The
37-meter-long AG600 with a wingspan of 38.8 meters is by far the world's
largest amphibian aircraft, about the size of a Boeing 737, according to AVIC
deputy general manager Geng Ruguang.
In
addition to taking off and landing like an ordinary plane, the AG600 can also
take off and land from stretches of water that are at least 1,500 meters long,
200 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep.
It
is destined to become an important part of China's resources for dealing with
emergencies. According to the original design, it can collect 12 tonnes of
water in 20 seconds, and transport up to 370 tonnes of water on a single tank
of fuel.
China
has completed the production of a massive amphibious aircraft that it plans to
use to fight forest fires and perform marine rescue missions.
The
AG600 rolled off a production line in the southern city of Zhuhai recently, in
what aviation observers see as a milestone for the country.
The
aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes, a maximum cruising speed
of 500 km per hour, a maximum flight range of 4,500 km, and a maximum endurance
of 12 hours flight, according to state aircraft maker, the Aviation Industry
Corporation of China (AVIC).
Excellency of the design
With
excellent maneuverability and a relatively wide range of search scope, the
AG600 is capable of rescuing up to 50 people far offshore.
Besides,
it is very useful in developing and exploiting marine resources, being
adaptable to conduct marine environmental monitoring, resource detection and
transportation.
It
is the result of nearly seven years of work by a group of 70 aircraft component
manufacturers and research teams with over 150 institutes from 20 provinces and
municipalities in China. The development and production of the plane received
government approval in 2009.
"The
AG600 is like a ship that can fly, with advanced gas-water dynamic engineering
and underwater corrosion resistance technology," said Huang Lingcai, chief
designer.
According
to the AVIC, the AG600 will mainly target the domestic market. Seventeen intent
orders have been placed so far.
It
was reported that the unveiling of the AG600 came shortly after Chinese heavy
transport aircraft the Y-20 officially entered military service on July 7 and
China's first large passenger aircraft, the C919, rolled off the final assembly
line in November 2015.
Geng
described the AG600 as "the latest breakthrough in China's aviation
industry, which demonstrates an overall improvement of China's national
strength and research capacity".
