ADA Tejas (LCA) News and Discussions

[Daredevil]

 

[sasi]

He dazzled the audience with twists, turns and somersaults from the cockpit of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. With Group Capt Suneet Krishna at the controls of the aircraft, delays by its manufacturing agencies were forgotten.
The man who flew the Tejas on the first day of Aero India 2013 on Wednesday, Suneet has been a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force for 23 years. He recently joined the ADA as a test pilot.
"The LCA Tejas is a very different aircraft from most others used by the Indian Air Force. Years of flying it gives me tremendous confidence now. And yes, I love my job," said Suneet, one of the six test pilots for the LCA in the country.
Suneet first flew an LCA in 2002, barely a year after the project took shape. A lot has changed since then, he said. "We practiced flying the LCA using simulators for years. And as the aircraft developed,data from the flights were transferred to the stimulators,which equipped us better to fly the plane," said the pilot who has flown over 300 hours on the LCA.
The technology used in the plane can't be described as anything but state-of-the-art,he said.
"It has a full glass cockpit and comes with modern avionics and seven displays. It also has a sophisticated computer with Helmet Mounted Display System which allows pilots to access all the information on their visors," Suneet said.
Then there are other cool features that come in the latest edition of the LCA Tejas, like Russian air-to-air missile as well as conventionalbombs.
"Everything is a test till the system is perfected," said Suneet, about the recent failure of the LCA in high-altitude tests. "We didn't fail but we found faults and now we can make the system better," he added.
The former fighter pilot said the ground pressure refuelling system has been integrated in the latest modelsof the LCA since 2012, which allows the fuel tank of the plane to be filled in about five minutes, unlike the older models which took more than 30 minutes to fill up fuel on ground.
"It's a great plane and I love flying it," he added.
The LCA Tejas is set to get IOC 2 clearance by the end of 2013. Air Force officials expect the plane to be integrated into its fleet by 2015.
Love flying the mean machine: Tejas test pilot | idrw.org

 

[ersakthivel]

LCA Tejas To Be Modified Further After Engine Failure : Defense news

So there was no failure to take -off or some thing like that,as there are photos of it taking off and landing in all forums.

Note the chief's words

"Recently we went for high-altitude trials. The engine (of LCA) did not work at that altitude because it is a different cup of tea. Even the Su-30, when it was taken to Leh, it had to be modified. So, the LCA will have to be modified. It has to do the retrials," he was quoted as saying.

So all air crafts need some special adaptation in high altitude areas , may be for the fuel starters and it says nothing negative about the airframe design or some basic design problem,
Even Su-30 which was sold as a finished product failed in LEH and had to be modified to operate latter, So it is a generic problem with all fighters at such high altitudes and nothing specific to LCA as per the chief's words.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

LCA so does SU-30MKI and so does MIG-29 flew there..

Editor make mistake, It should have been said the engines are less efficient in those altitudes Due to raretiy of Air and effect of Cold..

==================================================

Adding this before MKI and LCA, Dassault Ouragan from 1957 used to fly there too..

 

[A chauhan]

Some nice pics of LCA from Tarmak007 by Rahul Devnath :-

Nice job Rahul :thumb:

 

[Defcon 1]

LCA-Tejas has Completed 2006 Test Flights successfully.(05-Feb-2013).

(TD1-233,TD2-305,PV1-242,PV2-222,PV3-349,LSP1-74,LSP2-242,PV5-36,LSP3-96,LSP4-61,LSP5-124,LSP7-18,NP1-4)

From

LCA-Tejas has Completed 1995 Test Flights successfully.(29-Jan-2013).

(TD1-233,TD2-305,PV1-242,PV2-222,PV3-348,LSP1-74,LSP2-239,PV5-36,LSP3-95,LSP4-57,LSP5-122,LSP7-18,NP1-4)

 

[SajeevJino]

LCA-Tejas has Completed 2006 Test Flights successfully.(05-Feb-2013).

(TD1-233,TD2-305,PV1-242,PV2-222,PV3-349,LSP1-74,LSP2-242,PV5-36,LSP3-96,LSP4-61,LSP5-124,LSP7-18,NP1-4)

From

LCA-Tejas has Completed 1995 Test Flights successfully.(29-Jan-2013).

(TD1-233,TD2-305,PV1-242,PV2-222,PV3-348,LSP1-74,LSP2-239,PV5-36,LSP3-95,LSP4-57,LSP5-122,LSP7-18,NP1-4)

How many Flight Tests for LCA prototype needed..I think till 2013 only Flight tests rather than induction Process or Mass production

 

[Defcon 1]

How many Flight Tests for LCA prototype needed..I think till 2013 only Flight tests rather than induction Process or Mass production

It is not about the number of flights. But it is about LCA meeting the performance parameters required from it. As of now, its flight envelope opened hasn't been opened fully. In addition, I read somewhere that wake penetration and turnaround tests also haven't been performed. Also it is yet to fire a BVR missile.

Probably the BVR firing will take place after IOC but some the remaining tests need to performed before induction. Senior members can give you a more thorough idea as to what tests still remain.

 

[Twinblade]

As of now, its flight envelope opened hasn't been opened fully.

One of the side effect of going alone in aircraft development without an experienced partner is reflected in calibrating airodata values. The airodata sensors on the skin of the aircraft will only give you localised values, where as what is important is the airstream values. Thus the air data collected from the sensors has to be calibrated to +-0.5% accuracy while determining the airstream values. Here again we are talking about multitude of airflow angles and speeds, especially in the transonic region where airflow cannot be accurately predicted by cfd analysis and simulations, especially closer to the boundaries. It was only 4-5 years back, that the LCA team were able to successfully validate and predict the accuracy of the pre production aircraft vis-a-vis the wind tunnel models ei deviation of the real world model from computer and wind tunnel model. Most other manufacturers gained that experience by thousands of hours of flight testing, while we saved on flight testing, but due to the lack of experience, we wasted time setting up and validating our models. The lack of pre existing research in aero data sets led to very conservative incremental testing, where variables were added incrementally by extrapolation of flight data and matching the modelling parameters to real world data.

When we are talking about the limits of flight envelope we are talking about linear, axial, pitch and rotational accelerations at multiple speeds and altitude, alpha (angle of attack) beta (side slipstream angle), gamma (flight path angle) & phi (roll angle) and we are also talking about the limitations that the flight control software will try to impose to prevent the aircraft from crossing those boundaries. Being a highly agile aircraft at all flight regimes and across multiple axis, the modelling of the LCA becomes even much more complex. The instability of the LCA can actually fluctuate with the increasing AoA, meaning it can be more unstable at lower angle of attacks than at an intermediate range and then again go into increased instability. When the aircraft is approaching the boundaries, the system, as a means of retaining stability, increases the feedback gain. At those conditions, the coefficients of the variables themselves become differential equations and without very good modelling based on solid data, the post stall spin predictions go for a toss. Even at lower angle of attacks, the aircraft will bleed its energy at a considerable rate, pushing the aircraft into dangerously low speeds (this is where higher thrust of Ge-414 will come in handy, to offset the wight gain of LCA) and your air sensor data becomes unreliable. Thus the refined Aerodata also goes a long way to establish the Vmin of the system. When the system approaches the Vmin the software should be able to restore the system to a stable position with the minimum loss of energy from every possible orientation and altitude by predicting the flight of the aircraft 2-3 seconds into the future. Thus it again takes a large amount of testing to determine the Vre (recovery engage speed) for every roll angle, thrust and orientation, at which the flight system should kick in to take control away from the pilot to prevent deceleration to Vmin.

In addition, I read somewhere that wake penetration and turnaround tests also haven't been performed.

Wake penetration trials are not just a few tests, its a whole series of tests and is also a very long process. Basically every aircraft leaves a pattern of turbulent airflow in its wake. So while penetrating the wake of a lead-in aircraft (say a refueler or any large aircraft which is being escorted), there are a few zones where the fighter will have to encounter turbulent airflow. This leads to inaccurate data from the air data sensors, because systems often employ cross comparison of data from sensors to validate data and detect system failures. Due to the turbulent airflow, the sensors will give you largely deviating values. So you have to penetrate wakes from every possible approach angle and speed to document the behaviour the aircraft would have under those circumstances. Also the wake of the aircraft itself has to be documented so that its wake does not endanger other aircraft.

 

[p2prada]

Another 1500-2000 flights are needed for FOC.

Without Derby we cannot have BVR trials. We are to take deliveries pretty soon. Anyway, BVR capability is meant for FOC, so there's 2 more years for it.

 

[Twinblade]

 

[A chauhan]

LCA simulator ready
Sandeep Moudgal, Bangalore, Feb 8, 2013, DHNS :

For visitors wanting an up-close, personal hands-on feel of the country's LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) that dazzles the sky, there awaits the simulator, on ground, to provide them that enthralling experience.

Aero India 2013 has three simulators set up by Russia, France and India; two though will be closed for the general public. The only simulator accessible is Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.

The simulator, starved of power during the first three days, is finally up and running. "The situation was bad with organisers having not supplied power on the initial two days. We are now seeing huge crowds lining up to get a feel of the actual LCA," said a DRDO official.

The DRDO has now decided to provide a three-minute "experience" of Tejas to the public. "The simulation, from takeoff to landing, is close to 15 minutes. But with swelling crowds, we have cut it down to two to three minutes," the official explained. Those that had the opportunity were thrilled at the experience...

Full news click - LCA simulator ready

 

[Twinblade]

Now if only ADA uploads a zoomed in HD video of this flight demo.

 

[rahulrds1]

HAL LCA - [Aero India - 2013]

 

[Neil]

guys what is on board oxygen generation system...?? i mean how does it work...? and this concept revolutionary in any way...??

 

[p2prada]

guys what is on board oxygen generation system...?? i mean how does it work...? and this concept revolutionary in any way...??

http://www51.honeywell.com/aero/com..._Brochures-documents/Life_Support_Systems.pdf

All you wanna know about OBOGS.

 

[Defcon 1]

LCA NP-1 all set to Join Back Test Program

NP-1 after its first flight on 27 April 2012 and with only 4 flight to it credit was pulled out to carry further Integration of systems to carry out trails from aircraft carrier, according to sources close to idrw.org NP-1 will re-join test flights in August and will shift to Goa by year end , Shore-Based Test Facility (SBTF) is nearing completion. Built at the Naval Air Station, INS Hansa in Goa, the facility would replicate as a static model of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) being built at the Cochin Shipyard.

NP-1 carried out only basics flight tests and was pulled out of test flight , Navy already has ordered 8 LCA Navy based on present MK-1 configuration , Four of them will be Trainer variant and 4 Single seat variant , ADA is working on NP-2 which will be single seat aircraft and first flight is expected by year end .

LCA Navy MK-1 will be used to Train pilots and also for other test on Shore-Based Test Facility (SBTF).LCA Navy MK-1 is powered by GE-404 engine , But Navy will only use MK-2 variant which will be powered by GE-414 engines for operations from aircraft carriers . Navy has firm orders for 42 MK-2 aircrafts to be operated from IAC-1 and IAC-2 .

LCA NP-1 all set to Join Back Test Program | idrw.org

1. Navy will be using NLCA Mk-1 only for training purpose, still 4 single seater variants are ordered. Can anyone explain me why it is so?

2. 42 firm orders for LCA Mk-2, that should bring the total number of LCA orders to 160. Obviously HAL will need to ramp up the production facility if they want to meet the orders by the time INS Vishal enters service.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

These LCA are fully capable of operating from carrier ( INS Vikramaditya ) and will go through weapon trails like other fighters, All these are fully combat capable..

And like any-other fighter of any class, Trainer are always there for basic know how about Aircraft aerodynamic behaviors..

Navy will be using NLCA Mk-1 only for training purpose, still 4 single seater variants are ordered. Can anyone explain me why it is so?

 

[sasi]

Interesting read from BR~
Bharat Rakshak • View topic - LCA News and Discussions
~Thanks Kartik

 

[p2prada]

Karthik's post from BR.

I tried to ask him if the LEVCONS would be just lift generating surfaces or that they could be used as additional control surfaces by the FBW FCS to increase turn rates but he said that they were primarily required for higher lift when landing and taking off

I pointed this out early on when someone here asked about the difference in operation between PAKFA's LERX and the LCA's LEVCONs.