Simon Robbins wrote:

"Alan Minyard" wrote in message
.. .


You are, as usual, full of it. The Su cannot "stop" in mid- air for more
than a fraction of a second.



The Su-37 can (or did, don't believe the aircraft is in existence anymore),
I've seen it do it with my own eyes. It held there at about 40 degrees AOA,
with it's vectored thrust pointing right down. Dead steady hover.

Si




Obviously, any a/c with a t/w ratio of unity or better can, in theory,
hover. But how would it maintain attitude for more than just a moment?
Wouldn't that requre a) air moving over control surfaces, b) reaction
controls (as on the NF104), or c) some really intuitive manipulation of
the thrust nozzles? And how could it hover at anything less than 90
degrees AOA? Wouldn't, to hover, CG have to be right over CT, if
there's no forward momentum? It's not like a jet can "hang on the prop."

Not flaming, just wondering...