From 2009: From China to Wittman Field, Singer Introduces the Nanchang CJ-6A

From 1954 until 1958, the Nanchang Aircraft Factory build the Soviet Yak-18 under license as the CJ-5; however, with increasing advancements in jet pilot training, Chinese engineers quickly realized that improvements to the performance and design would be necessary in order to meet the needs of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

Starting in 1957, two aeronautical engineers, Bushi Cheng and Lin Jiahua, began intensive revisions to the basic Yak-18 in order to develop a better-suited trainer aircraft. Several improvements were made including a retractable undercarriage and a modified Clark airfoil wing redesign featuring prominent dihedral. 

First flight for the approved designed, the CJ-6, took place on August 27th, 1958. 

Through a series of flight tests, however, engineers determined that the current engine, the 145hp M-11ER radial engine, did not provide the necessary power. 

Finally, in 1965, a final engine was selected; the upgraded aircraft, powered by the 285hp Quzhou Huosai HS6A, was deemed CJ-6A.  More than 1,800 CJ-6As were produced, many of them for export to such nations as Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Aaron Singer is a member of the RedStar Pilots Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of both the history and safe operation of aircraft originating in current and former communist nations. 

The organization travels the country with several precision warbird mass formation display teams with such aircraft as the Nanchang CJ-6, Yak 52/50, and L-39/29 Jets. 

All participating pilots must be trained and evaluated to meet the standards of the RedStar Pilots Association, a committed member of the National FAA Formation and Safety Team (FAAST).

FMI: www.flyredstar.org/index.php, www.warbirdalley.com/cj6.htm, http://missingman.scitechsys.com/, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews