China’s Y-12F, a turboprop aircraft, put on a demonstration flight at the recent MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon in Russia, at Zhukovsky, near the city of Moscow as the only aircraft, out of the Aviation Industry Corp of China’s 10-plus models to put in an appearance at the show, its first demonstration flight outside China.

Its developer is the Harbin Aircraft Industry (Group) Co (HAIG), a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corp, one of China’s major aircraft manufacturers. It is an updated version of the Y-12E, with its certification still pending.

The plane is designed for regional passenger services, on low-cost feeder routes. It has a maximum speed of 450 km/hr, a cruising range of 2,600 km and a capacity of 19 passengers. If it is carrying containers its maximum range is about 1,500 km. It can also be modified to meet customer demands.

The plane is good for chart flights, private airlines, coastal water surveillance, air-drops and parachuting, aerial photography, geological exploration, medical rescue services, and agriculture and forestry use. The plane was developed in the 1980s and is China’s most successful aircraft in the global market and the first Chinese plane to be sold overseas, in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Last year, when a company in California, US bought one, it marked the first time for a Chinese aircraft to be exported to a developed country. It is expected to enter the Russian market and the Commonwealth of Independent States later this year.