Posted on 10/30/2015 4:17:03 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
BEIJING: Modernising its airforce at a rapid pace, China has introduced a third-generation supersonic trainer aircraft to its military flight schools to shorten pilots' training time and prepare them for advanced fighter jets.
People's Liberation Army Air Force Aviation University deployed an undisclosed number of JL-9 Mountain Eagle two-seater trainer jets this month and has started to use them to train students, PLA Air Force's Daily, the official organ of the Chinese military, reported.
The aircraft has been developed and manufactured by Guizhou Aviation Industry Group, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp of China.
It has a maximum speed of 1,837 kilometres per hour, a maximum range of 2,400 km and maximum takeoff weight of 9.8 metric tons.
PLA Daily quoted Liu Yuequan, a senior instructor at the university, as saying that the JL-9 can train pilots for both second-and third-generation fighter aircraft.
It can also perform some combat operations, Liu said. The PLA airforce is rapidly modernising with variety of aircraft including the stealth fighter even though China still depended mostly on Russia for the aircraft engines.
Fu Qianshao, an aviation equipment expert with the PLA Air Force, told state-run China Daily yesterday, "In the past, the PLA Air Force lacked an advanced trainer aircraft, soit had to adopt the second-generation JJ-7 trainer jet to conduct advanced training for students."
The JJ-7 was developed based on the five-decade-old J-7 fighter jet, so it is suitable for training second-generation aircraft pilots, Mr Fu said.
"However, a large proportion of our new pilots will operate third-generation J-10s, J-11s and JH-7s as soon as they join combat units. An advanced trainer aircraft was needed badly to connect flight students with our top fighter jets," he said.
Introduction of the JL-9 will enable the air force to shorten the time required for flight students' advanced training and familiarise them with the third-generation aircraft they may fly after graduation, Mr Fu added.
Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the JL-9 is much better than the JJ-7 in terms of control, manoeuvrability and takeoff and landing capabilities.
"Two of the most difficult things that flight students have to deal with on the antiquated JJ-7 are take offs and landings," he said.
"These take a lot of time to learn and practice but ultimately prove to be useless because the third-generation aircraft they will fly have different takeoff and landing procedures," Wang said.
"Using the JL-9 will help them to save a great deal of time in adapting to real fighter jets when they start flying them," he said.
Looks like a cut and paste of a half dozen different airplanes.
No, no , no, get into the yerrow plane, the yerrow one! :-)
That thing flies?
If it’s anything like the russian equipment the planes themselves will kill a fair amount of trainees. The concept of “safety margin” is somewhat foreign to both the Russians and Chinese.
CC
Lawn Dart 2.0
Must be hell to land with such tiny wings configured in that manner.
Looks like a McDonnell Douglas TA-4F/J or OA-4M.
“Must be hell to land with such tiny wings configured in that manner.”
Maybe that’s the idea. If you can make it through training, then you must be pretty damn good.
Sukhoi-30mki,
Thanks for your consistently good aviation posts. It’s interesting and unnerving, however, that the later posters in the threads you start often turn them into ones that make fun of the Chinese or Russians.
This plane is interesting. The landing gear is extremely widely set for easy and stable landings. There is a “bump” near the intake that must be for smoothing airflow at certain speeds or angle of attack. There are other features of it that look like they are taken straight off an F-16.
I personally think we make a big mistake taking the Reds lightly. Many of the comments in these threads sound like comments made in 1940 about the Japs and their silly little Zero fighters and torpedo bombers. Jap pilots all wore thick glasses and couldn’t see on top of everything else. My son flies for the USA. Let me tell you, he is NOT amused by recent developments in China. If he was in the Middle East, he would be watching the surprising capabilities of the Russians with concern. Talking heads have have been quick to point out the problems the Russians have experienced. Wiser heads have been impressed that they have had so few while making a huge impact on the situation on the ground.
Those are just my opinions. Thanks again for the consistently interesting aviation posts.
Oldplayer
Thanks for the compliments!
The JL-9 is considered to be a derivative of the JJ-7 (the trainer derivative of China’s Mig-21 clones). So, it’s a souped version of what is a nearly 60-year-old base design. That itself seems impressive and pragmatic in itself.
60-years old and still going. We have a few of those designs, too . . . and they are still effective. Start with a good design and the plane will be good for a long time. Start poorly, and you can never get it right (I guess within a few years we will know which camp the F-35 will be in).
Thanks again. (See, even in your short response, you added interesting information. Now I have to go Google “JJ-7” LOL!)
Oldplayer
Yep. The empennage looks like it came off a MiG-21, the wings remind me of an F-5....
Indeed. I thought that it all looked jolly familiar. Basic, rugged airframe so the newbies are not likely to prang it too badly.
Nose and canopy off an F4, vert stab off an f16, and I can’t place the air intakes. Maybe off one of the Britt planes.
They’re training their pilots to land “hot”. Those who can handle high speed landings will succeed. Those who can’t “wash out” early, and don’t waste yuan on more training, only to wash out later. It’s hard on planes, though./S.
Their spy, who stole our blueprints got the prints for several planes shuffled together, and the chingchangs never figured it out. I wish the F-14 Tomcat’s V-tail print had been mixed in yet.
LOL!!!
But it works. The Korean offering looks similar and it works. Our T-38 works but it is ancient. We just keep falling behind. You may not have seen my post of a few days back. You usually comment reputably on these things.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3352388/posts?page=50#50
And the T-38 is?
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