China’s first around-the-world aircraft donated to museum

Chinese explorer Zhan Xinyu and his wife Liang Hong pose in front of Chaojibai with a donation certificate granted by the China Aviation Museum. [Photo/MY399.COM]

China's homegrown Y-12 versatile aircraft, nicknamed “Chaojibai,” was collected by the China Aviation Museum on July 23.

The 32-year-old twin-engine turboprop aircraft was donated by China’s explorer Zhan Xinyu and his wife Liang Hong, who flew the aircraft finishing a 60,000-kilometer aerial trip around the world over a 146-day period starting on the Chinese Spring Festival of 2017.

Chaojibai flew back to Harbin on June 28, 2017 after stopping at 45 stations in more than 23 countries, making it the first made-in-China aircraft to finish a round-the-world trip.

In addition to its round-the-world  experience, Chaojibai also has profound collection value for its earlier service experience in a tough scientific investigation task in Lop Nor (a desert that used to be a huge lake in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region).  The task included marine monitoring and weather modification operation activities on a  nationwide scale.

The aircraft, being an  early model of a Y12 series aircraft, was manufactured and delivered in 1985 by Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the State-owned China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC).

The Y-12 aircraft received certificates from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Federal Aviation Administration of the United States in 1985 and 1995, respectively.

As a versatile plane model, the Y-12 can conduct multiple missions, such as passenger and cargo transportation, marine monitoring and medical rescue, the AVIC said.

Y-12E, its remodeled type, has become the main aircraft conducting versatile tasks in China as well as the main homegrown aircraft exported to overseas markets.