The AG600, the first giant amphibious airplane developed and manufactured by China, has finished its final assembly and rolled off the production line in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong province. The aircraft fills a gap in China's national emergency rescue system, and it is now set to enter the debugging and commissioning stage.
There is an obvious division along the AG600's fuselage. The upper half is like a traditional airplane, while the bottom half is a sea-worthy vessel. When executing aerial firefighting tasks, the AG600 requires only 20 seconds to procure 12 tons of water via water inlet, and only four seconds to distribute the water across a fire-stricken area, which the aircraft does while flying low to the ground.
With a maximum cruising speed of 500 kilometers per hour and maximum continuous distance of 4,500 kilometers, the AG600 has a clear advantage over helicoptors when it comes to speed.
Together with the C919 and Yun-20, the AG600 is now almost ready to be put into use. The next historical milestone in China's aeronautical manufacturing industry will be the first voyages of the AG600 and C919, which are expected to occur at end of 2016 or early in 2017.
The new aircraft is indicative of the development and increasingly expert level of China's aeronautic manufacturing industry. It also symbolizes the new, ambitious direction of China's innovation.
