The AS700 civil manned airship arrives in Guilin.
China’s AS700 manned airship, developed domestically, successfully finished its first long-distance, cross-provincial flight.
Covering almost 1,000 kilometers, it set a new record for endurance and range for Chinese-built airships, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
Created by AVIC’s Special Vehicle Research Institute, the AS700 is a single-capsule airship designed to carry up to 10 people, including the pilot.
It has a maximum take-off weight of 4,150 kilograms, a flight range of 700 kilometers, and can stay airborne for up to 10 hours, CGTN reported.
Designed and built by the Special Aircraft Research Institute, a subsidiary of AVIC in Jingmen, the AS700 began research and development in August 2018, with the primary goal of catering to tourist demand for sightseeing air tours.
The aircraft also has the versatility to perform both short-distance flights and vertical take-offs and landings, making it eco-friendly, low-carbon, safe, and economical.
The AS700 started its journey on Tuesday morning from an airport in Jingmen, Hubei Province. It flew over Hunan Province, made two stopovers at local airports, and landed safely in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Wednesday afternoon.
The journey lasted 12 hours and 44 minutes, with the airship flying at altitudes between 500 and 1,990 meters and speeds of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour. The development team focused on testing the airship’s performance, endurance, and long-range capabilities.
Additional tests, including passenger comfort evaluations, are planned to assess its readiness for commercial use.
According to the AVIC, the trans-provincial ferry flight thoroughly tested the AS700’s performance and the capabilities of the flight crew and support teams, ensuring smooth operation both on the ground and in the air.
The AVIC also noted that the civil manned airship holds significant potential in China’s expanding low-altitude economy. The AS700 is suited for a range of applications, including aerial tours, emergency rescue, urban security, and aerial geophysical surveys, according to the AVIC. The airship is set to be delivered this year and is expected to begin commercial operations.
Before this flight, the AS700 completed its first ferry flight from Jingmen to Jinzhou in Hubei Province in March. Last December, the airship received its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
With China’s vast market and dense city clusters, the country’s low-altitude economy was estimated to surpass 500 billion yuan (70.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023 and is expected to grow to 2 trillion yuan by 2030, the CAAC noted.
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Bojan Stojkovski Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.
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