China's AC352 mid-sized utility helicopter obtained airworthiness certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Tuesday, paving the way for its entry into the domestic civil aviation market.
Developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) Harbin Aircraft Industry, the AC352 is a twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter that can carry up to 16 passengers with a 7.5-tonne maximum take-off weight.
The AC352 successfully conducted its maiden flight on December 20, 2016, in Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, and began the flight-test journey for airworthiness certification at the end of 2019.
According to the AVIC, performance of AC352 was fully verified during previous flight tests in high and low temperatures, sub-plateaus and other complicated environments across the country.
High-tech and reliable civil helicopter
The AC352 enriches the pedigree of China's civil helicopter family in the 7-tonne class and is important for China to enhance the capabilities of its helicopter industry, the developer said.
The helicopter is loaded with a variety of high-end technologies, such as four-axis digital automatic flight control system, glass cockpit, highly integrated avionics equipment, and crash-resistant fuselage.
With a maximum range of 850 kilometers, the helicopter can carry 16 passengers. The lifetime of its rotor system and fuselage can be up to 20,000 hours, with the time between overhauls of drivetrain and engine up to 5,000 hours.
The AC352 mid-sized utility helicopter. /China Media Group
The safety indexes such as damage tolerance and anti-bird strike of AC352 are much higher than the airworthiness standard, and the noise level is also superior than the airworthiness standard.
The machine performance of AC253 reaches the international advanced level of similar helicopters, and its fuel consumption is lower than similar foreign products.
The helicopter can be widely used in search and rescue, deep-sea oil drilling, personnel transportation, medical rescue, business charter and other fields.
(CGTN's Zheng Yuqiong and Wang Zengzheng also contributed to the story.)
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China's AC352 mid-sized utility helicopter completes flight test for airworthiness certification