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Tyrant King
Seems a less optimistic take on the "NIT" of course on the other hand.Avic Shows Model Of New Turboprop Airlifter
AWIN First
Bradley Perrrett
Mon, 2014-11-10 11:40
ZHUHAI, China – Avic has revealed a model of a turboprop military airlifter approximately in the class of the Lockheed Martin C-130.
The model of the four-engine aircraft appears to correspond with the 60-metric-ton (130,000 lb.) airlifter that the state manufacturer has previously mentioned as a project, although the power that is probably available to the aircraft should be adequate for a gross weight of more than 80 tons.
The aircraft features a high-wing, body-mounted main landing gear with two tandem wheels on each side, a T-tail and six-bladed propellers.
No designation is given, except the classification of medium transport aircraft. The model, prepared for display at Airshow China at Zhuhai Nov. 11-16, has the serial number 8316, the letters RS on the tail fin and Chinese air force markings.
Airshow China
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The body diameter is greater than that of China’s current airlifters in this category, the Y-8 (a locally built version of the Antonov An-12) and the Y-9 (a heavily modernized Y-8). The Y-8 and Y-9 are products of Shaanxi Aircraft, part of large-airplane specialist Avic Aircraft.
The status of the new airlifter program has not been revealed.
The engine is quite possibly the WJ-16 of 3,782 kw (5,072 hp.), which reportedly shares a core with a turboshaft and turbofan, as does the Rolls-Royce AE2100 of the C-130J. If the Avic aircraft were powered by the WJ-16 and had the same power-to-weight ratio as the C-130J, then its gross weight would be about 88 tons.
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New Chinese Airlifter Could Enter Service In 2020s
AWIN First
Bradley Perrett
Tue, 2014-11-11 05:29
A Chinese airlifter revealed by Avic this week will go into service in the 2020s if the factory behind the project, Shaanxi Aircraft, is given a go-ahead.
The program is at the stage of concept design, say Chinese industry officials. It should be launched into full-scale development in about two years, they add. If it is, and if development is smooth, a first flight could take place in 2020.
The air force does want such an aircraft, the officials say, expecting the type to become China’s main airlifter. The Global Times identifies the aircraft as the previously reported Y-30.
The Y-30 would have almost the same gross weight as the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules, about 80 metric tons (176,000 lb.), but payload is intended to be 30 tons, compared with 19.6 tons of the U.S. aircraft. The type has apparently grown during the studies, since Avic has previously mentioned plans for a transport aircraft of about 60 tons gross weight.
As displayed in model form at Airshow China at Zhuhai this week, the aircraft has four turboprop engines, but many conceptual designs are under consideration, some with turbofan propulsion. An option for the turboprop is the WJ-16 engine, which is a new engine at an unknown stage of development and is supposed to generate 3,782 kW (5,072 hp.).
If jet propulsion is chosen there would be two engines, so the aircraft would be quite comparable in configuration to the Embraer KC-390. The officials did not name the possible jet engine, but the likely candidate is the WS-20 engine under development for the much larger Y-20 heavy transport, the design gross weight of which is more than 200 tons.
The WS-20 in its current form is not at all a advanced engine, say other industry officials.
The maximum speed of the Y-30 will be 600-700 kph (370-440 mph.) and the range with payload will be 6,000-7,000 km.
Materials cannot be chosen at this early stage, but but some composites will be used.
Shaanxi Aircraft is the medium-airlifter specialist of Avic Aircraft, an Avic subsidiary that focuses on building large airplanes and their parts. It currently builds the Y-9, which is in the same class as the new aircraft and is derived from the Y-8, a Chinese version of the Antonov An-12.
The new aircraft would be wider than the Y-8, Y-9 and C-130, officials say. This is an important selling point, because the Chinese armed forces are not satisfied with the cargo dimensions of the Y-8 and Y-9.
Xian Aircraft, also part of Avic Aircraft, has developed the Y-20, the designation of which is now officially confirmed by Avic.
Chinese officials have also mentioned plans for a transport between the Y-20 and Y-30 in size. This appears to be the Y-19. The engine of the Y-19 is reportedly the WJ-10 of 5,000 kW, though that power would suggest a gross weight of perhaps only 110 tons, or less if high performance is wanted. Again, turbofan propulsion has ben considered and may still be under study, because officials say the program has not been launched.
Since the air force cannot urgently need three new airlifters—one of 80 tons, one of more than 200 tons and another in between—the Y-19 and Y-30 may compete for funding.
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By the By any thing on Z20?Avicopter Takes Next Step in Modernization
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ShowNews Staff
Tue, 2014-11-11 15:15
“The next three-to-five years are crucial for the development of the Chinese helicopter production industry,” according to Avicopter General Manager Cai Yi. “Whether we can quickly develop a set of competitive helicopters in this period will determine the fate of the industry.”
Great domestic demand for helicopters is expected because of the opening of low-altitude airspace, although the timing depends on how quickly the air force relaxes its grip on China's skies. The problem is that Avicopter has only just begun developing its own civil rotorcraft. Most of its current range is based on Western designs, some dating back 30 years.
Now, the company has realized, the way ahead is with rotorcraft that must compete in global markets—as well as China—with technology and capability of Western standards instead of lower price alone.
Airshow China
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Avicopter took the wraps off its strategy last year with the first glimpse of an all-new helicopter of 3.1 tons, called AC3X2, and a second revised Eurocopter-type, the 4-5 ton AC312C, which would be developed from the Dauphin lineage. Importantly, the AC3X2 is the smallest aircraft that Avicopter could choose to develop from scratch, minimizing risk.
The 8-9-seat, twin-engine AC3X2 was unveiled at the China Helicopter Exposition in Tianjin last September, and Avicopter confirmed the launch of the program with a special ceremony here yesterday at Airshow China.
Meanwhile, Avicopter’s lightest turbine helicopter, the single-engine AC311 (powered by either Turbomeca or Honeywell) entered service in June 23, and has already come in for an upgrade as the AC311A. The basic model has won about a dozen orders in the last year, and the improvements in the A-model are expected to boost demand.
Progress continues on Avicopter’s flagship AC352, which shares a common, Chinese-built fuselage with Eurocopter’s EC175. Powered by an Avic Engine-Turbomeca jointly developed Ardiden 3C/WZ16 turboshaft, Avic expects the AC352 to surpass even the Eurocopter version when it enters service.
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