AVIC Tiltrotor Spotted, Specs Under Wraps
What We Know, What We Think We Know, What We Don’t Know
那晚雷电交加，运12和直9喝醉了，然后………
That night, thunder and lightning raged, Y-12 and Z-9 got drunk, and then…."
So begins a tongue-in-cheek description by a Chinese netizen of AVIC's new tiltrotor aircraft. While clearly not the lovechild of a boozy romance, the crewed technology demonstrator has certainly gotten tongues wagging.
Unfortunately, aside from a few photos, speculation, and the obvious, no additional details have been released. However, the flight coincides with several developments.
Lets get into it.
What We Know, What We Think We Know, What We Don’t Know
What we know — First, it’s worth mentioning that this aircraft would have gone through earlier development and testing, yet no images leaked during any of these stages.
Kudos to the team on that one.
Second, with information scarce, Chinese media have been quick to report on how American outlets are covering the aircraft.
Third, with information scarce, renewed American focus is on the United Aircraft Group’s Lan Ying R6000.
The R6000 was featured at the Paris Air Show; prior to the event, I spoke with the UAS manufacturer for Aviation Week.
Since August 17, two images of a new tiltrotor aircraft in flight tests have appeared on Chinese social media.
Analysis of the photos by eagle-eyed netizens indicates that the flight took place at the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group airport, known as Pingfang Airport.
The facility is located within the Harbin Aviation Manufacturing industrial complex in Harbin’s Pingfang District, Heilongjiang Province. It is used primarily for test flights, delivery flights, and other aviation manufacturing-related activities, rather than for commercial passenger operations.
Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG), also referred to as AVIC Harbin, operates under AVIC Helicopter Co., Ltd.
Based on available photos, other observations have already been noted in the media, including—
Similar to the Bell MV-75, formerly designated V-280 Valor, the Chinese tiltrotor rotates only its rotors and gearboxes, with turboshaft engines housed in nacelles at the wingtips.
Each rotatable pod features a proprotor that can be adjusted to different angles for various flight modes.
The aircraft has a high-wing, T-tail configuration, and features a rudder (the AW609 uses its proprotors to manage yaw).
Look closely, and you can see a door providing access to the flight deck, while another door appears suitable for loading and unloading the cabin.
Its rear section is similar to the V-22’s ramp door, which allows vehicles to drive directly into the cargo area.
At the 2022 Zhuhai Airshow, AVIC unveiled a model designated simply as “Tiltrotor Aircraft,” but released little information about its specs or development status.
According to China Central Television’s military channel, a model of the aircraft was displayed at AVIC’s booth during AERO Asia 2023 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, where it was labeled for civilian use.
Having gone down the Chinese social media rabbit hole —-