BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's independently-developed AS700 civil manned airship on Wednesday completed its first trans-provincial ferry flight, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
The airship flew over around 1,000 km during the trans-provincial ferry flight, making the longest flight endurance and range of a Chinese homegrown manned airship, said the AVIC, the country's leading aircraft manufacturer.
The AS700 took off on Tuesday morning from an airport in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province. It flew over the neighboring Hunan Province with two stopovers at local airports, and at noon on Wednesday it safely arrived in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to the AVIC.
During the trans-provincial journey, its total flight duration was 12 hours and 44 minutes, with a flight height of 500 to 1,990 meters, and the speed of 60 to 80 km per hour.
Developed by the AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute, the AS700 is a type of single-capsule manned airship, which has a maximum carrying capacity of 10 people, including a pilot. It has a maximum take-off weight of 4,150 kg, a maximum flight range of 700 km, and a maximum endurance of 10 hours, according to the AVIC.
This trans-provincial ferry flight comprehensively verified AS700's performance and the capabilities of the flight crew and support teams, which ensure the smooth operation of the airship on the ground and in the air, said the AVIC.
Moreover, the flight verified the airship's capabilities for long endurance and long range ferry flights, providing data and reference for drafting its operation rules.
Looking ahead, the AS700 will carry out flight-experience tests, aiming to further improve passenger experience during the flight and provide reference for its future commercial operation, said the developer.
Prior to this flight, in March, the AS700 conducted its first ferry flight from Jingmen to Jinzhou, both in Hubei Province.
Last December, the AS700 obtained the type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
China has a huge market and dense city clusters. The size of the country's low-altitude economy is estimated to have exceeded 500 billion yuan (70.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, with its scale expected to rise to 2 trillion yuan by 2030, according to the CAAC.
The civil manned airship has vast prospects amid the country's booming low-altitude economy. The AS700 airship is capable of diversified applications, such as aerial tours, emergency rescue, urban security and aerial geophysical surveys, the AVIC said. ■
