REDSTAR  AVIATION

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH M-14P INCORPORATED

NANCHANG CJ-6

Height: 3.3m (10 ft 8 in)

Empty Weight: 1,095 kg (2,414 lb)

Maximum Take-off Weight: 1,400 kg (3,086 lb)

Powerplant: 1x Zhouzhau (SMPMC) HS6A radial engine, 213 kW (285 hp)

Performance

Maximum Speed: 300 km/h (160 kn, 185 mph)

Range: 700 km (372nm, 425 mi)

Service Ceiling: 17,000 ft

Design and Development

 A common, but erroneous, belief is that the CJ-6 is a Chinese version of the Yakovlev Yak-18A. It’s 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.

 During late 1957 Aeronautical Engineers Bushi Cheng 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. Wind tunnel validated the design and in May 1958 the program was transferred to the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing factory where Chief Engineer Goa Zhenneing 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 locally manufactued 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 for PLAAF training, as well as foreign exports to countries including Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, North Korea, Tanzania and Sri Lanka.