AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo

what is it?

The AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo (Chinese: 經國號戰機; pinyin: Jīngguó Hào Zhànjī; Wade–Giles: Ching1-kuo2 Hao4 Chan4-chi1), commonly known as the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), is a multirole combat aircraft named after Chiang Ching-kuo, the late President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The aircraft made its first flight in 1989. It entered service with the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) in 1992.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 9 m wingspan

base stats

• range 1,100 kmwithout refuelling
• size 12.2 tmax take-off weight
• built 130made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 37 years ago, in 1989.
• 🚗Wingspan of 9 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 1,100 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.9× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1989-05-28

introduced

1994

status

still flying

number built

130

role

multirole fighter

origin

🇹🇼 Taiwan

makers

Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation

engines

2× Honeywell/ITEC F125-GA-100

crew

1

length

14.2 m

wingspan

9 m

height

4.4 m

max take-off weight

12.2 t

top speed

—

range

1,100 km

ceiling

16,800 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.