Kalistan

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New KA-11P demonstrates capabilities
"What it gives up in performance, it gains in survivability," says Project Manager
Sulu AFB, Dahriel, Grand Duchy of Ananto
June 10, 5701


KA-11 (Prototype) landing at Sulu AFB after successful test mission

KalMilInCo reported this month that the joint designed KMC/AeroKal project KDC 152 has moved into testing phase as a full scale prototype of the aircraft has completed 10 test flights at operational specifications and has passed military standards. "We lost several of the prototype models earlier this year," said project leader Nicole Hallek for KalMilInCo. "The pilots were uninjured in those early failures, so the designs were not complete disasters, and we have also made adjustments for the various stresses and aerodynamic shortfalls that the earlier models had to produce the final prototype we have passed here today."

Hallek said earlier failures included engines stalling out during firing of the main cannon, soot clouding the windows, and even a tail fin flying off leading to a semi-crash landing over the Dah Swamp. "Well, some of the tests were pretty embarrassing," said Hallek. "But one thing we learned was that the pilot remained safe through all the tests. We put them and all the main flight systems in a titanium cage, and made the windows of the cockpit shatterproof glass, which was a design choice we needed to make due to the slow speed of the plane and the low altitude we are expecting to need. It can take a real beating, so its's safe to say that even if this plane is hit and half of it is on fire and it loses an engine, as long as the pilot is conscious, he can probably still land it and make it out with his life."

Some changes to the design needed to be made in order to prevent the major issues that failed the plane initially. "Well, firing the main gun presented the main problems," said Hallek. "We are firing 30 mm x 7 inch long rounds at a rate of 65 rounds per second out of the GAU-8 Autocannon. That thing creates a lot of smoke, which, of course immediately flies back over the canopy and gets sucked into the turbines of the plane. So we had to basically install windshield washers that spray the canopy as the gun is firing to prevent carbon from building up, and systems that would automatically restart one or both of the engines if it is choked out by the smoke."

When asked why the autocannon was installed to begin with, rather than added later when the basic design had been completed Hallek laughed. "This plane, if you want to say that, is less like a plane with a gun and more like a flyable autocannon. We designed the plane around the cannon. To demonstrate what I mean, let me give you a basic fact: The gun needs to be perfectly aligned within the nose of the plane, or it will completely knock off the flight characteristics of the plane itself. We have moved the front nose gear to the left so it can fold up to the side of the gun rather than right in front of it. And without the cannon, the weight in the back would cause the plane to tip backwards. The gun is an essential component to the flight characteristics of this aircraft, and without it, the plane simply could not get off the ground." This is even more striking when one learns that the main gun is larger than a full sized sedan and alone weighs about 2 tons fully loaded.

The shape of the plane has turned out to be an asset as well. "Its a very heavy plane to be sure," said Hallek, "but once it gets to speed and gets airborne, not a lot can bring it down. What it gives up in performance, it gains in survivability. It can successfully run and remain capable of sustained flight even if one of its engines is completely disabled. The cooperation we had with the civilian airliner AeroKal allowed us to conceive of this plane in terms of safety of its one passenger, the pilot, focus on stability and maneuverability, and most of all survivability. It will never be the fastest plane in the air over a battlefield, but if we think of a modern multi-role fighter as a jeep, the FA-11 is a tank. And tanks aren't the zippiest vehicles on the battlefield either." The plane is essentially designed to absorb damage rather than avoid it.

The slow moving Close Air Support plane does allow for a number of vulnerabilities. "Shoulder fired surface to air missiles can be deployed fairly successfully against the plane," said Hallek. "This is baked in. If enemy missile crews are prepared for the arrival of this plane, and have all the time in the world to set up, aim in and then lock on, a missile can hit it far easier than it would be for it to take out a supersonic jet fighter. But this weakness doesn't stop nations from deploying attack helicopters. It's the risk of battle, and the reward far outweighs the risk in this case, because the AutoCannon in turn can pierce all modern armor deployed on the battle field, or wipe out a city block with HE. Shoulder fired missile crews expose themselves the moment they fire, and a missile may hit one plane, but others will be there to light that crew up immediately and carry on with the mission."

"The next step is to begin testing it with different payloads, and against different kinds of targets," said Hallek. She said the KA-11 is expected to be fully ready to participate in Summer training exercises by next summer. "We want to take it to Bozo River next summer to really test it out." To do this, the first flight crews will begin training on simulators this summer and could be flying early Eval Models by mid Fall. "We hope to have a production ready final model by Spring of Next year, and will require hundreds of additional hours of field testing and feedback before we can create the production model. But we are now moving apace and are quite satisfied with the project's progress."

@TheRepublic