Nanchang PT-6
| CJ-6 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Nanchang CJ-6A | |
| Role | Basic Trainer |
| Manufacturer | China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation |
| First flight | August 27, 1958 |
| Introduction | 1960 |
| Status | Operational |
| Primary user | Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force |
| Number built | 2,000+ |
The Nanchang CJ-6 is an aircraft designed and built in China for use by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) as a basic trainer.
The CJ-6 (translation 初教 or CJ = 初级教练机 or Chuji Jiaolianji = Primary Trainer in English) is an all-original Chinese design that is commonly mistaken for a Yak 18A. Its predecessor, the Nanchang CJ-5, was a licence-built version of the Yak-18. However, advancements in pilot training brought a need for a new aircraft with improved performance and a tricycle landing gear. When the Soviet Union developed the Yak-18A, PLAAF engineers decided that its performance and design would not suit China's needs. A few important Chinese aircraft designers were involved in design task of CJ-6, Lin Jiahua (Nanchang 320 Aircraft Factory designer, previously involved in CJ5's design project), Xu Xunshou (key member of J-7/J-8 fighter jet design team in the 1970s) and Zhiqian Huang (Chief designer of J-8 fighter jet).
During late 1957 Aeronautical Engineers Cheng Bushi and Lin Jiahua began work in Shenyang on a trainer design that addressed the shortcomings of the Yak-18A. The design they delivered featured an aluminum semi-monocoque fuselage, flush-riveted throughout, and introduced a modified Clark airfoil wing design with pronounced dihedral in the outer sections. The dihedral and an angular vertical tail distinguish it externally from the otherwise rather similar Yak-18A. Wind tunnel testing validated the design, and in May 1958 the program was transferred to the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing factory where Chief Engineer Goa Zhenning initiated production of the CJ-6. The first flight of the CJ-6 was completed on August 27, 1958 by Lu Maofan and He Yinxi.
Power for the prototype was provided by a Czech-built horizontally-opposed piston engine, but flight testing revealed the need for more power, so a locally manufactured version of the Soviet AI-14P 260 hp radial, the Housai HS-6, was substituted along with a matching propeller, and with that change the CJ-6 was approved for mass production. In 1965 the HS-6 engine was upgraded to 285 hp and redesignated the HS-6A, and the aircraft equipped with the new powerplant were designated the CJ-6A.
A total production run estimated at more than 3,000 aircraft supplied CJ-6 aircraft for PLAAF training, as well as for export (as the PT-6) to countries including Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, North Korea, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka.
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