BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Three China-developed special-shaped hot air balloons have acquired the type certificate (TC) from civil aviation authorities, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) announced Friday.
The Central and Southern Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China recently issued the first batch of TC for three types of special-shaped hot air balloons, namely, RQ8-2C, RQ8-2D and RQ9-2C, the AVIC said.
These special-shaped hot air balloon types were developed by Xiangyang Hongwei Aircraft Co., Ltd. under the AVIC.
Shaped like beverage packages, these balloons were tailored to meet customer demand for commercial promotion.
Special-shaped hot air balloons are gaining popularity and could be widely used in a variety of fields such as air sports, sightseeing and commercial promotion, among others. Compared with conventional drop-shaped hot air balloons, the special-shaped ones require a high configuration design, barycenter control, and shape design, among multiple other factors.
As an experienced hot air balloon developer, Xiangyang Hongwei Aircraft Co., Ltd. applied emulation and other techniques to achieve airworthiness certification requirements for these special-shaped hot air balloons, the AVIC said. ■
