Harbin Y-12E Harbinger
The Harbin Y-12 is a rugged Chinese-built twin-turboprop utility aircraft, developed to serve small regional airports and remote areas across China with limited infrastructure, broadly filling the same niche as Western types like the Twin Otter. Its high wing and simple fixed landing gear suit the short, often unpaved airstrips common in the more remote regions it's typically flown into. It has been widely exported across Africa, Asia, and Latin America as an affordable regional transport, parachute jump platform, and light cargo aircraft. Its low purchase price relative to comparable Western turboprops has made it a popular choice for developing-country operators on limited budgets.
Did you know?
The original Y-12 first flew in July 1982, and more than four decades later Harbin still builds new variants of the same twin-turboprop utility design.
Specifications
| Length | 14.9 m (49 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 17.2 m (57 ft) |
| Height | 5.7 m (19 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 19 |
| Range | 500 NM (926 km) |
| Maximum speed | 160 kt (296 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 25,500 ft (7,772 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,600 ft/min (8.1 m/s) |
| Engines | 2x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
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