Jian Jiao JJ-1 [Fighter Trainer]
Dongfeng 101
Red Special 503

After decades of development, China's aviation industry has achieved brilliant achievements, but also experienced many failures and bumps behind the achievements. Looking back at China's military aircraft projects, some of them were set too high, some were insufficient because they had to make way for other projects, and some were failed due to competition with multiple solutions, but these failures have accumulated valuable for subsequent success. experience. The Jianjian-1 trainer is a subsonic jet intermediate trainer developed by Shenyang Aircraft Manufactory in China. It has used the names "Dongfeng 101" and "Red Special 503". It is the first jet aircraft designed and manufactured by China itself, and also the first aircraft designed and manufactured by New China. It occupies an important position in the history of aviation in New China. In September 1956 first aircraft design organization of Chinese aviation industry, the Shenyang Aircraft Design Department, was established. It was located in the Shenyang Aircraft Factory. Xu Shunshou was appointed the director designer, and Huang Zhiqian and Ye Zhengda vice director designers. Before they came back to China they had studied the aeronautical engineering in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union respectively. They led a design team with an average age of 22. Only 3 per cent of the team members were experienced engineers who had designed aircraft before. Most of the others just graduated from the universities and colleges. It was from such a starting point that they began to march towards the goals of the aircraft development.

The Shenyang Aircraft Design Department chose the JJ-1, a subsonic jet fighter-trainer, as the first aircraft to develop. This was because the military services needed such a trainer to train their pilots and the design department needed it to temper its design team. Through the development of a trainer the 'designers could enrich their knowledge, accumulate their experience and prepare themselves for the development of a fighter.

The design of the JJ-1 started in October 1956. It had two tandem cockpits, two intakes at sides of the fuselage, a centrifugal-flow turbojet engine, a low set tapered wing and a tricycle type landing gear. The hydraulic system, fuel system, control system, pneumatic system, electric system, instruments, and transceiver, etc. required by a subsonic fighter were installed in the aircraft. The main systems could be controlled by both pilots.

The JJ-1 selected the US English side mounted air ducts, and not the Soviet traditional nose air inlet arrangement. Because in the long run, the nose section is suitable in installs antenna's best spot, but the radar in regard to the modern operational aircraft is extremely important. Even though the trainer aircraft did not need to install the complex radar, the design technique of this kind of side mounted air ducts have use in regard to the development high performance airplane.

As soon as the aircraft's design drawing were completed, it instantly entered the actual project. This time the factory just mimicked the successful Soviet Union's Mig-15 jet fighter plane, and the designers from the factory came to the familiar "Mig type aircraft". But, the first aircraft design office was not prepared to let China independently design the aircraft, which became a Mig replica. Xu Shun Shou proposed especially for this reason: "must be familiar with Tang poem 300", namely should be familiar with each kind of different aircraft, then carries on the choices, does not want "only the Mig theory" absolutely, do not design one kind "the Mig analog" form.

Pilot Yu Zhenwu flew the JJ-1 for its first time on July 26, 1958. On August 4 Ye Jianying, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission of CCCPC and Liu Yalou, Commander of the Air Force came to Shenyang to attend a ceremony for celebrating the success of JJ-1's first flight. Part of the flight test subjects were done below 3,000 m from July to October, 1958 and it showed that the performance was basically in conformity with the design specification. The development cycle of the JJ-1 was two years shorter than that of the similar aircraft made in Japan and Czechoslovakia and the performance was better.

But later on the Air Force changed its flying training system from three levels ( primary trainer-JJ-1-UMiG-15 ) to two levels ( primary trainer-UMiG-15 ) and, therefore, the development of the JJ-1 was terminated. At the same time, the dawn engine manufacturing plant supporting the aircraft power "Eruption-1A" was unable to solve the technical problem of engine blade breakage, which also hindered the development of Jianjia-1.

However, the J-I-1 abandoned the air intake layout of the Soviet MiG fighter and adopted the air intake layout on both sides. Large radar or electronic equipment can be installed on the nose, which has important reference significance for the development of domestic fighters and attack aircraft. Through the development of the JJ-1 a development work procedure which was in the order of conceptual definition study, the sketch design, the preliminary design, the review of mockup, the detailed design and the prototype production was set up, the Chinese first generation designers were trained and the data in design, analysis and test were accumulated.