewtons) of wet thrust (which means with afterburner)
19.1 tons (for F-35/JSF) - Pratt & Whitney F135 (in service 2009 - dates are approximate).
Important note: F135 has a high bypass ratio and F-35 cannot supercruise.
18 tons of wet thrust
18 tons (for J-20) - China's WS-15 ("Initial Operational Capability"/IOC 2020. Successful prototype operation in 2005). WS-15 has a low bypass ratio and J-20 can supercruise.
15 tons of wet thrust
15.6 tons (for F-22) - Pratt & Whitney F119 (IOC 2004). F119 has a low bypass ratio and F-22 can supercruise.
15.5 tons - China's WS-10G (Global Security believes it was installed on J-20 prototype in 2011)
14 tons of wet thrust
14.5 tons (for T-50/Pak-Fa) - AL-41F (in service 2010)
13 tons of wet thrust
13.2 tons (for J-10, J-11, and J-15) - China's WS-10A (in service 2009)
13.2 tons (for Russian Su-30) - AL-31FM1 (in service 2007)
12 tons of wet thrust
12.5 tons (for J-10A) - AL-31FN (in service 2002)
8 tons of wet thrust
8.9 tons (for Eurofighter Typhoon) - Eurojet EJ200 (in service 1991)
7 tons of wet thrust
7.5 tons (for French Rafale) - Snecma M88-2 (in service 1996)
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References:
F135 (US):
Pratt & Whitney F135 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WS-15 (China):
WS15
WS-15
F119 (US):
F119-PW-100
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WS-10G (China):
J-15 (Jianjiji-15 Fighter aircraft 15) / F-15
Shenyang WS-10 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AL-41F (Russia):
Sukhoi Flankers - The Shifting Balance of Regional Air Power
Saturn AL-31 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WS-10A (China):
Shenyang WS-10 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AL-31FM1 (Russia):
Saturn AL-31 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AL-31FN (Russia):
Saturn AL-31 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
EJ200 (European consortium):
Eurojet EJ200 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
M88-2 (France):
Snecma M88
Snecma M88 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Citation for high bypass turbofans and subsonic speed from Global Security.
Military Aviation Engines
"High bypass turbofans, meaning bypass ratios in the range of 5 to 9, power virtually all transports designed to cruise at high subsonic speeds. High bypass ratio engines provide increased takeoff thrust, low environmental noise, and low specific fuel consumption. The development of the first high bypass ratio turbofans, the TF39 for the C-5A and the JT9D for the Boeing 747, required nearly doubling the cycle pressure ratio from the 12:1 of the JT3/J79 series of jets, and increasing the turbine inlet temperature.
The newest high bypass turbofans have cycle pressure ratios greater than 40:1 and have been made possible by advancements in high temperature materials and cooling technology. In a general sense, increases in hot section materials capability and turbine cooling techniques have paced the development of high pressure ratio engines. Today, turbofans range in size from small missile engines by Teledyne and Williams International, to behemoths in the 100,000 pound thrust class for large transports."
Secondary citation on high bypass ratio turbofan engine:
Overall pressure ratio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Military engines are often forced to work under conditions that maximize the heating load. For instance, the General Dynamics F-111 was required to operate at speeds of Mach 1.1 at sea level. As a side-effect of these wide operating conditions, and generally older technology in most cases, military engines typically have lower overall pressure ratios. The Pratt & Whitney TF30 used on the F-111 had a pressure ratio of about 20:1, while
newer engines like the General Electric F110 and Pratt & Whitney F135 have improved this to about 30:1.
An additional issue is weight: a higher compression ratio implies a heavier engine, which in turn costs fuel to carry around. Thus, for a particular construction technology and set of flight plans an optimal overall pressure ratio can be determined."
[Note: Thank you to ChineseTiger1986 for highlighting the issue of high bypass ratio for non-supercruising F-35 and low bypass ratio for supercruising F-22 and J-20.]