Canon 40D // Tokina 12-24mm F4.0

The first row of airplanes as you enter the huge aviation museum contains the airplanes used by Chairman Mao.

At the Civil Aviation museum in Beijing there is also a ramp with 3 military Propliners. Two Li2 and a C-46, all without a serial number. This Li2 is believed to be 3018 of the Chinese Air Force.

It looks like an afterburner, but the flame is just some oil from the pipe that generates coloured smoke during the display.

Pictured shortly after arrival at Datangshan.

Del 25 Feb 1951

Little information given, but a military camp in northern China seems a good guess as to the location. The Z-5 is the Mil Mi-4 as built in China. Photo from: National Archives at College Park, Maryland

A two seat development of the Shenyang J-5. Displayed since 2013.

Y-20's are still a rare sight but become frequent visitors to Europe it seems. Six were seen in Serbia in April 2022 while one participated in the AirPower'22 in Zeltweg. This airframe brought some 40 chinese soldiers to participe in a championship of mountain warfare experts called "Edelweiss Raid", taking place in Tirol annualy. It is seen here departing on Innbruck's RWY26 heading back empty to Urumqi in North-Western China via Tekirdag (Turkey) to refuel, taking the very same flight route it came in one and a half hours earlier.

The Y-20 is the biggest aircraft so far designed and produced by China. It first flew in 2013 and entered service with the PLAAF in 2016. Even though counting less than 40 frames at the time of upload, the Y-20 fleet already makes a difference in China's strategic capabilities. The airframe and avioincs are of modern design, the weak point being the Soviet developped Solowjow D-30KP-2 engines (also used on the IL-76), the orign of which dates back to the 1960's. The IL-76 served the chinese engieers as a model, resulting in the Y-20 having a similar look, dimensions & weights like the IL-76.