China's 100 km/h speed balloon-shaped aircraft

AS700, a manned airship developed by China, successfully completed its first delivery flight on March 30.

AS700 manned airship. Photo: AVIC — AS700 manned airship. Photo: *AVIC*

The AS700 aircraft took off from Jingmen City, Hubei Province, at 6:04 a.m. on March 30 (Hanoi time) and landed smoothly in Jingzhou City, also in Hubei Province, after a 106-minute flight. It only stayed for a short time before returning to Jingmen, completing its first ferry flight.

The AS700 is developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading aircraft manufacturer. Using a single-cabin design with a single-point landing gear, the AS700 is expected to meet the needs of air travel, emergency rescue and urban services. The new aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 4,150 kg, a maximum range of 700 km and a maximum flight time of 10 hours. The vehicle can carry up to 10 people, including a pilot, at a maximum speed of 100 km/h.

The flight on March 30 helped verify the overall performance of the AS700. "The flight completed all assigned tasks, fully verified the air-ground communication capabilities, and the ability to take off and land at different locations. The flight also helped test the support capabilities of the engineering team," said Zhou Lei, chief designer of the AS700 manned aircraft project.

With thrust vector control technology, the aircraft can take off and land vertically in narrow spaces, significantly saving operating costs because land is currently very expensive, according to Lin Hong, the pilot of the flight on March 30.

The AS700 received certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in December 2023, becoming the country's first independently developed and certified civil airship. According to Du Wei, project manager of the AS700 manned aircraft, they have received about 20 orders, with the first expected to be delivered by the end of this year. Du said the project team is aiming for low-altitude sightseeing as its main use and hopes to expand its applications to areas such as emergency rescue and urban public services.

Thu Thao (According to CGTN )

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