page_title: Tu Jida
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Tu Jida / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: The photo shows a Nanchang CJ-6A aircraft flying over the Pacific.
context_page_description: Tu Jida was a Chinese aircraft designer who led the development of five models of aircraft and was hailed as the "father of the Chengdu J-7" family of jet fighters. In the 1950s, he participated in the development of the Shenyang JJ-1 trainer and was a chief designer of the Nanchang CJ-6 trainer. Starting in 1960, as chief designer of the Chengdu Aircraft Factory, he developed the fighter jets Shenyang J-5A, Chengdu JJ-5, and several variants of the J-7 fighter, including the Chengdu J-7M, then China's only warplane competitive in the world market. He was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
context_section_description: After graduating from university in 1951, Tu was assigned to work for the Harbin Aircraft Factory. In 1956, he was transferred to the Shenyang Aircraft Factory to help develop the Shenyang JJ-1 trainer, the first jet aircraft designed in China. Working under chief designer Xu Shunshou and deputy chief Huang Zhiqian, Tu was in charge of designing the fuselage. The plane took its first flight in July 1958, after only 21 months of development.
  In 1958, Tu Jida and Lin Jiahua were tasked with designing the Nanchang CJ-6 basic trainer at the Nanchang Aircraft Factory. It took their team only 72 days to build a working prototype. After further development, in the 1980s it became the first Chinese-designed aircraft to be mass produced, with more than 2,000 made.
  In 1960, Tu was transferred to Chengdu to work for the Chengdu Aircraft Factory, then still being established. He served as chief designer for the Shenyang J-5A, an improved version of the J-5 fighter. The J-5A took its maiden flight on 11 November 1964. It was the first plane built by Chengdu Aircraft. Based on the J-5A, Tu went on to design the jet trainer Chengdu JJ-5. The plane was in production for 20 years, with more than 1,000 manufactured in total. It was the main trainer used in Chinese aviation schools, and more than 15,000 pilots received their training in the aircraft. It was also exported to more than ten countries.
  In 1969, Chengdu Aircraft took over the development of the J-7 fighter (also known as F-7) from Shenyang Aircraft, and Tu was again the chief designer. He developed the J-7I model in 1973, and then the J7-II with a greatly improved ejection seat system. In 1987, he developed the J-7M, which was exported to many countries. It was the only Chinese-made warplane that was competitive in the world market, and Tu was hailed as the "father of J-7" in official Chinese media. He was also a professor and doctoral advisor at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
  Tu was awarded the State Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class) in 1985. In 1995, he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
caption: Nanchang CJ-6A basic trainer
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