China's independently-developed large amphibious aircraft AG600 completed its first water surface test flight on Saturday in Jingmen of central China's Hubei Province.
This is another breakthrough in China's aviation industry. The AG600, codenamed Kunlong, is designed to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft. It completed its maiden flight in December 2017.
"We need to ensure both functions of aerodynamics and hydrodynamic force, integrating the features of an aircraft and ship. It requires us to coordinate the overall layout as well as aerodynamics and hydrodynamic layouts," said Huang Lingcai, the chief designer of the AG600.
It's also a big challenge to balance the speed and feasibility.
"It is more difficult to take off on water than on land, especially on the shock resistance of the plane," Chen Ming, co-pilot of AG600, told CGTN.
Its maximum rescue operation radius extends to 1,600 kilometers, which could cover most of China's sea areas and exclusive economic zones.
The AG600 could be also used for other purposes, such as marine environmental monitoring and transportation, as well as for tourism as the high cruising speed and large flight range would allow the aircraft to work as an "airbus," carrying tourists between airports and islands.
It is estimated that the market need, both domestically and overseas, for China's AG600 model could reach 280 planes.