Planes made in China will be flying US skies for the first time as a California-based company has agreed to purchase 20 Y-12 aircraft manufactured by a unit of Aviation Industry Corp of China.

The Y-12 is a high wing twin-engine turboprop utility aircraft. According to a Forbes report, Coptervision – the company buying the planes – intends to use them to carry tourists around the Grand Canyon area in Arizona. The Y-12 has been in development since the 1980s and is the first plane China sold overseas. It has customers in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

"This purchase marks the first time for any Chinese-made planes to enter an advanced market, and the US has the highest standards, so this testifies to the achievement of Chinese aircraft manufacturing," Li Xianzhe of Avicopter told the South China Morning Post. Avicopter is the general aviation subsidiary of the Y-12's manufacturer, Aviation.

The sales contract was revealed at last week's 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, which ended on Sunday in Zhuhai in Guangdong province. Show organizers said over 300 deals worth a record $23.4 billion were signed.

Aviation consultant Brian Foley of Brian Foley Associates in the US noted that there already is a market for Chinese aircraft in the US.

"Because of Chinese acquisitions of US aviation companies, the US is already purchasing Chinese-owned aircraft that are made in the US. This includes small, fixed-wing airplanes from Cirrus Aircraft and Mooney International and helicopters from Enstrom Helicopter Company," he said.

Foley said that non-North American aircraft finding success in the US is not unprecedented. Examples include Pilatus Aircraft from Switzerland and Dassault Falcon from France with private aircraft.

Even though the Y-12 is assembled in China, it does contain critical components from the US and North America. Forbes said the turboprops come from Pratt & Whitney's Canadian operations, the avionics are from Honeywell and the propellers were made by Hartzell, both in the US.

Foley said that Chinese companies entering the US market will find it can be an expensive adventure. "While the manufacturer may have a fine product, they also have to have a sales network to market the aircraft and a support network to service it and provide parts. To adequately develop this infrastructure can be a huge cost."

Foley said he doesn't believe that Chinese-made aircraft are likely to gain entry anytime soon into the US commercial market dominated by Boeing and Europe's Airbus. "The US may buy Chinese-made aircraft provided its FAA certified, has Western avionics and engines, is reliable and can be service and supported locally. Most importantly, the product would have to make a strong business case for inclusion in any American fleet."

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com