It appears that at least the inner weapons bay doors were open when it was landing. They closed as the rear nozzle rotated back to standard position. The weapons bay doors were open in some earlier photos of a hover or landing or something.
Does anyone know of a reason for this? I wonder if they're used as a sort of stabilizer similar to the AV-8B
The open bay doors are an intentional (versus accidental) design feature that helps minimize 'suck-down' and hot gas reingestion on vertical descent when close to the ground.
It appears that at least the inner weapons bay doors were open when it was landing. They closed as the rear nozzle rotated back to standard position. The weapons bay doors were open in some earlier photos of a hover or landing or something.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know of a reason for this? I wonder if they're used as a sort of stabilizer similar to the AV-8B
The open bay doors are an intentional (versus accidental) design feature that helps minimize 'suck-down' and hot gas reingestion on vertical descent when close to the ground.
ReplyDelete