Shaanxi Y-8
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| Y-8 | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Transport |
| Manufacturer | Shaanxi Aircraft Company |
| Maiden flight | December 1974 |
| Primary user | PLA Air Force |
| Produced | 1981- |
| Number built | 75+ |
| Developed from | Antonov An-12 |
The Shaanxi Y-8 (Yun-8) aircraft is a medium size medium range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Company in China, based on the Ukrainian Antonov An-12. It has became one of China's most popular military and civilian transport/cargo aircraft, with many variants produced and exported. Although the An-12 is no longer made in Ukraine, the Chinese Y-8 continues to be upgraded and produced. An estimated 75 Y-8 aircraft had been built by 2001.
The Y-8 equipped with four turboprop engines mounted under the leading edges of non-swept wings. The wings are attached high on the fuselage, and the tricycle landing gear is equipped with low pressure tires. The earliest versions used for the transportation of freight or troops had two side-hinged doors, while later variants used a rearward-facing ramp to facilitate loading and unloading of the payload. Some specialized versions omit the cargo ramp entirely.
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[edit] Development
In the 1960s, China purchased several An-12 aircraft from the Soviet Union, along with license to assemble the aircraft locally. However, due to the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew its technical assistance. The Xi'an Aircraft Company and Xi'an Aircraft Design Institute worked to reverse engineer the An-12 for local production. [1]
Design of the aircraft was completed by February 1972. Major features of the Y-8 included a similar fuselage to the H-6 bomber[citation needed], the same bomber's nose radome and tail turret[citation needed], a roller-type dropping device instead of conveyer belt, and a gaseous oxygen system as opposed to a liquid system. The original Y-8 inherited the An-12’s twin 23mm cannon tail turret, but this was removed on subsequent variants.
The Y-8 transport aircraft was put into trial production in the Xi'an Aircraft Factory in June 1972. By December 1974, the first Chinese-assembled Y-8 conducted its maiden flight. Following trial production of the first Y-8s, operations were transferred to the Shaanxi Aircraft Factory. The Shaanxi-produced Y-8s conducted their test flights in December 1975. After a regime of 66 test flights the Y-8 was officially certified for use by the Chinese government. By 1981, the Y-8 entered serial production.
In the late 1980s, Lockheed Martin, the American manufacturer of the C-130 Hercules, helped China to develop a pressurized cabin for the passenger version of Y-8, resulting in two versions: the first had half of the cabin pressurized because China could not handle the technology, and later, the second version in which the complete cabin was pressurized.
In 2001 and 2002, new consulting arrangements between Antonov and Shaanxi resulted in modernized redesigns to the Y-8's wing and fuselage. As a consequence the redesign allows the Y-8's fuel capacity to be increased by 50 percent.[2]
[edit] Operational usage
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
The Y-8 is capable of carrying troops, dropping supplies, parachute drops, and functioning as an air ambulance. It also can be used for commercial uses as a freighter. It is capable of hauling 20 tons of cargo, approximately 90 soldiers, or about 80 paratroopers. It can also carry 60 severely wounded soldiers with their stretchers, 20 slightly injured soldiers and 3 medical attendants. Many variants for specialized roles have been built, but information on them can be vague or difficult to obtain due to the secretive nature of the Chinese military.
[edit] KJ-200 Accident
On June 3, 2006, a Chinese KJ-200[citation needed] 'Balance Beam' airborne early warning and control aircraft crashed in Guangde County in the Anhui province, China . All 40 people onboard were killed. The Chinese official explanation was that the accident was due to heavy ice formation on the wings after the aircraft made repeated passes in and out of clouds in bad weather.[3] As a result, the Central Military Committee of the Communist Party of China announced on the investigation result on September 7, 2006 and in the same announcement, it was declared that nearly a dozen high ranking military officers were punished by either being demoted/removed from their posts or censured, including:
- Major General Jiang Jianzeng (江建曾), the deputy commander-in-chief of the Nanjing military region and the commander-in-chief of the air force of the Nanjing military region, was censured.
- Wang Wei (王伟), the deputy commissar of the Nanjing military region and the commissar of the air force of Nanjing military region, (not Wang Wei the pilot) was censured.
- Yue Liuan (岳留安) deputy minister of equipment of the air force was censured.
- Guo Chunguang (郭春广), the deputy chief-of-staff the air force of the Nanjing military region was demoted.
- Zhang Guangjian (张广建) a regimental commander of the air force of the Nanjing military region was removed from his post.
- Six other officers were also punished with demerits or warnings.
However, the official Chinese report does not mention the exact type of the airborne early warning aircraft, only claiming that it was a 4-engine large military airplane and some have claimed that the aircraft crushed was KJ-2000 instead of KJ-200.
See China PLA Air Force KJ-200 Accident
[edit] Variants
- Y-8 Transport: Unpressurized military carrier.
- Y-8 Passenger plane: Pressurized passenger carrier.
- Y-8 C3I: at least one sample is being tested, and characterized by around half a dozen small antennas above the cockpit.
- Y-8 Cargo plane: Many versions, some with a pressurized cabin. Special variants included one modified to transport the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter, and the Y-8F livestock carrier.
- Y-8X Maritime patrol aircraft: Equipped with Litton Canada AN/APS-504(V) search radar for maritime surveillance missions. This version is characterized by a larger cylindrical radar radome under the nose similar to that on H-6 bomber.
- Y-8J AEW: Airborne early warning version equipped with British GEC-Marconi Argus-2000 early warning radar systems. This version is characterized by a large nose that houses the radar.
- KJ-200 AEW&C: Airborne early warning and control version with active phased array radar in configurations similar to Swedish Erieye.
- Y-8 AWACS: Characterized by triple tail configuration (one large and two small). Similar look to A-50I.
- Y-8 ECM: Electronic countermeasures version characterized by the semi-cylindrical arrays on the sides of the front fuselage.
- Y-8 ESM: Electronic surveillance measures version characterized by the ventral canoe underneath the forward fuselage, and seven antennas protruding downward from the loading ramp.
- Y-8 ELINT: Electronic signals intelligence version characterized by the cylindical array just in front of the vertical stabilizer.
- Y-8 Mineral research plane: Characterized by the extended magnetic anomaly detector at the tail, for finding potential mine sites. It is similar in appearance to an anti-submarine warfare platform and is often mistaken for the latter.
- Y-8 ASW: ASW platform under tests, with extended magnetic anomaly detector at the tail, the latest military version, looks similar to Y-8 Mineral research plane.
- Y-8 Radar test bed: Test bed for airborne radars for fighters, similar to the Boeing 737 test bed for the APG-63 radar for the F-15 Eagle and characterized by a sharp pointed nose cone.
- Y-8 Avionics test bed: Test bed for avionics (except the radar). In appearance it could be mistaken as an electronic surveillance platform.
- Y-8F600: Newest civilian transport variant with a redesigned fuselage, Pratt and Whitney turboprop engines, an Electronic Flight Instrument System "glass cockpit", and a two-person crew.[4]
[edit] Specifications (Y-8 Transport)
General characteristics
- Crew: 5, or 3, or 2 (Y-8F600)
- Capacity: 20,000kg cargo, or ~90 equipped troops
- Length: 34.02m (111ft, 8in)
- Wingspan: 38.0m (124ft 8in)
- Height: 11.6m (36ft 8in)
- Wing area: 121.9m² (1311.7ft²)
- Empty weight: 35,490kg (77,237lb)
- Loaded weight: kg (lb)
- Useful load: 20,000kg (44,090lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 61,000kg (134,480lb)
- Powerplant: 4× Zhuzhou WoJiang-6 (WJ-6) turboprops, 3,170kW (4,250hp) each
Performance
- Never exceed speed: km/h (knots, mph)
- Maximum speed: 660km/h (357 knots, mph)
- Cruise speed: 550km/h (knots, mph)
- Stall speed: km/h (knots, mph)
- Range: 5,615km (3030nm, mi)
- Service ceiling: 10,400m (ft)
- Rate of climb: 10m/s (ft/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: W/kg (hp/lb)
Armament
Twin 23mm cannon tail turret (early models only)
[edit] References
- Antonov An-12 and Shaanxi Y-8 at airliners.net - specifications, and photo galleries of exterior and interior
- Y-8F600 - describes 'next generation' Y-8
- New PLA Transport Aircraft: Building for Power Projection - article at strategycenter.net
- Y-8 Tactical Transport - informative summary of Y-8 transport variants at sinodefence.com
- Chinese Special Mission Aircraft - includes links to various Y-8 special mission variants
- Shaanxi AEW Aircraft Crashed During Test
- People's Daily news article on the June 3 2006 plane crash in Anhui Province.
[edit] External links
[edit] Related Content
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Designation sequence
Y-5 - Y-6 - Y-7 - Y-8 - Y-10 - Y-11 - Y-12 - Y-13 - Y-14
Related lists
- List of military transport aircraft
See also
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft
