The first prototype of the Shanghai Y-10 took the skies for the first time on this day in 1980. The Shanghai Y-10 or Yun-10 was a four-engined narrow-body aircraft developed in the '70s of the previous century.
Drawing of the Y-10 from http://shipbucket.com/
The resemblance with the Boeing 707 is undeniable, and the reason for this similarity lies in the fact that the designers used a Boeing 707-320C as a reference. ( a crashed PIA Boeing 707 was was used to reverse engineer the Y-10) Although it resembles a Boeing 707 the external dimensions were close to that of the Boeing 720.
As the time approached for the first flight the engines that were part of the design, the WS-8 turbofan engines, were not available. The WS-8 was specially developed for the Y-10, it was a twin-spool turbofan engine, with a thrust of 18.000 lbs (8165 kg). Several engines were built for the test phase. By 1982 8 engines were available for testing, most for static testing. One was used for flight testing and completed 8 successful flights logging 22 hours of flight time. The testing proved the engines met all the design requirements However, the engine never got certified, as the Y-10 program was ended prematurely. Alternative engines were sought and 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D-7 were purchased as spare engines for CAAC's Boeing 707 fleet but installed on the Y-10.
The Y-10 was designed with a cabin layout varying from 178 seats in high density to 149 all economy or 124 in a mixed cabin layout. The cockpit area was used, as the aircraft was designed for a 5 man flight crew:
Pilot
Co-pilot
Flight engineer
Navigator
Radion operator
Y-10 Forward flightdeck Y-10 Overhead panel
Y-10 Navigator panel Y-10 Flightengineer panel
The actual construction of, what would become the Y-10, started in august 1970 under de project code name "708" (was that chosen as a reference to it was referenced to the Boeing 707??) By the time the Y-10 made its first flight the design was nearly 30 years old and questions arose about its practical use. Chinese state airline CAAC already operated a fleet of western aircraft and indicated they wouldn't be purchasing the Y-10. The Y-10 program got cancelled in 1983, officially due to cost and market concerns. Specifications of the Y-10;
Crew: 5
Capacity: - 178 passengers in a high density cabin - 149 passengers in an all-economy cabin - 124 passengers in a mixed class cabin - 16,700 kg (36,817 lb) max payload
Length: 42.93 m (140 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 42.24 m (138 ft 7 in)
Height: 13.42 m (44 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 244.5 m2 (2,632 sq ft)
Empty weight: 58,120 kg (128,133 lb)
MTOW: 102,000 kg (224,872 lb) (Some sources quote 110,227 kg (243,009 lb))
Fuel capacity: 51,000 kg (112,436 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B turbofan engines, 84.7 kN (19,000 lbf) thrust each
Performance
Maximum speed: 974 km/h (605 mph, 526 kn)
Cruise speed: - Maximu 917 km/h (570 mph, 495 kn) - Econ cruise 830–850 km/h (520–530 mph; 450–460 know)
Vref: 250 km/h (160 mph; 130 kn)
Range: - 5,560 km (3,450 mi, 3,000 nmi) maximum payload - 8,000 km (5,000 mi; 4,300 nmi) maximum fuel
Service ceiling: 12,330 m (40,450 ft)
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