@ Tokorozawa, Japan
April 2024
On display in park adjacent to the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum is this Air Nippon YS-11 regional airliner that is part of the Museum collection. The YS-11 was a product of the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Company (NAMC), a consortium of Fuji, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, Japan Aircraft Industry Company, ShinMeiwa (now ShinMaywa) and Showa. NAMC formed on June 1, 1959 to design and develop a short to medium range airliner, with Fuji responsible for the nose and tail sections, Kawasaki the wings and engine nacelles, Mitsubishi the forward fuselage and final assembly, Japan Aircraft the ailerons and flaps, Shin Meiwa the rear fuselage, Showa the cockpit and wing components, and Sumitomo the landing gear. The YS-11 first flew on August 30 1962, 182 YS-11s were produced from 1964-74. Burdened by debt, NAMC later disbanded in March 1983. In March 2021, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force retired their YS-11 fleet after 57 years of service.