At long last: Japan builds new planes of its own

[Tsuru]

...well, sort of.

Kawasaki re-engined their C-1, and made a new (?) naval reconnaissance aircraft with similar specs to the re-engined KC-135 by the looks of it.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/06/01/214351/pictures-japan-unveils-new-military-aircraft-pair.html


This "P-X" or naval patrol aircraft will be another black hole on the defense budget I'm afraid, as it has no apparent advantages over other, western solutions, even the British BAe Nimrod MRA4. It has four jet engines, narrow fuselage, and I think they made a complete hash of it if they really intend to sell this hog to airlines, even for cargo. What's wrong with turboprops for loitering? The west stopped making aircraft like this in the 1980s (Douglas DC-8-72).


Now this, my friends, can be interesting. The more perceptive of you will realize that the C-X looks eerily similar to the Ukranian Antonov 74-300, except for the fact that this baby is slightly bigger. If the engines are up to the job, the airframe doesn't weigh too much, the pricetag is not completely ridiculous and it can prove to be reliable it could be quite interesting for other airforces as a transport/paratroop alternative to the expensive C-17, C-130J or A-400M. Compared to its Ukranian sister, this plane will have the advantage of being Western-built and having a good maintenance support network through KHI.

Yours truly eagerly awaits performance specs and footage of the first flight for both of them.

[Tsuru]

Mo'betta:





C-X













P-X











I have to admit I had seen the models and the leaflets before at Farnborough, but never for one second did it occur to me that they were actually going to follow through on them. How silly do I feel

[Captain Japan]

Japan to subsidize new Mitsubishi jet
UPI

TOKYO, June 2 (UPI) -- The Japanese government plans to give Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. nearly $3.3 billion to develop and promote a passenger jetliner.

The Mitsubishi Regional Jet is scheduled to be put into service in 2012, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Saturday.

The MRJ, with a capacity of 70 to 90 seats, will be the first Japanese-produced passenger aircraft since the YS-11 small turboprop airliner, which was discontinued in 1973, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry of Japan said in announcing the subsidy.

The Ministry will provide the subsidies from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2011.

[emperor]

We should just have giant zeppelin airships traversing continents and countries and people could bail out when they get close to their destination and glide it in home

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/stunts/Jetman/

http://www.jet-man.com/prod/index.html

[American Oyaji]

Umm. Japan has already started...

https://hondajet.honda.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

[Doctor Stop]

The Japanese government plans to give Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. nearly $3.3 billion to develop and promote a passenger jetliner.

Mitsubishi? I wonder how long it will be until they have to go into coverup mode when the landing gear starts falling off.

[Tsuru]

Umm. Japan has already started...

https://hondajet.honda.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

Which is about as Japanese as sushi pizza. It was paid for, designed and built by Honda USA, only the engines are Japanese. And then maybe.

[Captain Japan]

And then maybe.

What do you suspect?

[Tsuru]

What do you suspect?

That the research that went into the engine development is American as well. I'm more impressed with the C-X and it's big high bypass turbofans.

[Takechanpoo]

creepy mecha nerd

[Tsuru]

Yeah, it's called spending six years in college to become an aerospace engineer.

Be thankful there's something unusual I like about Japan. In the summer of 2005 I walked 10km in the 37-degree heat from some JR-station in the inaka just so I could visit the Gifu Aerospace museum and its centerpiece, the Kawasaki ASUKA STOL aircraft based on the C-1A to carefully observe its intricate aerodynamic design and control systems.



When I'm in Tokyo next month I will see if I can visit the Yushukan at Yasukuni jinja to have a look at their original Zero.

[Mulboyne]

Forbes: Land Of A Rising Aviation Industry

Many engineers and executives in Japan Inc. have long dreamed of bringing the country back into the skies. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will take a step toward that goal next week when it unveils a mockup of the cabin of its planned MRJ passenger jet at the Paris Air Show next week. The Japanese industrial giant is seeking to get a sense of whether there is sufficient interest for its 70- to 90-passenger regional jet, which it has been developing since 2003...more...

[Mike Oxlong]

...In the summer of 2005 I walked 10km in the 37-degree heat from some JR-station in the inaka just so I could visit the Gifu Aerospace museum and its centerpiece, the Kawasaki ASUKA STOL aircraft based on the C-1A to carefully observe its intricate aerodynamic design and control systems.
...

岐阜は盆地だからな。各務原市面白いだな。

[Tsuru]

[Greji]

Yeah, it's called spending six years in college to become an aerospace engineer.

Be thankful there's something unusual I like about Japan. In the summer of 2005 I walked 10km in the 37-degree heat from some JR-station in the inaka just so I could visit the Gifu Aerospace museum and its centerpiece, the Kawasaki ASUKA STOL aircraft based on the C-1A to carefully observe its intricate aerodynamic design and control systems.



When I'm in Tokyo next month I will see if I can visit the Yushukan at Yasukuni jinja to have a look at their original Zero.

Remind me of that while you here Tsuru and I can get your over there quite easy. Of course, you engineers may need a real airdale to explain where the prop is!

[Mulboyne]

Aviation Week: Mitsubishi Leads Japanese Aircraft Resurgence

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is Japan's largest aerospace manufacturer and a premier collaborator with Boeing, Bombardier, Lockheed Martin and others on fighters, business, regional and commercial jets. But it hasn't built a commercial airplane of its own for more than three decades and its last attempt, a turboprop, was an economic disaster.

Now the company is poised to put itself - and Japan - back in the business of designing and building commercial aircraft. The board of directors has granted its aerospace business unit authority to offer the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) to airlines. By about Apr. 1, the start of fiscal 2008 in Japan, a formal launch decision is expected, says Senior Vice President Nobuo Toda, a member of the board and director of the MRJ project.

The Japanese government is expected to foot a substantial portion of the estimated $1.9-billion development cost, although Toda says the specific contribution is still being negotiated. Early this month Toyota Motor Corp. confirmed that it was considering a substantial investment in the project, and a Mitsubishi official says the company is in talks with several other potential Japanese investors...more...

[Mock Cockpit]

So the planes are coming. I suppose it's too much to hope that real Japanese budget airline will emerge in the near future.

[Greji]

So the planes are coming. I suppose it's too much to hope that real Japanese budget airline will emerge in the near future.

There is currently no such phrase in the Japanese languate of "Japanese budget __________(anything)".

[kurohinge1]

[SIZE="4"]Japan's passenger jet project cleared for take-off[/SIZE]

Japan on Friday launched a project to build its first ever passenger jet, a next-generation regional airliner that aims to meet growing demand for fuel efficient planes.

The state-backed Mitsubishi Regional Jet is expected to take to the skies in 2013, carrying Japan's hopes of developing a full-fledged civil aviation industry with it.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) [Edit: the same crew that brought you the fiery F2 flop] said it had decided to go ahead with the commercial development of the plane after landing its first order from All Nippon Airways for up to 25 aircraft.

. . . Japan has in the past developed a turboprop plane, the YS-11, which was the only Japanese airliner built since World War II. It made its debut flight in 1962 but has limited success with production ending in 1974.

. . .
Japan also has a dream of developing a supersonic airliner to replace Concorde. It successfully tested a scale model in 2005 with the aid of a rocket, three years after a first attempt ended in a fiery crash in the Australian desert . . . more

[Tsuru]

And they work!

Well, at least the maritime patrol plane with indigenous engines does... the other is still bogged down with fatigue problems. Check it out:

[yt]_liOeEPdjW0[/yt]

I really hope the C-X transport plane ends up being worthy of competing with our A400M... after all it would be its only direct competitor.

[Charles]

And they work!

Well, at least the maritime patrol plane with indigenous engines does... the other is still bogged down with fatigue problems..

That doesn't bode well for a high-duty patrol aircraft. This looks like a replacement for the P-3 Orion, which has been in service for 30 years.

[Tsuru]

I'm not talking about the same plane, and what I mean is that they have to make modifications on the productions models which require more time in engineering and testing, and a solution will likely add more weight (fatigue cracks are a sign of underdimensioning, and you have to add more material to the same bits to fix it if the geometry of said structure stays the same). So what they'll probably do is mill slightly less material out of the critical places in the hope this solves their headache. It is also very difficult and time-consuming to change shit like this on a finished airplane so they will have to build themselves a completely new airframe with these modifications in place before they know with 100% certainty if what they designed works.

That's not to say the first production models of the Electra on which the P-3 is based didn't have their own little foibles regarding engine-to-wing resonance and whole wings snapping off in mid-air... google "whirl mode" if you will.

[Tsuru]

Small kick: the utility transport type of the two Kawasaki projects is also flying now: The XC-2, formerly C-X made its first flight today, powered by two GE CF6 engines which put it in 767-territory weight and size-wise.



No other news apart from the fact that the JSDAF is buying 60 of these machines and that the first flight took around one hour. This is a little short: the 787's first flight lasted 3 hours (and even that was reported as being cut short by weather) and the European A400M transport aircraft, which is roughly similar to the XC-2 had a 4,5 hour first sortie recently.

Thoughts?

[FG Lurker]

Thoughts?

That's a seriously ugly plane. Was it designed by Toyota or something!?

[wuchan]

it seems like a mix of other military and civilian planes. Nothing original...




Japan can't make their own engines? Wait..... we don't want "the gas pedal getting stuck", do we?

[Tsuru]

That's a seriously ugly plane. Was it designed by Toyota or something!?

I did see a version of this up close, and I must say I like it. Very utilitarian.

[Greji]

I did see a version of this up close, and I must say I like it. Very utilitarian.

It doesn't look much different than the old model Tsuru. What's it got new?

[Tsuru]

It doesn't look much different than the old model Tsuru. What's it got new?

Well, it's quite a bit fatter and bigger than the old C-1, it's almost like they made a 767 out of a DC-9. From the numbers I would say this is a seriously overpowered beast. The closest thing to compare it with in the civilian world is a 767, which as it is an ETOPS bird it's no slouch to begin with. It is about the same size and has the same max thrust, but it's quite a bit lighter (60T empty for the XC-2 vs. 86T empty for the 767-300 freighter). It also carries a bit less, 37.6T payload for the XC-2 and 54T for the 767. The main difference is of course that the XC-2 can do this everywhere off anything and does not require loading equipment, and the 767 needs a nice clean, paved surface and loading lift.

It's not quite big enough to roll on your Abrams or Challenger MBT's (you still need a C-5, C-17 or AN-124 for that) but it's a capable plane for pretty much everything else. It sits in the same niche as the A400M, right between the C-17 and the C-130. The A400M probably has it beat on very short strips though, as having four big props always beats having two underslung jets because of the lift bonus.

[Tsuru]

Schweet video:

[yt]iL6MS-KZPrA[/yt]

[Greji]

Thanks. Nice update...

The A400M probably has it beat on very short strips though, as having four big props always beats having two underslung jets because of the lift bonus.

You wouldn't give it STOL capabilities?