The Museum of Aeronautical Science (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation) (Sky Park Shibayama, Shibayama-cho, Sammu-gun, Chiba Prefecture, Chairman: Akihiko Shiina) is pleased to announce that the YS 11 passenger aircraft has been designated as an aerospace technology heritage site by the Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. We received the certificate on Friday, April 2024, 4.
The certificate was presented by the society to the museum, which is exhibiting the first prototype, the Hirosawa Aviation Museum, which is exhibiting the first mass-produced aircraft, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., which owns the type certificate for the aircraft. I did.
Left) Yasuhiro Morita, Chairman of the Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(Middle) Akihiko Shiina, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Museum of Aeronautical Science, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
Right) Managing Director Fumio Gunji
The museum opened in August 1989 as Japan's first comprehensive facility to disseminate aviation ideas, and the first prototype YS 8 passenger plane has become a symbol of the museum and has been admired by many visitors. It has become popular. This year marks the 11th anniversary of the museum's opening, and in recognition of this honor, we will further enhance the exhibition environment for this aircraft, and as an educational facility adjacent to Narita Airport, we will fulfill our mission of promoting aeronautical science and aeronautical thought. We will put even more effort into disseminating the program and developing future aviation personnel. In addition, we aim to operate the museum as a place of value to a variety of customers, including inbound visitors from overseas, and as a memorable museum that will revitalize the region and be enjoyed by many people.
About the first YS 11 prototype
The first YS 11 prototype on display at our museum is the actual aircraft that successfully made its first flight at Nagoya Airport on August 1, 1962. It was used as a flight test aircraft to obtain type certification in Japan and the United States, and was used during development. After the project ended, it lived a second life at Osaka International Airport as ANA's mechanic education and training equipment.
After that, Hidemasa Kimura (Professor Emeritus of Nihon University), who was a leading figure in the development of YS 11 and the first chairman of the museum, welcomed the machine at the opening of the museum. This aircraft made a Hellast flight from Osaka International Airport to New Tokyo International Airport (currently Narita International Airport) in July 1982, and after disassembly, transportation, and assembly, it was installed at our museum in June 7. I did.
The YS 11 is a masterpiece that brought together Japan's aviation technology at the time, and is a very important aircraft in the history of aviation. The first YS 11 prototype on display at our museum provides a glimpse of the origins of Japanese aviation technology.
About the Japan Aerospace Society (President: Yasuhiro Morita/affiliated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
This organization was established in 1934 (Showa 9) with the aim of promoting the advancement and dissemination of aerospace research and contributing to the development of academic science in Japan. With more than 4,000 members, we present and communicate theoretical and applied research related to aerospace, exchange knowledge, and provide information.
About the “Aerospace Technology Heritage System”
The Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics aims to honor the groundbreaking products and technologies that form the history of the development of aerospace technology in Japan, pass them on to future generations, and contribute to the development of aerospace technology in the future. This certification recognizes groundbreaking products and technologies in history. In April 2023, ``Japan's first purely domestically produced jet engine Ne-4 technology'', ``the world's first asteroid sample return technology using Hayabusa'', and four other items were certified as the first technology heritage. Masu.
Reasons for YS 11 certification
The YS 11 is the first medium-sized transport aircraft with a pressurized cabin designed and produced in Japan after the seven-year ban on aviation activities following the war, and is also the first domestic passenger aircraft to receive type certification.
A total of 180 aircraft were mass produced, of which 78 were exported, contributing to the acquisition of foreign currency.
After the initial flaws were resolved, the aircraft boasted an extremely high operating rate compared to the world's most advanced aircraft, and was the first domestic passenger aircraft to be operated for over 2006 years until 40.
The development experience and operational results of the YS 11 series were utilized in the subsequent development of the XC1, and after the post-war aircraft industry was in a vacuum, the basic technology of aircraft design was once again established and the accumulated aerospace technology became an epoch-making product. It is worthy of heritage.
(Quote source:Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics Home PageThan)