Harbin Z-6
| Harbin Z-6 | |
|---|---|
 Harbin Z-6 in the Chinese Aviation Museum , Beijing |
|
| Type: | helicopter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
15th December 1969 |
| Number of pieces: |
11 |
The Harbin Z-6 , (Z- Zhishengji = vertical take-off aircraft ), is a helicopter developed in China based on the Harbin Z-5 , which is itself a licensed product or a copy of the Mil Mi-4 . Production ended after it was discovered that the Z-6's performance was inferior to its predecessor, the Z-5. Therefore only 11 of the 100 originally planned were built.
history
The licensed production of the Mil Mi-4 under the name Z-5 gave the Chinese valuable knowledge and experience in the development and construction of helicopters. The Z-6 is a turbo shaft-powered modification of the piston engine-powered Z-5, the Z-6 is the first Chinese helicopter with jet propulsion. The main difference is that the piston engine was replaced with a Dongan WZ-5 jet engine that was mounted above the cabin in front of the main gearbox.
Development began in 1966 at Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMC), two years later further development was relocated to the newly founded Chinese Helicopter Design Research Institute (CHDRI). HAMC continued to be responsible for the manufacture and assembly of components. The first prototype (No. 6001) was completed in 1967 and used for static tests. He received regulatory approval a year later. On December 15, 1969, the first flight of the second Z-6 prototype (No. 6002) took place; it was flown by Wang Peimin (王培民). The flight tests continued while the components for the assembly line of the Hongzhuang Machinery Factory in Changzhou were being built in various provinces . Flight tests showed excessive vibrations, insufficient tail rotor thrust and overheating of the engine and main rotor gearbox. These teething troubles were addressed during the development program; however, approval was granted in 1977. Despite the crash of one of the prototypes on August 7, 1972 at Princess Ridge ( Gongzhuling , 公主岭) in Jilin Province, all six people including the pilot Fu Guifa (傅贵 法) were killed. The cause of the accident was the failure of a transmission component, which resulted in the engine blocking. In eliminating the problem, eleven design changes were made and the deficiencies identified during the flight tests were corrected.
Fear of an attack by the Soviet Union after the Sino-Soviet rift led to the relocation of production and development to the Changzhou Aircraft Factory and Changhe Aircraft Industries in 1970. However, the political unrest in China, mainly the Cultural Revolution , put a great strain on production. Only eleven Z-6s were built before the program was canceled because the single-engine design was rated as unsafe and underperforming. The Z-6 is basically a Harbin Z-5 , the piston engine of which has been replaced by a turbine and which has received a new fuselage nose with a new cockpit, while the airframe, landing gear, etc. remained the same. This in contrast to the W-8 operated with a turbine, which no longer had much in common with the Mil Mi-4 and which was further developed into the Mil Mi-8 equipped with two turbines .
Technical data (Z-6)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 3 |
| capacity | 12 soldiers or 1200 kg |
| length | 20.962 m with main and tail rotor |
| height | 5,593 m |
| Main rotor diameter | 21 m |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 7600 kg |
| Engine | 1 × Dongan WZ-5 jet engine, 2,200 PS (1,618 kW) |
| Top speed | 192 km / h |
| Range | 651 km |
See also
literature
- Jefim Gordon , Dmitri Komissarow: Chinese Aircraft. Hikoki Publications, Manchester 2008, ISBN 978-1-902109-04-6 , p. 267.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Jefim Gordon , Dmitri Komissarow: Chinese Aircraft. Hikoki Publications, Manchester 2008, ISBN 978-1-902109-04-6 , p. 267.