Cockpit rail question

[melmothtw]

Can anyone identify the purpose of the curious cockpit rail contraption-type-thingy in this image of a Chinese J-11?

http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag380/garethjennings1/10351233_10152707945413366_8020248783372644146_n_zpsa3997f53 .jpg (http://s1373.photobucket.com/user/garethjennings1/media/10351233_10152707945413366_8020248783372644146_n_zpsa3997f53 .jpg.html)

[effortless]

Stops the front bit from falling off.

[brakedwell]

Demister/Take-away menu holder? :O

[effortless]

If you look you'll see that it has pistons on it so I guess that it is to aid raising the canopy.

[CoffmanStarter]

Stude Prodding Device for the QFI sitting in the rear seat :}

[melmothtw]

If you look you'll see that it has pistons on it so I guess that it is to aid raising the canopy.

It could be, I guess, but as the Su-27 doesn't feature this design feature you'd have to ask why the Chinese carbon-copy does. Curious.

[CoffmanStarter]

More like some kind of Marquis de Sade Blind Flying kit :eek:

http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/imgs/shenyang-j11-flanker_3.jpg

[NutLoose]

Having worked on L39's they have a similar set up, they are curtains for instrument flying training, they surround the student so he has to fly on instruments, I fact the L39 had a set of selectors in the rear cockpit so the instructor could fail various primary instruments in the front cockpit or put the readings on them out.


..

[CoffmanStarter]

Da Tovarishch Nutty :ok:

[melmothtw]

That makes sense CoffmanStarter/NutLoose, thanks.

[Background Noise]

Beaten to it whilst typing, but looks like an IF screen. We used to do it the back seat in the T-38, under a screen, which was fine as all of the instruments were accessible from there (I think) but we weren't supposed to land it from the back as studes so couldn't practice the transition to visual bit.

[CoffmanStarter]

Mind you the J-11 is reported to have zero-zero seats ... But no visible MDC :eek:

Let's hope the canopy pre-ejection sequence is swift taking the IF Rail/Hood with it :ooh:

[melmothtw]

Indeed, you'd have thought that instructing the student to wear eye patches and adjusting the mirrors so the instructor can see he's not cheating might be a safer alternative to this contraption in the event of an ejection.

[Rhino power]

If the J-11 is indeed an EXACT copy of the SU-27, then the canopy buggers off pretty damn quick prior to the seats firing. Remember the Ukaranian SU-27 that went into the crowd at an airshow many years back? The crew departed pretty late...

http://i31.tinypic.com/v6kzef.jpg

-RP

[NutLoose]

Let's hope the canopy pre-ejection sequence is swift taking the IF Rail/Hood with it

Yep, otherwise it would be curtains for him..


This shows the L39 version

http://blog.cwam.org/2011_05_01_archive.html viewed from the back seat.

http://blog.cwam.org/2011_05_01_archive.html external

Coff,

This is one of the two I worked on when they came to the UK initially, I had to translate the cockpit from Russian to English using manuals that were translated to Nigerian and then back to English and with the aid of a English russian dictionary, I also designed the paint scheme it is wearing and was involved in the painting of it amongst other things... The American owner who bought it then added all the bling... Badges, eyes, feet, stars CCPP etc and put it on the U.S. display circuit. We operated them for a bit until they were sold.
They were some of the first to come out of the East and the first in the Uk, I remember sitting in the cockpit thinking if you told me 5 years ish earlier upon leaving the RAF pre the wall going down that I would be sitting in and working on a Russian military jet, I would have thought you were barking mad..

http://jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?regsearch=N9CY

.

[ValMORNA]

I think it is a cunning mirror device which allows the rear-seater to take a single 'selfie' before the angle is altered by the pilot.

[CoffmanStarter]

Cracking job Nutty :ok:

As an aside I knew Ted Girdler who unfortunately lost his life displaying an L29 (he also flew the L39) in 2000 ... very sad :(

[Photoplanet]

Yep, otherwise it would be curtains for him..Never saw that one coming...:E

[Saint Jack]

It also looks like the rear cockpit access ladder is much more difficult to attach than the front one.