China's AG600 amphibious aircraft completes high temperature, high humidity flight test

BEIJING -- China's independently-developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has successfully completed the high temperature and high humidity flight test, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on Thursday.

The AG600 carried out this test, which lasted around 2.5 hours, on Tuesday at an airport in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi province. All of its systems performed well during the session, said the AVIC, the country's leading aircraft manufacturer.

Prior to the flight test, the aircraft was exposed to the sun for five hours at an environment with an average temperature of more than 35 degrees Celsius and an average humidity of more than 44 percent.

The high temperature and high humidity flight tests the aircraft's hydraulic system, and is a major part of the AG600's certification process.

According to the AVIC, the AG600 aircraft aims to obtain its type certificate at the end of this year.

Intensive flight tests are undergoing. Four AG600 airplanes, meant for test flight use, are undertaking airworthiness flight test missions across the country to verify this new type of aircraft's performance and compliance with airworthiness standards.

In February this year, the AG600 completed the cold-weather flight test in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The aircraft then successively carried out the night test flight, and multiple other flight test subjects such as the in-flight airspeed calibration and standard stall speed, said the AVIC.

After the latest high temperature and high humidity flight test in Nanchang, it will fly to a civil aircraft flight test center in Pucheng in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the company added.

There, AG600 aircraft will continuously conduct the following up flight tests and other related test missions.

The AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is being developed as vital advanced aeronautical equipment to strengthen the country's emergency-rescue capabilities, according to the developer.

The AG600 series amphibious aircraft features a unique configuration consisting of an integrated aircraft-shaped upper body and a ship-bottom-shaped lower body.

This aircraft family is tailored to carry out rescue missions such as firefighting, and maritime search and rescue in all types of terrains across the country, said the developer.