Shaanxi Y-8

Shaanxi Y-8

By Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_Y-8

Y-8
Role	Transport
Manufacturer	Shaanxi Aircraft Company
First flight	December 1974
Status	In service
Primary user	PLA Air Force
Produced	1981-present
Number built	75+
Developed from	Antonov An-12
Variants	Shaanxi Y-9

The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yun-8 (运-8) aircraft is a medium size medium range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Company in China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become one of China's most popular military and civilian transport/cargo aircraft, with many variants produced and exported. Although the An-12 is no longer made in Ukraine, former USSR the Chinese Y-8 continues to be upgraded and produced. An estimated 75 Y-8 aircraft had been built by 2001.

Design and development

In the 1960s, China purchased several An-12 aircraft from the Soviet Union, along with license to assemble the aircraft locally. However, due to the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew its technical assistance. The Xi'an Aircraft Company and Xi'an Aircraft Design Institute worked to reverse engineer the An-12 for local production.

Design of the aircraft was completed by February 1972. Major features of the Y-8 included a similar fuselage to the H-6 bomber, the same bomber's nose and tail turret, a roller-type dropping device instead of conveyor belt, and a gaseous oxygen system as opposed to a liquid system. The original Y-8 inherited the An-12’s twin 23mm cannon tail turret, but this was removed on subsequent variants.

The Y-8 equipped with four turboprop engines mounted under the leading edges of non-swept wings. The wings are attached high on the fuselage, and the tricycle landing gear is equipped with low pressure tires. The earliest versions used for the transportation of freight or troops had two side-hinged doors, while later variants used a rearward-facing ramp to facilitate loading and unloading of the payload. Some specialized versions omit the cargo ramp entirely.

The Y-8 is capable of carrying troops, dropping supplies, parachute drops, and functioning as an air ambulance. It also can be used for commercial uses as a freighter. It is capable of hauling 20 tons of cargo, approximately 96 soldiers, or about 82 paratroopers. It can also carry 60 severely wounded soldiers with their stretchers, 20 slightly injured soldiers and 3 medical attendants. Many variants for specialized roles have been built, but information on them can be vague or difficult to obtain due to the secretive nature of the Chinese military.

Operational history

The Y-8 transport aircraft was put into trial production in the Xi'an Aircraft Factory in June 1972. By December 1974, the first Chinese-assembled Y-8 conducted its maiden flight. Following trial production of the first Y-8s, operations were transferred to the Shaanxi Aircraft Factory. The Shaanxi-produced Y-8s conducted their test flights in December 1975. After a regime of 66 test flights the Y-8 was officially certified for use by the Chinese government. By 1981, the Y-8 entered serial production.

In the late 1980s, Lockheed Martin, the American manufacturer of the C-130 Hercules, helped China to develop a pressurized cabin for the passenger version of Y-8, resulting in two versions: the first had half of the cabin pressurized and later, the second version in which the complete cabin was pressurized.

In 2001 and 2002, new consulting arrangements between Antonov and Shaanxi resulted in modernized redesigns to the Y-8's wing and fuselage. As a consequence the redesign allows the Y-8's fuel capacity to be increased by 50 percent.

Y-8 aircraft were used by the Sri Lanka Air Force during the country's civil war. Two units were lost.

KJ-200 Accident

On June 3, 2006, a Chinese KJ-200 'Balance Beam' Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft crashed in Guangde County in the Anhui province, China. All 40 people onboard were killed. The Chinese official explanation was that the accident was due to heavy ice formation on the wings after the aircraft made repeated passes in and out of clouds in bad weather. However, the official Chinese report does not mention the exact type of the airborne early warning aircraft, only claiming that it was a 4-engine large military aircraft, and some who have claimed that the aircraft that crashed was a KJ-2000 instead of a KJ-200.

Variants

Y-8J Skymaster airborne early warning aircraft (top), Y-8X maritime patrol aircraft (below).

Y-8 Transport: Unpressurized military carrier.
Y-8 Passenger plane: Pressurized passenger carrier.
Y-8 C3I: at least one sample is being tested, and characterized by around half a dozen small antennas above the cockpit.
Y-8 Cargo plane: Many versions, some with a pressurized cabin. Special variants included one modified to transport the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter, and the Y-8F livestock carrier.
Y-8X Maritime patrol aircraft: Equipped with Litton Canada AN/APS-504(V) search radar for maritime surveillance missions. This version is characterized by a larger cylindrical radar radome under the nose similar to that on H-6 bomber.
Y-8J AEW: Airborne early warning version equipped with British GEC-Marconi Argus-2000 early warning radar systems. This version is characterized by a large nose that houses the radar.
KJ-200 AEW&C: Airborne early warning and control version with active phased array radar in configurations similar to Swedish Erieye.
Y-8 AWACS: Characterized by triple tail configuration (one large and two small). Similar look to A-50I.
Y-8 ECM: Electronic countermeasures version characterized by the semi-cylindrical arrays on the sides of the front fuselage.
Y-8 ESM: Electronic surveillance measures version characterized by the ventral canoe underneath the forward fuselage, and seven antennas protruding downward from the loading ramp.
Y-8 ELINT: Electronic signals intelligence version characterized by the cylindical array just in front of the vertical stabilizer.
Y-8 Mineral research plane: Characterized by the extended magnetic anomaly detector at the tail, for finding potential mine sites. It is similar in appearance to an anti-submarine warfare platform and is often mistaken for the latter.
Y-8 ASW: ASW platform under tests, with extended magnetic anomaly detector at the tail, the latest military version, looks similar to Y-8 Mineral research plane.
Y-8 Radar test bed: Test bed for airborne radars for fighters, similar to the Boeing 737 test bed for the APG-63 radar for the F-15 Eagle and characterized by a sharp pointed nose cone.
Y-8 Avionics test bed: Test bed for avionics (except the radar). In appearance it could be mistaken as an electronic surveillance platform.
Y-8A: Helicopter transport aircraft.
Y-8B: Unpressurised freight/passenger transport aircraft for CAAC.
Y-8C: Pressurised transport version.
Y-8D: Fitted with western avionics.
Y-8E: Drone carrier aircraft.
Y-8F: Live-stock transport aircraft.
Y-8H: Aerial survey aircraft.
Y-8K: 121-seat airliner.
Y-8F-100: Fitted with more powerful engines, EFIS, colour weather radar, TCAS and GPS.
Y-8F-200: This model has a 2.2m (7ft 10in) stretched fuselage.
Y-8F-600: Newest civilian transport variant with a redesigned fuselage, Pratt and Whitney turboprop engines, an Electronic Flight Instrument System "glass cockpit", and a two-person crew.