China-made large amphibious aircraft “multi-functional:” chief designer

China's independently-developed large amphibious aircraft the AG600 has successfully completed its first water takeoff and landing.

The AG600 is the world's largest amphibious aircraft, meaning it is capable of both land and water takeoffs and landings.

The plane took off from the surface of a reservoir in Hubei on Saturday morning, and landed smoothly on water after a 14 minute flight.

Codenamed the "Kunlong", the civil aircraft will be mainly used for forest firefighting, as well as maritime monitoring and rescues.

The plane has a maximum takeoff weight of 53.5 tons, and is able to carry 50 people during a maritime search and rescue mission.

When it's on firefighting duties, the plane can hold 12 tons of water at a time, and make multiple trips to fetch water.

The AG600 also has the potential to be used for long-distance rescues, in cases where a marine accident occurs 500 kilometers off the coast, which is out of reach of ordinary helicopters. 

At that distance it takes more than 15 hours for rescue vessels to arrive at the scene, which is outside of the window for the average successful rescue.

Huang Lingcai, the chief designer of the AG600, said the aircraft enjoys more advantages than ordinary helicopters and surface vessels.

File photo of Huang Lingcai, the chief designer of China's independently-developed large amphibious aircraft the AG600. [Photo: Imagine China]

"The plane can reach a speed of 480 kilometers an hour. That means it only takes some two hours for the plane to arrive somewhere 1,000 kilometers away. This means that the plane can reach the site of an accident in the shortest time, the rescuers can take the people in danger directly into the plane, and they will fly back safe and sound," said Huang.

The AG600 is the third member of China's "large aircraft family", alongside the large freighter the Y-20 and the large passenger jet the C919.

Huang Lingcai said the plane might become popular in some inland areas, where there are many lakes and rivers.

"Amphibious aircraft don't need special airports on the ground. Because of this, they enjoy unique advantages in some remote areas that don't have airports but that are full of lakes or rivers, since they can land directly on water. This will be a big help with improving our country's aviation emergency rescue capability," said Huang.

Huang added that the plane will have even more functionality after it has been upgraded.

"We can install some equipment to conduct monitoring missions, in order to better protect the marine environment. The plane might also be able to transport people to remote islands and reefs, and help to deliver daily supplies to them," said Huang.

Both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have congratulated the team working on the AG600 for their first successful on-water flight.

The AG600 completed its maiden flight in December last year.