China has shelved its Shaanxi Y8-F600 commercial freighter after disagreements internally over the aircraft's design specifications and supply problems with the engine control software for its Pratt & Whitney Canada powerplants.
Shaanxi Aircraft had an agreement with P&WC to supply PW150 engines, but now P&WC "can't give us the whole set of engine", says a senior source at the Chinese manufacturer, adding that the problem lies with an undisclosed P&WC supplier.
P&WC has told Shaanxi that it is unable to supply the engine control software and that the Chinese manufacturer will have to develop its own software, says the source.
The F600 is a civil programme, but Shaanxi makes military versions of the Y8, which are powered by Chinese engines. The Shaanxi source says that the F600 programme has been shelved and the factory is being kept busy building the Y8 military transport.
The source says the company has looked at developing an engine for the F600, but the problem is it will take time for the engine to secure certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Another other reason for the decision to shelve the programme is that management cannot agree whether to continue with the F600 because the take-off weight has increased, "but not so much" compared with earlier versions of the Y8, says the source. Some of the management team had hoped the F600 would perform much better and be a very different aircraft to earlier Y8s.
Source: Flight International
