China's AS700 manned airship completes first low-altitude demo flight

China's homegrown AS700 civil manned airship successfully completed its first demonstration flight on Thursday, embracing a new mode in the county's low-altitude tourism.

In central China's Hubei Province, the AS700 airship took off from Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen City to show its performance and capabilities in offering tourist flights, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). 

This demonstration flight lasted nearly two hours, simulating a scenic tour of local parks, an island in the river and other popular scenic spots across the city. Passengers aboard the AS700 can enjoy aerial views through the large panoramic side windows. It flew at 60 kilometers per hour and an altitude of 500 meters. 

Developed by AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute, the AS700 is a single-capsule manned airship, with a maximum capacity of 10 people, including a pilot. It has a maximum take-off weight of 4,150 kilograms, a maximum flight range of 700 kilometers, and a maximum endurance of 10 hour. It can conduct vertical take-off and landing in a narrow field, and it is more mobile and flexible than other types of airships, according to the AVIC. 

The AS700 obtained the type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last December. The first airship is scheduled for delivery by the end of this year, and the producer has secured letters of intent for the purchase of 20 units from several buyers, said Du Wei, project manager of AS700 civil manned airship.

Low-altitude economy boom

China is a huge market and has dense city clusters. The size of the country's low-altitude economy is estimated to have exceeded 500 billion yuan (about $70.1 billion) in 2023, with its scale expected to rise to 2 trillion yuan by 2030, according to the CAAC.

The AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute disclosed that they are joining efforts with local governments to explore pilot applications of low-altitude scenarios of airships and plan to build the country's first low-altitude airship tourism demonstration route.

The AVIC said AS700 manned airships could also be used in the fields of logistics and intelligent surveying and mapping.

(With input from Xinhua)