COVER N. 239 - CHINA
Postmark: ? 07.04.2023
Posted on the 7h April; Received on the 24th April 2023
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What could be better to affix a full set of aircraft related stamps than a blue envelope?
Thanks a lot Xu ! What a great cover!
They are expensive, very expensive, way too expensive..., their primary mission is rather nasty and hopefully theoretical.. but then comes a day when, for no apparent reason, someone decides to trespass onto your backyard....and then... glory to the heroes, we shall sing, while they will unfortunately succumb.
Millions of years of evolution, and we still behave like apes! Damn!
I like aircraft. I have always been fascinated by the way they conquer gravity and shorten distances and their evolution is also a measure of Man's ability to always go one step further in our relation with the physical universe in which we dwell. I am also aware that most developments in civil aviation (as a good deal of the technologies that are so present in our daily lives that we take them for granted), from the moment someone thought about using an aircraft in a conflict context to this day, have mostly been side effects of military activity and research, which in time have led to front page pictures like the ones that come out of Ukraine these days, Sudan, Yemen, Syria......
Still, all the beautiful machines on the excellent cover Xu sent me could be used for other purposes then playing a stupid war game in real time, with real people.
I'm sure the Chinese Government is aware of this fact and will no doubt exploit the full capabilities of them (surely such a mean machine looking aircraft as the Chengdu J-20 can have its use outside of a war envelope: research and development, other scientific purposes, although I am not naive to the point of forgetting that Taiwan is un unsettled question...)
There was a time when the People's Liberation Army Air Force was lagging behind the world's most developed armed forces air branches.... not any more, or at least large steps are being taken to ensure that is not so....
The stamps on the cover constitute a set of four 1,20 Chinese renminbi yuan stamps issued on 17APR2021, dedicated to Chinese Military Aircraft.
From left to right:
- The Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon" is at the forefront of the Chinese military industry. Conceived as a twin-jet all weather air superiority fighter with stealth capabilities, the J-20 made its maiden flight in 2011 and was introduced operationally with the PLAAF in 2017, China thus becoming the second only power to field stealth aircraft, after the introduction of USAF's F-117, in October 1983.
According to the potted notes on Wikipedia, more than 210 J-20 have already been built.
- The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng "Chubby Girl" is a military transport aircraft, designed and developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation.
The Y-20 can transport a payload of up to 66 tons over a range of 7800 kms. First flown in 2013, in entered operational service in 2016.
- The AVIC AG600 Kunlong "Water Dragon" is an amphibious aircraft developed by AVIC - Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which is still under development, its first flight having occurred in December, 2017.
It has a Maximum Take Off Weight of 53.5 Tons and a range of 4,500 Km and it will see operational use with the Chinese Coast Guard.
- The Harbin Zhi-20 "Divine Eagle" is a medium-lift utility helicopter produced by the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG).
It's maiden flight took place in 2013, and in entered service with the Amy, Navy and Police forces in 2019.
Unfortunatley, I cannot decipher the postmark, although it is very clearly apposed
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