russian airforce jets all made of titanium. why??

Question

I know that they have a butt load of titanium over there unlike us in the usa do, but i was wondering, scince titanium weighs more they need more powerful engines right? So why dont they just invest in using new light weight materials to get even more power. If something i said was wrong, or i just mis heard it sorry, but i just dont understand how this all makes sense. What do you think?

Answer 1

Actually, titanium alloy are a bit stronger than aluminium ones per unit of weight, 18% higher. Sure, titanium is nearly twice as heavy, but since it is twice as strong, you can get by using half as much (making parts thinner) and keep the same strength for a lighter final weight, or making it stronger for the same weight.
Selection of titanium will thus be based on considerations of cost and the demand of the application. Since titanium alloy melt at a higher temperature, it can be required for zones in an airplane where aluminium would melt.
Titanium alloys are also a lot more difficult to machine; in the 1960's, North American (later Rockwell) got an award from an American society of metallurgical engineers because they managed to fabricate the nose of the XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 super bomber prototype out of titanium, inventing techniques to work the tough metal.

Answer 2

Nope. Soviet-era aircraft do NOT use more titanium than US aircraft. In fact, US aircraft designers were shocked to see that the MiG-25 Foxbat used riveted stainless steel panels to fly at Mach 3.2.

Several aircraft (like the Mig 23 and Sukhoi 25) use titanium for pilot armor, as does the US A-10 Warthog. But overall, the US uses more exotic materials for their aircraft.

There are several reasons for this. The first is that titanium is a pain in the behind to work with. The Lockheed-Martin Skunkworks, makers of the SR-71 Blackbird, discovered that using the wrong kind of felt-tip pen caused corrosion, and the chlorine in the tap-water actually prevented welding. It is an exotic metal, and is very temperamental.
Secondly, the Soviet military believed in a concept of "Ford over Ferrari." They figured that 100 cheap, throw-away fighters would be able to take out 10 exotic, expensive US fighters, and cost the same (or less). The Soviet military was not known for its concern for the lives of their men. How this concept would work in a real war shows that training and tactics have a larger impact than sheer numbers. (Israel/Arab conflicts of 1967 and 1973, Falkland Islands War).
Thirdly, Soviet technology was usually a few steps behind US technology. The Foxbat had a radar that could detect enemy aircraft 50 miles away, but it did it through raw power. Pilots were under orders not to turn on their radars near the ground for fear of microwave cooking animals on the ground. The F-14 of the same era could use computing power to achieve better performance with a less-than-lethal radar system.
That does not mean that the Soviets did not put out aircraft that were superior to US aircraft. The MiG 15 had tactical advantages over the F-86 Sabre, and outclassed everything else the US had during the Korean War. The Soviets claim a two-to-one kill ratio between MiG 21's and F-4 Phantoms over Vietnam. The number of lesser MiG 17's and MiG 19's make up the majority of US kills in that war. Also, the MiG 29 Fulcrum and Sukhoi 27 Flanker carry systems that are just now being integrated into US aircraft (thermal imaging gunsights, and thrust vectoring).
Lastly, there was the Soviet economic system to contend with. Materials were often late, of poor quality, and always in limited supply.
Considering these handicaps, it's amazing the Soviets were able to build the range of aircraf they did.

Answer 3

Titanium may be plentiful in Russia, but the cost isn't really in the metal itself. Regardless of what was said above, titanium is very hard to work with compared to aluminum. Kind of like the difference between working with pine and walnut woods. We use it for some repairs on C130, and it eats saw blades and drill bits.

No aircraft is made entirely of titanium. the A10 has a titanium tub for the cockpit to protect the pilot from small arms. Some aircraft use it in wing joints, leading edges and engine mount areas.
Aluminum is still the main metal used to manufacture aircraft.

There is also a lot of hardware made out of titanium, which is very strong and doesn't promote corrosion.

Answer 4

You are partly right... Titanium is plentiful in Russia, and relatively inexpensive. Except for it's slightly higher weight than aluminum it is almost the perfect metal for producing aircraft. It's very hard and is easily machined. There is very little corrosion that forms on titanium.

The famous SR-71 spy plane was made in the USA of all titanium for the reasons above, but also because of it's great heat resistance.

Answer 5

well, you are mostly correct, Soviet aircraft in the 60's thru the late 80's were built in great quantity, and exported to various "satellite" countries in the Warsaw pact. They had to be extremely simple to maintain, durable, carry a heavy weapons load, and fast!. This explains the MiG/Sukoi types of fighters along with the Tupolov Blinder, Back fire bombers. Along with other types of extremely strong, fast, Heavy(which means massive thrust engines) aircraft. But they paid a price, most of the large fighters were fast, but could not maneuver very well, and were thirsty (lots of fuel burn). The threat to them was high flying, fighters/ bombers and of course the SR-71(as a recon/spy aircraft). Titanium is used around engines, load bearing high fatigue areas on the aircraft, but they are not constructed of All titanium (they also use steel/aluminium etc). The latest soviet fighters do, now, in fact include composite materials in there manufacture, and are among the best of fighters in the world.

Answer 6

i own a shop,and have done some research on this,and they use a thin coating of titanium, on it,its still heavy,but its more stable,and can with stand a certain amount of impact,its not indestructible ,but its a lot tougher than anything we build,these can with stand a hit from a 50 caliper gun at a certain distance,better than our planes can,and certain areas of theirs are built a lot stronger,they put a lot of pride in to their work,and they have the resources to do this with,they also have increased fuel capacity ,to help make up for the weight,but they still don't have as much distance as we have on ours ,good luck i hope this help,s.

Answer 7

maybe they are just trying to impress us because titanium is expensive, more durable, and yes they have to make more powerful engines, which they think will be amazing to us, which it really isn't.

Answer 8

its a very strong metal a bit more heavy mabey armor

Answer 9

who here loves windmills?