Stars of skies at world's top airshows

2012-02-21 12:15

By (chinadaily.com.cn)

Big rivals

A380:
Passenger capacity:
525 people in normal three-class layout;853 passengers in an all-economy-class layout.

Wingspan: 79.8 m

Height: 24.45 m

Range at design load: 15,400 km

Boeing 787
Passenger capacity:
It seats 210 to 290 people, depending on variant.

Wingspan:
60.0 m

Height:
16.9 m

Range fully loaded:
14,800–15,700 km

A380 at Paris Air Show

Boeing 787 at Singapore Airshow

Sharp fighters
Rafale fighter Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. It has also been marketed for export to several countries, including selection by the Indian Air Force. The Rafale has been used in combat over Afghanistan and Libya.	F-16 at Romanian - US airshow The F-16 Fighting is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976.	Su-27 jets fly at airshow The Su-27 was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fighters, with 3,530-kilometre range, heavy armament, sophisticated avionics and high manoeuvrability. Complementing the smaller MiG-29, the Su-27's closest US counterpart is the F-15 Eagle.
F-15 (bottom) at Singapore Airshow		MiG-29N 'Fulcrum' fighter
The F-15 is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. The F-15 is expected to be in service with the US Air Force past 2025.		The MiG-29 is designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other nations.

Sky balletdancers


China's performers
J-10 fighter	C919	JF-17 or Xiaolong
As a third-generation fighter in the world, the single-seated J-10 reserves many independent intellectual property rights for its Chinese developers and manufacturers especially for its high-agility aerodynamic layout with its delta wings and a pair of canards.	The Comac C919 is a planned family of 168-190 seat narrow-body airliners to be built by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).	JF-17 Thunder in Pakistan, is a Pakistan-China joint production designed as a replacement for several existing types of fighter jets including RSK Mic-21, Dassault Mirage 5, Northrop F-5 as well as the homemade Nanchang A-5 and Chengdu F-7.