The testing of a fighter jet or any military aircraft is a long and complicated process that involves hours in the air and on the ground to measure the performance of the plane on every parameter there is in order to assure its safety.
One of the unusual practices undertaken in the testing phases is flying the fighter jet without using the canopy, in a bid to assess the impact of an emergency egress procedure on the aircraft, which occurs in the period between the canopy being jettisoned and the pilot ejecting safely.
As revealed in a documentary video produced to celebrate the 100-year commemoration of the foundation of the 929th Chkalov State Flight-Test Center at Akhtubinsk in Russia, the Su-57 bort number “058” took part in a similar test.
The testing of a fighter jet or any military aircraft is a long and complicated process which involves hours in the air and on the ground to measure the performance of the plane on every parameter there is in order to assure its safety.
One of the unusual practices undertaken in the testing phases is flying the fighter jet without using the canopy, in a bid to assess the impact of an emergency egress procedure on the aircraft, which occurs in the period between the canopy being jettisoned and the pilot ejecting safely.
As revealed in a documentary video produced to celebrate the 100-year commemoration of the foundation of the 929th Chkalov State Flight-Test Center at Akhtubinsk in Russia, the Su-57 bort number “058” took part in a similar test.
The plane which is also known as T-50-8, made its maiden departure from Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East on November 17, 2016. Despite the fact that this was the eighth model, it was really the seventh to fly, as T-50-7 was finished exclusively for static tests on the ground.
According to the footage, the pilot is seen wearing a non-standard protective flight suit, at the controls of the Su-57 at altitude over Russia, presumably operating from the Akhtubinsk test centre. While the fighter’s cockpit windscreen remains in place, the rear portion including the framework is absent.
