|
Pilot trainer jet sales to take off
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-11-02 21:37
Mountain Eagle, China's most advanced fighter-pilot trainer, is set to fly
Chinese and foreign skies in 2006, its manufacturer Guizhou Aviation Industry
Group announced Tuesday.
 |
 |
| The Shanying jet trainer.
[Xinhua]
|
Known in Chinese as "Shanying," the
trainer made its maiden flight at the end of last year and has gone into a
complicated testing procedure to ready it for mass production next year, said
Zhang Shangdao, vice-president of the aviation company based in Southwest
China's Guizhou Province.
"As a generic advanced trainer, Shanying is designed to train pilots to fly
third-generation fighters, which have been increasingly used by air forces
throughout the world," Zhang said during the Fifth Air Show China. The event
started on Sunday and runs until next week in coastal Zhuhai.
To be more specific, the plane can be used to train pilots before they take
to the skies in both second and third-generation fighters, like the Chinese-made
F-7 and F-8 or the F-16 and Su-27, said the Shanying's chief designer Sun
Huizhong.
In addition, Shanying can be used for aerial refueling training. It has fair
aerial combat abilities and the potential to be modified as a military aircraft
for reconnaissance and electronic jamming operations, Sun said.
Powered by a turbo fan jet engine, the plane uses systems and airborne
equipment that have matured in China's aviation sector, he said.
Furthermore, operational costs of the trainer are by far lower than those of
a third-generation fighter, Guizhou group officials said.
Many countries are upgrading their fighter aircraft, and the ratio between
fighter planes and trainers usually stand at 4:1 or 6:1, according to Chinese
aviation experts.
Shanying, which serves multiple functions, is well able to cater to customer
demands in developing countries, Sun said.
Founded in 1964, the Guizhou Aviation Industry Group under the China Aviation
Industry Corp I is a developer of aircraft, engines and airborne equipment for
national defence and civilian purposes.
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Today's
Top News |
|
|
|
Top China
News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
