Doesn’t that misty vortex generated by the JF-17’s LERX look beautiful?! 1 picture is better than 1000 words, sometimes, 1000 your official links. ;).The vortex is the best demo of the strength of the CAC’s aerodynamic design. The JF-17 is going to be a low cost but very agile fighter. 😎

JF-17 TP06 successfully takes its maiden flight 😎

I say, no one does better than Internet about speculation on Chinese military information, here’s the original image done by a Chinese forumer who is famous for his CG work and he left his signature just in the left or right bottom corner as well. 😉

Interesting. Was counting the nozzle petals on that thing.

That could be difficult thanks to o other than the purposely blurring of the original photo. Here comes a clear one: the J10 prototype with the AL31FN Engine. 😉

However, it’s unreasonable to believe that China doesn’t test the WS10 engine in J10 as well, specially the new engine so far runs smoothly in J11 testbed. Actually some reliable source has already claimed the WS10 engine had been installed in at least 1 J10 fighter. Don’t say doesn’t mean don’t do, especially, PLA usually keeps its happened development event secret for at least 1-2 years before it makes a declaration, provide if there’s a declaration. 😀

I just can’t help posting this pic, it’s cool, isn’t it? :p

China will manufacture & export turbine blades for Snecma’s CFM56 from a new facility

Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-26 10:45

China will manufacture turbine blades for top civil aircraft in a joint venture with a top French company.

Snecma, the biggest subsidiary of France-based Safran Group, a Fortune 500 company, signed an investment contract with Guizhou-based Xinyi Machinery Factory under China Aviation Industry Corporation (CAIC) on Friday to form a turbine blade joint venture.
The first phase of the project involves an investment of 15 million U.S. dollar which will be used to build a blade production line for CFM56 engines, the most widely used aero engine in the world.

“The joint venture represents a high-level cooperation between the two companies,” said Yang Rui, deputy director of the Engine Sector of CAIC.

Yang believed that the new venture will bring advanced knowledge in technology, business and management.

“We have enjoyed good cooperation with Xinyi in the past ten years and we see the cooperation in a long-term way,” said Marc Ventre, CEO of Snecma.

Safran’s presence in China began as early as the 1930s when the company sold engines to the Chinese army. In the 1970s, the company began to provide CFM56 engines for Chinese civil airlines. More than 1,000 CFM56 engines on the Chinese mainland market come from the French company.

Snecma has established cooperative ties with eight Chinese aviation companies, employing more than 2,000 local staff.

A K-8 costs 20M USD? I think some kind of mistake here…

More sales of the Y-12.

http://english.people.com.cn/200608/01/eng20060801_288618.html

Harbin Aviation Industry (Group) Ltd. (HAI) is actually quite successful in marketing Y12, by 2005, it already has already exported 100 over Y12 worldwide, mainly 3rd world of course. But who knows, one day the Chinese plane will be sold as popular as DVD players, TVs, PCs, MP3 s in today. 😀

There are new markets for Xinzhou-60 as well, Now XAC can count Laos and the Republic of Congo as its new customers:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-07/31/content_4901425.htm?rss=1

HARBIN, July 31 (Xinhua) — Three China-made light aircrafts from a manufacturer in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province were delivered to Zambia’s Defense Ministry on Monday.

The 19-seat Y12 series planes are twin-engine, general-purpose monoplanes designed and developed by the Harbin Aviation Industry (Group) Ltd. (HAI), based in the provincial capital Harbin.

The aircraft would be mainly used for troop transport and emergency rescue operations, said Chilufya Kapwepwe, counselor at Zambia’s embassy to China.

Zambia bought five of the Y12 series in the deal. The other two will be delivered in November.

By the end of 2005, HAI had sold more than 100 such aircraft to 20 countries and regions, such as Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Tanzania and Namibia.

China’s home-made aircraft are gaining popularity abroad, especially in developing countries.

Last Friday, China delivered two domestically manufactured Xinzhou-60 passenger planes developed by the Xi’an Aircraft Company, to Laos and the Republic of Congo, the first such sales to the two countries. Enditem