Y-10 civil passenger jet - Testing
Only two of the Y-10s were built. The Y-10 made it's first flight in 1980 but the only flyable Y-10 made 130 flights before being retired in 1983. Another airframe was used for static testing. The first flight of the Y-10 took place on September 26, 1980, which was flown by flight test captain Wang Jinda and his air crew. To test the adaptability to different air routes and airports a Y-10 made ferry flights to a number of airports in the country. Among them were the airports in Beijing, Hefei, Harbin, Urumqi, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu, Lhasa, etc.
A total of 121 flights and 167 flying hours were accumulated. The longest non—stop flight distance was 3,600 km, the longest endurance 4 hours and 49 minutes and the highest airport 3,540 m above the sea level. On January 31, 1984 A Y-10 successfully flew to Lhasa from Chengdu for its first time. It was the first airplane which was made in China and flew over the roof of the world and it also proved the Y-10's adaptability to fly in complicated climate over the plateau.
In order to scientifically demonstrate the "Yun-10", in June 1981, the Third Ministry of Machine Building and Shanghai invited 55 experts in aviation, metallurgy, chemical industry and the economic sector, including veteran aviation experts such as Fan Xuji, Wu Zhonghua, and Wang Junkui, to jointly hold the "Yun-10 Aircraft Demonstration Meeting" and conduct an inspection. The delegates agreed that the "Yun-10" aircraft has a good foundation, and various types of civil aircraft can be developed based on it in the future.
The Y-10 aircraft had a total of 130 test flights and 170 flight hours from its first test flight in September 1980 to its grounding in February 1985. Its maximum range was 3,600 kilometers, its maximum speed was 930 kilometers per hour, its maximum flight ceiling was 11,000 meters, and its longest flight time was 4 hours and 49 minutes. No problems occurred.
The Y-10 had flown almost all over China, including Beijing, Hefei, Harbin, Urumqi, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu... all of which have left their glorious flight path. On December 8, 1981, the Y-10 aircraft flew from Shanghai to Beijing Nanyuan Airport for a reporting flight. The crew conducted a second flight in Beijing. The reporting flight was very exciting and received unanimous praise from the leaders of the Air Force, Navy, the Third Ministry of Machine Building and the general public in the capital. Everyone highly praised the Y-10 aircraft in unison. More than 4,400 people from all walks of life in the capital lined up to board the plane for a visit.
In December 1983, Tibet suffered from natural disasters and needed to transport a large amount of supplies. The State Economic Commission required the Y-10 aircraft, which was in the test flight state, to carry out the task of transporting goods to Lhasa. From March 9 to 16, 1984, the Y-10 test flight crew took great risks and transported urgently needed items for the Tibetan compatriots stationed in Tibet seven times.
The most spectacular test flight of the Y-10 was from Chengdu to Lhasa, Tibet. It was not once but seven times, and they were all carrying heavy loads for disaster relief. After the Republic opened up the air route to Tibet, due to the limitation of the aircraft's flying altitude, none of the flights were truly "flying over", but rather "crossing" among the many peaks of the roof of the world. Only the Y-10 achieved a true flyover.
As the airport did not have the corresponding refueling and charging equipment, the plane arrived at Gonggar Airport in the morning without shutting down the engine. After unloading, it immediately left Gonggar Airport in the afternoon and returned to Chengdu Shuangliu Airport. During the 7 cargo flights to Lhasa, no malfunctions or accidents occurred, and the mission was completed very smoothly.
The Y-10 aircraft was the first aircraft in the world to carry cargo to Lhasa during the test flight phase, and it withstood the test. At that time, the staff at Chengdu Airport were all surprised and asked, "Are you testing the flight or on duty?" They exclaimed, "This doesn't look like a test flight, it flies more frequently than we do!" When the civil aviation pilots at Chengdu Airport boarded the plane to take a look, they were both proud and moved. They said, "Such a good thing, why don't we use it to fly?"
In October 1983, due to the inability to implement the more than 30 million yuan of funds needed for continued development, the "Yun-10" project was shelved, and the road to independent research and development was frustrated. Due to the constant changes in the requirements of superiors, the immaturity of its performance and supporting technologies, and many other reasons, the 708 project was forced to be shelved.
