AVIC: Chinas largest home-made 200-tonne class air Lifter to emerge in December

Posted on 05 November 2009

November.05 (China Military News Reporting by Johnathan Weng)

Despite of the IL-76MD, China will demonstrate its indigenous 200-tonne class heavy military airlifter in the last month of 2009. This transporter is also the largest aircraft which China has ever made. Mr. Hu Xiaofeng, the General President of AVIC, unleashes this information on one media news press today.

Hu Xiaofeng says that the new military transporter will emerge as prototype aircraft, which is independently developed and manufactured by XAC (Xian Aircraft Industry Group). He also promises that the 80-tonne class C919 jet liner is being under production and will be delivered to COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China).

China-Defense-Mashup has reported before that this military transport airfraft project was initiated before 3-4 years. Chinese Government has esteemed this project as National Significant Project. The Military department believes that the R&D on heavy airlifter should be based on the mature and reliable technologies, but its performance can approach the international advanced transport aircraft with Chinese independent innovative technologies.

It can be summarized that Chinas future Military Heavy airlifter Prototype will be designed on Russias IL-76MD. But Chinas airlift aircraft will has an expanded size and payload capacity, improved electronic devices, and even some concepts absorbed from C-17. For the Engine, China will probably use D-30 engines and then replace them by WS-18 or advanced 4 high-Bypass ratio turbofan engines developed from FWS-10.

The detailed information has been unavailable. Here is the previous specifications estimation. Some numbers may be incorrect.

Crew: 3
Payload Capacity: 60,000-65000 kg
Length: 49 m
Wingspan: 50 m
Height: 15 m
Wing area: 310 m2
Empty weight: 100,000 kg
Max takeoff weight: 220,000 kg
Power: 4×turbofans
Maximum speed: 750-800 km/h
Range: (with max payload) 4,400 km
Service ceiling: 13,000 m

For years, Xian Aircraft Industry Group has been absorbing foreign aviation technologies and QC(Quality Control) & QA(Quality assurance) measurements by industrial subcontracting with Boeing and Airbus. Meanwhile, AVIC is preparing the correspondent attached technological projects. Such as CARDC (China Aerodynamics Research & Development Center) has achieved breakthrough in Turbofan Engine low-speed Simulating Testing Technologies for Airlifter high bypass engine. Besides, in 2008 Chinas research on Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fibers will reach its milestone to produce high-performance aviation materials. PLAs future heavy airlifter will realize the shrunk aircraft empty weight by CF Compound Material made fuselage and wings.

The strategic value of Chinas heavy airlifter, is not only the great improvement PLAs forces long distance projection, but also an air platform for Chinas New concept Strategic Weapon System. A great conventional weapon gap between PLA and U.S. forces usually shrivels China leaders purpose of taking Taiwan back by forces. So Heads in China Government has been focusing on unconventional Shashoujian weapon system for strategic striking back.

On the media news press, Hu Xiaofeng also says that L-15 will participate this months Dubai Air show 2009. He tells that lots of foreign Air Force pilots have visited Aviation Industry Group for related test flight.

November.6 is the one year birthday of Re-grouped AVIC group.

http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/?p=5394

Here is a pic from the actual CCTV report.

Judging from the picture, its not so much influenced by the Il-76 as the AN-70. Its not surprising considering Antonov's involvement in pretty much all of China's transport programs.




Whoever said winning isn't everything must be a loser...

the december date is that going to be a prototype unveiled or a mockup or a first flight ?

_______________________________________________________________







" I don't care if the cat is black or white, just as long as it gets the mice "

It appears the tail will be different than the tails of the C-17 and A400M.




What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different designs?




"Korea has not been the only battle ground since the end of the Second World War. Men have fought and died in Malaya, in Greece, in the Philippines, in Algeria and Cuba, and Cyprus and almost continuously on the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. No nuclear weapons have been fired. No massive nuclear retaliation has been considered appropriate. This is another type of war, new in its intensity, ancient in its origin--war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins, war by ambush instead of by combat; by infiltration, instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. It is a form of warfare uniquely adapted to what has been strangely called 'wars of liberation,' to undermine the efforts of new and poor countries to maintain the freedom that they have finally achieved. It preys on economic unrest and ethnic conflicts. It requires in those situations where we must counter it, and these are the kinds of challenges that will be before us in the next decade if freedom is to be saved, a whole new kind of strategy, a wholly different kind of force, and therefore a new and wholly different kind of military training."-President Kennedy's Address at Graduation Exercises of the U.S. Military Academy, 1962
------------------------------
"The reason I'll be released is the same reason you think I'll be convicted. I do rub shoulders with some of the most vile, sadistic men calling themselves leaders today. But some of these men are the enemies of your enemies. And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss - the President of the United States, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year - sometimes it's embarrassing to have his fingerprints on the guns. Sometimes he needs a freelancer like me to supply forces he can't be seen supplying. So. You call me evil, but unfortunately for you, I'm a necessary evil."-Yuri Orlov, Lord of War
------------------------------
"Of all the weapons in the vast soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947. More commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It's the world's most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It'll shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people's greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars."-Yuri Orlov, Lord of War
------------------------------

It's very AN-124-istic.

The T-Tail moves the horizontal stabilizer outside of the effect of disturbed ground layer air that you might expect upon serious operaions in a contested, dirt strip.  The conventional in-line placement of the same is an "at-altitude" design for efficiency in flight which reduces drag. 

Pick your poison.........a better short-field performer that uses more gas on long flights vs. a poorer short-fielder than is more efficient during the trip.

 

You call it....

It'll be the first prototype I believe, not a mockup. The developement is easier with this plane because the engine is readily available, they're going to use the D-30KP2 for testing and initial production. Whats even more important in my opinion is how AVIC unveiled the SF-A model this week. SF-A is the WS-10A derived turbofan for the heavy transports and C-919.





Here is an article:
Engine model of China's home-made jetliner on show

A model of the SF-A turbofan is on display at Shanghai's China Industrial Fair, the reports say.

The C919's manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, is due to select major suppliers by year-end.

It has said publicly that the C919, which is due to enter service in 2016, will be powered by western engines but that it hopes some C919s produced later will be powered by Chinese engines.

ACAE has said publicly its engine will be ready in 2016. But it will take many months, and possibly more than a year, for the engine to get Chinese certification.

The engine model of China's home-grown jetliner C919 was put on show in Shanghai on Monday, signaling a step forward in the research of the airplane.

The model SF-A was exhibited at China International Industry Fair 2009 in Shanghai, where the AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) Commercial Aircraft Engine Co. Ltd (AEAC) announced its plan to establish a turbofan designing system by 2010.

The SF-A, designed by AEAC, is expected to match the C919, China's largest domestically manufactured jetliner that is expected to take off in 2016, said a spokesman with the AEAC.

The company was established in January in Shanghai, funded by Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd and Shanghai Guosheng Group Co. Ltd. The registered capital of the company is 6 billion yuan (about 882 million U.S. dollars).

The home-made jetliner project was proved by State Council in 2007. The AEAC plans to build up a expert team of 100 to 150 people by the end of 2009 and accomplish the design work of turbofan in 2010.


Whoever said winning isn't everything must be a loser...

Agree, you can see the Antonov influence, nothing surprising though as we pretty much have known for some years that Antonov was involved with China in their indigenous transport program.

I wonder where this leaves the Y-9 though?

No conflict with Y-9

Y-9 is much lighter and is mainly used to transport light-armoured PAP forces




Also today they reported the breakthrough in WS-10 stating it has been in large number equipped with J-10 and J-11.

http://slide.mil.news.sina.com.cn/slide_8_529_1734.html

engines are all such complex stuff

Agree, you can see the Antonov influence, nothing surprising though as we pretty much have known for some years that Antonov was involved with China in their indigenous transport program.

Hope that wasn't taken as a swipe at the airplane.  AN-124s been a good airplane and they'd be wise to use it as a template for this airplane. 

Besides, anymore, cargo airplanes resemble one another more and more regardless of who designs or builds them.  Some common and understood requirements and limits are forcing this today. 

It's not based on the An-124, but it probably includes major technology and aeronautical information transfers from Antonov, specifically on the An-70 (although this platform is a bit different, its all-together larger then the An-70 and powered by turbofans vice propfans).

But nope, its not at all taken as a swipe against the plane, really its a smart move by the Chinese. We have known since the late 1990's that the Chinese were interested in the An-70, and into the 2000's Antonov's relationship with the Chinese aerospace industry really blossomed (specifically with Shaanxi) on everything from late models of the Y-8 and Y-7H (copies of the An-12 and An-26 respectfully), to major technology transfers with first the ARJ-21 airliner program and now this, the PLAAF's large transport program.

The reason why I question the Y-9 program also is because the Chinese very recently purchased a large amount of Y-8 cargo variants for the first time in years, which is kinda a indicator, along with this news about the AVIC program, that the Y-9 may indeed be in some trouble domestically. Either way, no denying that the Y-9 program has had a very hard time getting off its feet.

In relations to size, is it about the same size as the C-17, the IL? Smaller bigger?

Larger then the IL-76MD Candid, but smaller then the C-17 Globemaster.

So Chinese are starting to screw the Russians

LOL

quote
"So Chinese are starting to screw the Russians"


Why ???

I would call it going for plan B ... the end goal was always self-made heavy lifters, with the IL-76 deal dragging on and years over due, this development will just close the door on future IL-76 with russia and gets to the original goal quicker as the russian IL-76 order was only a stop gap measure to being with. As with the russian defence industry has problems meeting cost and timetable goals as seen in the deals with china (IL-76) and india (refit carrier) , until they get those problem fix I would stay away from russian arms but by that time china would have nothing left to buy from russia that it can make domestically

_______________________________________________________________







" I don't care if the cat is black or white, just as long as it gets the mice "

In the end, everytime China gets screwed by another country mean that our domestic solution will be fast arriving. Take Israel's Phalcons, when they bailed out of the deal, XAC ended up putting KJ-2000 together as a national priority project within 3 years, and when Russia screws up the Il-76 deal, our Y-20 comes out within 3 years with backing from the top brass.


Whoever said winning isn't everything must be a loser...

Time has really changed my friends.

China not only have plenty of money but also technology.

We are really putting big money and effort into our own R&D and big projects.

To screw Chinese you will be screwed in the end