Chinese developing C-17 clone

Chinese developing C-17 clone: via @DefenseTech

I love how the only voice of reason on this post is being thumbed-down. Cargo aircraft all have the same basic requirements, and they all drive you toward the same basic aircraft layout. Req #1: Big cargo area, roll-on, roll-off capability. This drives you towards a square-ish planform fuselage that hugs the ground. So low that you end up putting the landing gear on the sides of the fuselage in pods, rather than underneath – you don't want them intruding on the cargo area. You don't want the main wing spar through the cargo area, and you want the engines high over the ground so they don't ingest debris on rough airfields; these two factors plus the low fuselage basically require a high wing, often in a "hump" over the main fuselage proper. And you want to be able to do high-sink-rate landings into unfriendly airspace if necessary, so a high T-tail keeps the wake off the (a...

Full article: http://defensetech.org/2012/12/27/chinese-developing-a-c-...