China's AG600 aircraft to attempt first water takeoff

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China's AG600 amphibious aircraft will attempt its first takeoff from water in the city of Jingmen, central China’s Hubei Province, in the second half of this year, according to its developer, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), on Monday.

The AG600, code named "Kunlong," completed its maiden flight last December, and finished two test flights in January this year.

"During the recent two flights, the aircraft passed all the test subjects and its various systems functioned normally," said Zhou Guoqiang, AVIC's spokesman.

December 24, 2017: China’s first self-developed amphibious aircraft AG600 completes its maiden flight in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. /VCG Photo

Designed to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft, the AG600 is powered by four domestically built turboprop engines and has a range of 12 hours.

It will be mainly used for maritime rescue, fighting forest fires and marine monitoring.

Before its first flight from water, the aircraft will undergo a series of trials to test its watertightness and hydroplaning performance at low, medium and high speeds, Zhou said.

The AG600 is the third member of China's "large aircraft family" following the large freighter Y-20 and large passenger aircraft C919, which made maiden flights in 2013 and 2017, respectively.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency