YS-11, the only Japanese-made passenger plane, thankfully flies its last
YS-11, only domestically built passenger plane, makes last flight
KAGOSHIMA—The YS-11, the only Japanese-built passenger aircraft, made its last flight Saturday, ending its history of 41 years in service in Japanese skies. The last flight of the turboprop plane was from an airport on Okinoerabu Island to Kagoshima airport, both in Kagaoshima Prefecture, and drew crowds of aviation fans …more…
The YS-11 is one of Japan Inc/government great failures. The The YS-11’s stability and poor steering cause at least six crashes for the fewer than 200 planes produce. Of course the postwar ban on the development of aircraft because of WWII sucess of the Mitsubishi Zero fighter made aircraft development impossible. Many of the same engineers behind the Mitsubishi Zero fighter designed of the YS-11. to work on the design of the new plane.
What amazing is that the YS-11 was just retired last last DESPITE it having crappy safety record that started the very first plane started in service two years before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Two high profile crashes killed the plane’s popularity. The design-related crash in 1966 of an ANA YS-11 in Matsuyama Airport, killing all 58 of its passengers and crew made it unpopular in Japan. And, the crash in 1970 of a new NAMC YS-11 caused the death of Aristotle Onassis’ son, Alexander, and that ended any foreign sales of the cursed plane even at deep discounts subsidized by the Japanese government.
Anyway, you can watch a YouTube video of the YS-11’s final landing complete with two fire trucks hosing it down. And, enjoy watching this cute Japanese girl’s video with YS-11 plane in an air museum where it safely belongs (sadly with poor audio).
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October 1st, 2006 at 8:54 pm
My friend Vince ( formerly of Vinceworld.com) reminded me that:
October 2nd, 2006 at 5:02 pm
Daily Yomiuri ….The turbo-prop YS-11 entered service in 1965 with a series of 182 planes produced by a special semigovernmental corporation, Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Co., until 1973. The manufacturer did not gain any net profits–it amassed about 36 billion yen in losses.
Can the METI-Mitsubishi Heavy jet take off?
The Daily Yomiuri, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 2, 2006
Manufacturing a passenger jet of its own is a long-cherished ambition of Japan’s aircraft industry. To reach that goal, the government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. are joining hands. But they must clear a number of hurdles before a project to develop the jet airliner, dubbed the MJ for Mitsubishi Jet, can get off the ground….
…both the government and the industry have held a strong desire to develop a new passenger aircraft–the first of its kind since the development of the YS-11.
The government has invested about 9 billion yen in the MJ project so far…The company also has to find a solution to the problem of development costs. Estimates now place costs at 120 billion yen–double the original estimate of 60 billion yen.
MHI admits that the government and the main contractor cannot afford to take all the risks on their own. As a result, the company is now approaching trading houses and banks to set up a special-purpose company for the development of the jetliner.
However, negotiations have been slow and little progress has been made on the establishment of the proposed special-purpose company…..more...