China is expected to complete the final design of its independently developed trainer aircraft "Shanying", or Mountain Eagle, by the end of 2005 and end products will be delivered to domestic and international users in the following year.

The trainer aircraft would be used for training third-generation fighter plane pilots, said sources with China Aviation Industrial Group 1 (AVIC 1) Tuesday in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Shanying is designed and developed by Guizhou Aviation Industry Group Company of AVIC 1, parent company of the manufacturer Shuangyang Aircraft Manufacturing Plant based in Guiyang.

Two prototypes of Shanying, which passed test flights in December 2003 and April 2004 respectively, are presently being modified and calibrated for a series of tests before the final design is approved before the end of next year, said Yang Dianyuan, deputy general engineer of the Guizhou Aviation Industry Group Company.

He noted that Shanying would meet domestic as well as international demands for a sophisticated training plane and could be turned into a fighter plane if necessary.

Founded in 1965, the Shuangyang plant, a major training plane manufacturer in China, has so far turned out more than 1,100 aircraft of varying types for the Chinese armed forces.