2025-02-22 – China Daily Editor: Li Yan
The AS700, the largest airship ever developed in China, is set to begin commercial operations this year, according to a project leader at Aviation Industry Corp of China, the country’s leading aircraft manufacturer.
Zhang Lixian, Party chief of the Special Aircraft Research Institute, an AVIC subsidiary based in Jingmen, Hubei province, said Thursday that the institute has received confirmed orders for 23 AS700 airships and tentative orders for 164 more.
The first customer for the AS700 will be Guangxi Guilin Fangzhou General Aviation, a private company in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
“We have started small-scale production of the AS700. The first unit is scheduled for delivery to the Guangxi company around October and will be used for aerial sightseeing,” Zhang said during an event in Taijiang county, Guizhou province.
An AS700 made a flight to Taijiang on Monday to appear during the “Village Basketball Association”, a basketball event held in Taipan village, which concluded on Thursday.
Guangxi Guilin Fangzhou General Aviation has placed orders for six AS700s, while China Comfort Travel Group has ordered 16, and Jingmen Urban Investment and Construction Co has purchased one, Zhang said.
Training programs for airship pilots will begin soon, he added. “There are very few pilots in China who have flown airships because there has been almost no manned airship operation in this country.”
Zhang’s institute is the only State-owned research body in China that designs and manufactures airships. Since the mid-1980s, it has developed various manned and unmanned models. One of its manned airships, the FK-4, participated in the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.
However, commercial operations of manned airships did not take off in China due to factors such as stringent control of low-altitude airspace and limited market demand.
That situation began to change in recent years as the central government sought to unlock the market potential of low-altitude airspace.
Development of the AS700 began in August 2018 to meet demand for aerial sightseeing.
Powered by piston engines, the AS700 has a maximum take-off weight of 4.15 metric tons, a top speed of 100 kilometres per hour and a flight ceiling of 3.1 km. It can carry one pilot and nine passengers, fly up to 700 km and remain airborne for as long as 10 hours.
Following extensive test flights, the AS700 received its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in December 2023, becoming the first manned airship in China to be domestically certified.
In addition to tourism, the AS700 is suited for a range of civilian applications, including mineral prospecting, marine surveillance, police patrols, cargo transport and emergency rescue, according to its designers.
Electric AS700 makes successful debut flight
2025-01-24 – China Daily Editor: Li Yan
The AS700, the largest model of airship China has ever developed, now has an electrically powered version, according to Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation’s leading aircraft maker.
The first prototype of the lithium battery-powered AS700D carried out the type’s first flight on Friday morning, making a short hover about 50 metres above the Jingmen Zhanghe Airport in Hubei province before landing on the same site.
After that, the test pilot Lin Hong conducted another three brief flights to check the prototype’s performance, according to AVIC.
He was quoted by a news release as saying that compared with the baseline model that consumes aviation fuel, “flying the electric type feels more smooth and comfortable.”
According to AVIC, the AS700D features an advanced electric propulsion system, zero emission and lower noise, making it a suitable choice for occasions with high environmental requirements.
The new model has a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour, and a flight ceiling of 3.1 km. It can carry one pilot and nine tourists.
According to the Special Aircraft Research Institute, an AVIC subsidiary that develops the AS700 family, the institute has received confirmed orders for 23 AS700s and to-be-confirmed orders for 164 such airships.
The first AS700 user will be Guangxi Guilin Fangzhou General Aviation, a private company in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
The institute said it has started small-scale production of the AS700 baseline model. The first AS700 is scheduled to be delivered to the Guangxi company around October and will then be put into the aerial sightseeing business.
The institute is the sole State-owned research body that designs and makes airships. Before the AS700, it had designed a number of manned and unmanned airships since the mid-1980s. One of its manned airships, the FK-4, took part in the Beijing Asian Games in 1990.
However, commercial operations of manned airships had never emerged in China due to a mixture of factors such as tight control of low-altitude airspace and tiny market demand. That situation began to change several years ago in the wake of the central government’s determination to tap the market value of the low-altitude airspace.
Research and development of the AS700 began in August 2018, primarily to meet the demand for aerial sightseeing tours.
Domestically made airship AS700 to take off in 2021: AVIC
2021-03-04 Global Times Editor: Li Yan
Domestically made airship AS700 will take off in later half of 2021, said Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) Special Vehicle Research Institute on Wednesday. The airship can hold maximum of nine passengers to meet the requirement of low-altitude tourism market, according to media report.
To meet the requirement of China’s and international requirement of low altitude tourism, the maximum range and flight time of AS700 airship can reach 700 kilometres and travel uninterrupted for 10 hours. Single line seats and wide-opened windows provide maximum of 9 passengers with a unique viewing experience.
Zhang Jinhua, senior designer of AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute said the development and research of AS700 airship started from 2018. “With the development of tourism industry, modern airship is able to provide sightseeing, cargo and passenger transmission business basing on its economical and safe features,” said Zhang.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 