Based on graphic news on the Chinese internet on November 21 Beijing time, China’s domestically produced Y-20 heavy transport aircraft with new homemade WS-20 aero engines made its first flight.
According to the test flight photos published by netizens, some professionals found through comparison that the size of the engines installed on this flight of Y-20 was much bigger than the Russian-made D-30KP-2 engines used by the Y-20 transporters in service. Furthermore, some internal sources also confirmed that the new engine is the WS-20.
Although it has been speculated in July that Y-20 might have started to use its homemade WS-20 engines, this picture still triggers a collective carnival among Chinese military enthusiasts, believing that China can get rid of engine constraints in the future and “build as many as it wants” according to its own needs, according to analyst Chu Wen.
According to public information, the WS-20 engine was developed by the Shenyang Engine Design and Research Institute under China Aero Engine Corporation based on the WS-10A, with the goal of equipping the Y-20 transporters with large bypass ratio turbofan engines.
WS-20 engine’s thrust is believed to reach 140KN to 160KN (13 tons to 16 tons). In 2014, it was assembled on the Il-76 experimental aircraft platform for a test flight, while the D-30KP-2 thrust was only 12.5 tons.
The WS-20 engine will be used to replace the WS-18 and the Russian-made D-30KP-2 engines, and its sufficient power will increase the carrying capacity of the Y-20 transport plane.