In 1958, the Beijing Aviation Institute (later to become known as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) and now Beihang University) was instructed by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai to design an airliner.[1] The resulting design, the Beijing 1, was a small twin-engined low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear and of all metal construction. It was powered by two 190kW Ivchenko AI-14 driving two-bladed wooden propellers, while its wings were fitted with leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps to ease operations out of small airfields.[3] [4] A crew of two and 8 to 10 passengers were carried in the aircraft's fuselage.[1]
The Beijing 1 made its maiden flight on 24 September 1958, and was handed over to the Chinese civil aviation authorities on 1 October 1958, the 9th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.[4] It was the first passenger airliner designed and built in the People's Republic.[1]
Although contemporary reports suggested that the type entered service with Civil Aviation Administration of China,[5] no production followed, with only the single prototype being built.[1] It is now preserved at the Beijing Aviation Museum.[2]