ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 06-May-2010
Jane's Defence Weekly
Chinese air force trainer programme gathers pace
Ted Parsons JDW Correspondent - Beijing
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is making progress toward recapitalising its trainer fleet.
In late April a Chinese industry-sponsored website reported that the Hongdu L-7, which will carry the designation CJ-7 in PLAAF service, has reportedly reached a stage of advanced wind-tunnel testing, with prototype construction expected in August 2010 and a first flight by October 2010.
Previous reporting in Jane's noted the first flight was expected by early 2009, indicating that this programme is lagging by almost two years.
A co-operative programme with Russia's Yakovlev to produce a new piston-engined primary trainer based on the Yak-152K, the CJ-7, was first revealed at the 2007 Beijing Air Show as a successor to the long-serving CJ-6, which was a modified version of the Yak-18 that first flew in 1958.
The most recent report on the CJ-7 anticipated that 300 would be produced for the PLAAF and PLA Naval Air Force (PLANAF).
However, many more may be built given that CJ-6 production exceeded 3,000. Both aircraft are tandem-seat trainers with tricycle landing gear and are roughly the same size, with the CJ-6 having a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 1,400 kg and the CJ-7 having a 1,390 kg MTOW.
In early March Chinese state media reported that the PLAAF was extending its search for pilot candidates to high schools to meet an expected demand for 1,100 candidate pilots in 2010. High-school students will eventually practise on gliders and paragliders at nearby flying clubs, many of which are struggling financially.
While it is reasonable to expect that CJ-7s will eventually replace CJ-6s at many of China's flying clubs, there may be a less expensive option in the US-made Cessna C-162 Skycatcher, which is now produced by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) in component form for assembly in the US and produced in full for the Chinese market. Shenyang also produces versions of the J-11 fighter for the PLAAF.
Developed by Cessna to succeed its C-150/152 trainer, the C-162 also qualifies for the new US 'Light Sport' civil aircraft type. At the November 2009 Dubai Air Show the Aviation Industries Corporation of China (AVIC) was actively marketing the C-162 in its sales brochures along with Chinese military aircraft. At the show an AVIC official told Jane's that the C-162 could be produced to fulfil Chinese military training requirements.
In late April Chinese state media also indicated that the PLANAF is preparing to purchase the Guizhou JL-9 Plateau Eagle supersonic trainer. This single turbojet-powered trainer combines the rear section of the old Guizhou JJ-7 with a redesigned front fuselage based on the Chengdu FC-1, incorporating a modern digital cockpit. The JL-9 can be expected to support lead-in training for the modern fourth-generation fighters entering the PLANAF, but it is not yet known if the JL-9 or the Hongdu L-15 will be developed to support future PLAN aircraft carrier training requirements.
