Constructor of the Chinese Y-20 transport aircraft
The designer of the new Chinese heavy transport aircraft Y-20 Tan Chanhun gave an interview to Xinhua news agency about the prospects for the project. Tang Chanhun is one of the largest figures in the Chinese aviation industry, in the past he was the chief designer of the JH-7A front-line bomber, which is currently the main tactical strike aircraft of the PLA Air Force.
The first photos of the Y-20 were published at the end of last year; on January 26, the plane made its first test flight. In the last photo, the aircraft undergoing tests appears dyed in a dark color.
“This means that the Y-20 flight tests have entered a new phase,” says Tan Chanhong. He assumes that Y-20, the heaviest aircraft ever built in China with an take-off weight of about 200 tons and a wingspan of about 50 m, can be used both for strategic transportation in the interests of the military and for use in rescue operations, transportation of heavy equipment etc.
Already during the first test flights, "very good" take-off and landing characteristics and high aerodynamic quality of the aircraft appeared, the report says.
Tang stressed that the plane is being made at the level of modern world achievements. aviation industry, using modern materials and components, the equipment of its cargo compartment and control system also meet modern requirements, and in this regard, “a major breakthrough” has been made. The technologies developed in the Y-20 program will create the basis for the subsequent development of new types of large aircraft for the long term.
Tan noted that the design of the Y-20 began five years before his first flight, which is “a bit small by world standards”. In fact, it is known that the search work on the subject of a heavy transport aircraft began in Xi'an as early as the 1990s, so it is likely that a five-year history There is only the last, active stage of the construction program of a heavy Chinese transport worker.
According to Tan, the relative openness of the Y-20 program to the media during the flight test phase indicates both the leadership’s confidence in the project’s success and China’s growing openness in the military-technical field.
The first photos of the Y-20 were published at the end of last year; on January 26, the plane made its first test flight. In the last photo, the aircraft undergoing tests appears dyed in a dark color.
“This means that the Y-20 flight tests have entered a new phase,” says Tan Chanhong. He assumes that Y-20, the heaviest aircraft ever built in China with an take-off weight of about 200 tons and a wingspan of about 50 m, can be used both for strategic transportation in the interests of the military and for use in rescue operations, transportation of heavy equipment etc.
Already during the first test flights, "very good" take-off and landing characteristics and high aerodynamic quality of the aircraft appeared, the report says.
First flight Y-20
Tang stressed that the plane is being made at the level of modern world achievements. aviation industry, using modern materials and components, the equipment of its cargo compartment and control system also meet modern requirements, and in this regard, “a major breakthrough” has been made. The technologies developed in the Y-20 program will create the basis for the subsequent development of new types of large aircraft for the long term.
Tan noted that the design of the Y-20 began five years before his first flight, which is “a bit small by world standards”. In fact, it is known that the search work on the subject of a heavy transport aircraft began in Xi'an as early as the 1990s, so it is likely that a five-year history There is only the last, active stage of the construction program of a heavy Chinese transport worker.
According to Tan, the relative openness of the Y-20 program to the media during the flight test phase indicates both the leadership’s confidence in the project’s success and China’s growing openness in the military-technical field.
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