Today we will do a detailed analysis on Mikoyan MiG-37: The Stealthy Soviet Union fiction Aircraft
Mig-37 is a fictional aircraft developed by the Testors toy company
They released its model 2 years after their very successful F-19 kit and only about a year before the F-117 appeared in public.
The MiG-37 model has outward canted fins, and has a faceted structure, while retaining the letterbox-slot exhaust of their F-19 concept.
While the appearance of these features may have caused some disquiet in some circles
There was by this time some awareness of strange black aircraft operating up in Tiger Country
In addition, the Pentagon was moving towards first, disclosure that the F-117 existed, and then, the presentation to families and the media which I attended.
As well as some of the F-117 features, Testors has done quite a good job of giving the aircraft a Russian look.
Partly, the use of a MiG-23- like undercarriage, and partly subtle stylistic and color scheme aspects which just convey a less-Western look.
Paradoxically, the crude-looking faceted shaping turned out to be more accurate than the smooth surfaces of their F-19 concept.
From a propulsion perspective, the intakes perhaps look a little more likely to work than those of the F-19, and still bear no resemblance to those of the F-117.
Read more: Maiden Flight of Russia’s New Mi-38T Helicopter Set for May
From a stealth perspective, however, the whole aircraft is full of changes in angle which look counter productive to maintaining a low signature.
In particular, the under-surface of the aircraft does not feature the flat surface of the F-117, and appears unlikely to be successful in managing the MiG-37 ‘s signature.
In addition, the changes in sweep of the planform, the gaps and joins around wing slats and other features, and the intakes all suggest a less successful stealth design.
Aerodynamically, the MiG-37 concept would probably have been more efficient and easier to manage than either the F-19 or the F-117, as the moderately swept wings would allow the use of high lift devices and a significantly lower take-off and landing speed.
Like the F-19, the relatively conventional cockpit would probably have resulted in a less constrained environment for the pilot than the essentially pyramidal F-117 cockpit.
I am a bit concerned about the extremely large fins, coupled with the anhedral of the wing, which might lead to unusual lateral-directional handling, but again, there is nothing terrible about the configuration .
It is very ugly, but it is not alone in that.
Like the F-19 forward fins, I do have a gripe – the dorsal airbrakes just don’t make sense.
There-s no way this aircraft would be used as a dive bomber, and the configuration is likely to be draggy enough that airbrakes are unlikely to be needed to manage the approach.
Plus they have the disadvantage that they would deny the opportunity to use uber-cool black silk parachutes deployed by the 2 F-117s that came ‘out of the black’ at Nellis in April 1990.
Summing up the MiG-37 – ugly, but closer to the appearance of the F-117 than the F-19. In the aerodynamics vs stealth trade off, perhaps the solution has better aerodynamics than stealth.”
This is actually helpful, thanks.