Editing NAMC YS-11 (section)

==Development and design==
===Origins===
[[File:YS-11 Wind tunnel model.jpg|thumb|A wind tunnel model of the YS-11]]
During the mid-to-late 1950s, the Japanese [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry]] (MITI) identified a requirement for a short-haul airliner to replace [[Douglas DC-3]]s flying on Japan's domestic routes, and encouraged companies in Japan's aircraft industry to collaborate to develop and produce a domestic airliner to meet this need. Towards this purpose, in May 1957, the ''Commercial Transport Design Research Association'' was established and the availability of government [[subsidy|subsidies]] guaranteed. From the government's viewpoint, the development of such an airliner was viewed as a key initiative towards the post-war revival of the nation's aircraft companies, which came in addition to the serious ambition to become a major international competitor in the global airliner business.<ref name = "nyt piedmont"/> Furthermore, while this requirement had been conceived primarily in a commercial context, there was an early recognition of the value for multiple branches of the Japanese Defense Agency (JDA) to be readily able to adopt the type as well; as a philosophy, this not only extended to the prospective airliner itself, but the various technologies involved in its development and manufacture.<ref name=":0"/>

In response to this encouragement, during 1957, a [[joint venture]] between [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]], [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries]], [[Fuji Heavy Industries]], [[ShinMaywa|Shin Meiwa]], [[Showa Aircraft Industry]] Company and Japan Aircraft Industry Company was established for the purpose of developing and manufacturing the envisioned airliner. Two years later, this partnership was formalised as the ''Nihon Aeroplane Manufacturing Company'' (NAMC).<ref name="Endres p22">Endres 1996, p. 22.</ref><ref name="JAWA66 p107">Taylor 1966, p. 107.</ref> The ownership of NAMC was initially divided between the Japanese government, which held 54% of the shares, while the constituent aircraft manufacturers held an 18% stake and several components/materials suppliers owned 11%; the remaining shares were small stakes belonging to various banks, insurance companies, and stock firms who chose to invest in the programme. However, NAMC was essentially a "paper company", being reliant upon both personnel and infrastructure provided by its constituent manufacturers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.jpri.org/publications/occasionalpapers/op5.html |title=The YS-11 Project and Japan's Aerospace Potential |last=Mercado |first=Steven C. |date=September 1995 |website=www.jpri.org |access-date=16 January 2018 |archive-date=28 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028010859/http://jpri.org/publications/occasionalpapers/op5.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name = "oda 2245">Odagiri, Odagiri and Akira 1996, pp. 224-225.</ref>

NAMC designed a low-winged twin-[[turboprop]]-engined [[monoplane]], capable of seating up to 60 passengers, dubbed the ''YS-11''.<ref name = "oda 224">Odagiri, Odagiri and Akira 1996, p. 224.</ref> Amongst the design team was [[Jiro Horikoshi]], who had previously been the designer of the famed wartime [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] fighter.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/12/obituaries/jiro-horikoshi-78-dies-in-tokyo-designer-of-zero-fighter-aircraft.html "Jiro Horikoshi, 78, Dies in Tokyo; Designer of Zero Fighter Aircraft."]''[[New York Times]]'', 12 January 1982. Retrieved: 8 September 2016.</ref> Another prominent engineer on the project was Teruo Tojo, the second son of Prime Minister [[Hideki Tojo]], who later became chairman of [[Mitsubishi Motors]].<ref name=":0" /> The twin-engined YS-11 was projected as delivering similar operational performance to the four-engined British-built [[Vickers Viscount]], while possessing 50% greater capacity than the similarly configured Dutch-built [[Fokker F27 Friendship]]. MITI supervised the pricing of the aircraft in order to ensure that it was competitive with the American-built [[Martin 4-0-4]].<ref name=":0" />

Although the tentative aircraft was mainly designed and manufactured in Japan, the engine selected to power the airliner was the 2,275&nbsp;kW (3,050 ehp) [[Rolls-Royce Dart|Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.10/1]] powerplant, which was both developed and produced by British-based company [[Rolls-Royce plc|Rolls-Royce]].<ref name="Endres p23">Endres 1996, p. 23.</ref> Furthermore, according to author Stephen C Mercado, due to the lack of available domestic technology at the time, several of the key aircraft systems, such as [[cabin pressurization]], were copied from foreign sources; such information was gleaned from a combination of Japanese airlines, trading companies and diplomats.<ref name=":0" /> Throughout the YS-11's production lifetime, its electronic equipment, avionics, mechanical and fuselage components were supplied by a combination of Japanese companies and foreign suppliers.<ref name=":0" />

===Name===
The “YS” of the YS-11 comes from a combination of the first letter sounds of the two Japanese words yusō (transport) and sekkei (design), which refer to the Association for Research on Transport Aircraft Design (Yusōki sekkei kenkyū kyōkai). Meanwhile, the first “1” of the “11” refers to the various engine candidates considered for the YS-11; the [[Rolls-Royce Dart|Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.10/1]], which was the engine selected, had been designated “number 1.” The second “1” refers to the aircraft specification plan selected for the YS-11, which had been one among many plans that differed by wing placement and size. There had also been a “plan 0” at one point.

A catchphrase developed around the public reveal of the YS-11 mockup, which was “Let’s meet on the 11th at Sugita in Yokohama.” Here, Yokohama represented the “Y,” the Sugita neighborhood stood for the “S,” and the 11th referred both to the plane and to the date of the public reveal (December 11, 1958). Because of this, it became common to read the “11” in “YS-11” as “eleven” (jūichi in Japanese). For those involved in designing the plane, meanwhile, the designation had originally been pronounced “YS-one-one” (or YS ichi ichi).

===Into flight===
On 30 August 1962, the first prototype performed its [[maiden flight]] from [[Nagoya Airfield|Nagoya Airport]]; it was soon followed by the second prototype, flying on 28 December 1962. Early flight testing revealed several issues to troubleshoot, including poor steering, excessive vibration and noise.<ref name = "oda 225">Odagiri, Odagiri and Akira 1996, p. 225.</ref> There was also an acute lack of safety during sideways maneuvers; the wake of the propeller produced abnormal forces that inclined the aircraft to the right; all of the rudders were ineffective; and the maneuverability was worst of all. These problems produced a tailspin during the flight test, and were the direct cause of a crash. This was known as the “three rudder problem.”

In one prestigious early flight of the type, [[All Nippon Airways]] used a YS-11 to carry the [[Olympic flame|Olympic torch]] in the run-up to the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] in Tokyo.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201709080001.html |title=YS-11, a symbol of recovery from war, expensively gathering dust |last=Kudo |first=Ryuji |date=8 September 2017 |work=The Asahi Shimbun |access-date=16 January 2018 |language=en-us |archive-date=26 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126180929/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201709080001.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> It received its Japanese [[Type certificate]] on 25 August 1964, while American [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) certification followed on 9 September 1965.<ref name="Endres p23" /><ref name = "oda 225"/> Prior to applying for certification, the FAA had been involved in the programme at NAMC's invitation, performing informal project reviews so that defects could be identified and eliminated early on.<ref name=":0" />

During the late 1960s, a lack of significant international sales led to the programme incurring persistent losses, the outstanding debt eventually growing to $600 million.<ref name=ans1>Anselmo, Joe. [http://aviationweek.com/blog/milestone-mrj "Milestone for the MRJ."] ''[[Aviation Week & Space Technology]]'', 24 October 2014. Accessed: 25 October 2014.</ref> Due to the organisation of the programme, the aircraft manufacturers themselves did not have any of this debt apportioned to themselves, NAMC being held solely responsible; Mercado criticised this approach as it meant there was no incentive for the individual companies to make cost savings while simultaneously guarantee profit to them on every plane produced.<ref name=":0" /> Furthermore, it had been alleged that some participants saw the YS-11 as only a training programme to develop their employees' skills, rather than a serious commercial initiative; some participants chose to rotate large numbers of staff in and out of the project for brief periods before re-tasking them to work on internal projects.<ref name=":0" />

Mercado claims that the programme's operational mindset was closer to that of a military project than a commercial one, while a preoccupation with government-issued performance criteria obstructed considerations towards the actual desires of the commercial operators, such as operating costs and cabin configuration, that the YS-11 was marketed towards.<ref name=":0" /> As this was Japan's first, and for a long time only, post-war airliner, NAMC lacked any staff with experience in marketing towards airlines, a disadvantage against the salesmen of rival airframers. This failure to address a crucial factor in acquiring new customers has been attributed as a major contributing cause of the programme's poor commercial reception.<ref name = "oda 2256">Odagiri, Odagiri and Akira 1996, pp. 225-226.</ref>

The end of the YS-11 programme was precipitated by the 1971 [[Smithsonian Agreement]], which led to an appreciation in the value of the [[Japanese yen]] and the resulting impact upon the nation's economy.<ref name=":0" /> By this point, it was clear that there was little chance that the YS-11 could ever come close to [[break-even|breaking even]].<ref name=":0" /> These myriad factors contributed to the decision for production to be terminated after the completion of 182 aircraft. On 11 May 1973, the last YS-11 was delivered to the [[Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force]] (JMSDF).<ref name="Endres p26-7">Endres 1996, pp. 26–27.</ref>