China’s FC-31 Fighter Disappoints in First Display

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2014-11-17/chinas-fc-31-fighter-disappoints-first-display

The display at Zhuhai revealed some poor aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft bleeds too much energy and the pilot had hard time keeping the nose up during turns and other maneuvers. He also had to engage afterburners far too often to maintain a proper energy utilization curve. Western aerospace analysts point out that the FC-31 flown at Zhuhai was a "clean" jet. An aircraft configured for a real mission and fitted with weapons would be even heavier and would have an even more dismal flight performance, they said