China Yun-20 aircraft is the first self-developed heavy-duty military jet transport aircraft developed by China's aviation industry since its establishment. The aircraft has a maximum load capacity of more than 60 tons and a maximum range of more than 5,000 kilometers. It can successfully cover the vast territory of China. The aircraft is manufactured by China's Xi'an Aircraft Corporation. The
aircraft adopts the most advanced technology and equipment in China. At present, all parts are made in China except for the engine that needs to be imported. It can be said to be China’s pride. This aircraft is a difficult process from scratch. In this process, we learned from the design of many foreign advanced aircraft, such as the Russian Il-76 transport aircraft and some of the characteristics of the American C-17 transport aircraft. Everyone knows that the Il-76 was developed by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s. The C-17 is the latest heavy transport aircraft developed by the United States in the 1990s. It’s not a problem for China Yun-20 to surpass the old Il-76. Many friends are most concerned about our Yun-20. How does the technical level compare to the US C-17?
A huge ladder is needed to overhaul the flat tail of a Yun-20 aircraft. This is a huge gap. The American C-17 does not need to be so troublesome.
In terms of performance parameters and technical level, the C-17 has a larger cargo space and carrying weight. China Yun-20 can’t be compared with the American C-17. What’s even more commendable is that the American C-17 has strategic and tactical transportation capabilities due to its advanced inflatable flap design. The aircraft can be transported directly from large airports. Landing on a simple runway that could only land on the C-130 in the past, this function is also not available for the Chinese Yun-20 aircraft.
In the crucial engine technology, China Yun-20 is still far behind. At present, it still uses the backward D-30KP2 turbofan engine. The main weakness of this engine is high fuel consumption and poor reliability. The newer turbofan-20 The engine is still under development, and the thrust is not large, which is 12 tons. The American C-17 engine directly uses the advanced PW2040 with a maximum thrust of 19 tons. This is also an important factor for China's -20 lagging behind.
In terms of maintenance support design, the C-17 is still far ahead of China's Yun-20
. In terms of details, the C-17 transport aircraft is more ahead. For example, in terms of maintenance support, the China Yun-20 aircraft overhauls the towering vertical and flat tails. It is necessary to prepare a huge lift separately in the field, while the American C-17 does not need it. They adopted a more ingenious design. They designed a unique entrance on the rear edge of the aircraft cargo compartment. The entrance was designed with a convenient passage. The passage was set in The inside of the vertical tail is at the front position, the size is 76CMX61CM. Along the escalator, you can climb the maintenance cover on the top of the vertical tail, and then climb to the top of the vertical tail for work, which is very convenient for maintenance. This design of
directly cancels the large telescopic ladder in the field. It saves a lot of trouble for the maintenance team. This is a huge improvement. This is not all. As an aircraft that can be conveniently and flexibly used at the frontline simple airport It is only one aspect to cancel the large telescopic ladder that is not commonly used. The design requirements of the aircraft include almost all aspects. Any system design of the aircraft is required to be as simple as possible and easy to maintain. The specific manifestation is that all the parts that can be replaced in the field are It can be replaced during use without the need to return the whole machine to the factory. What's more, all the replaceable parts in the field do not need to move or disassemble any equipment of the aircraft during replacement and maintenance.
In 2014, the C-17 transport aircraft participated in the Zhuhai Air Show, which also gave us the first experience of this advanced aircraft
. In addition, the design of the aircraft also has unique tricks in cargo transportation, such as special aircraft. The supporting equipment protects the aircraft during loading. No other equipment is required for field maintenance, and the aircraft can be supported for maintenance and tire replacement. The main landing gear is mechanically freely lowered, which reduces the complexity of the motor and hydraulic system. The landing gear door is directly connected to the landing gear, eliminating the need for a separate door retracting hydraulic mechanism and retracting procedures.
From the perspective of military transport aircraft technology, the China Yun-20 and the former Soviet Union Il-76 are basically at the same generation level. The only leading part is mainly advanced materials and equipment brought by the progress of the times. It is still far from the American C-17 aircraft. For a whole generation, the gap is huge and difficult to make up in a short time. All these gaps are not only the load capacity of the aircraft, the engine thrust, but also the ubiquitous use of dimensionCare experience, which is also an important aspect that Chinese designers still need to work on.
The next generation of Chinese military transport aircraft will likely target the C-17 and surpass it.
