China's first self-developed civil manned airship, the AS700 "Xiangyun", will play a greater role in the emerging low-altitude economy and other extensive uses such as emergency response, aerial surveying and communication, according to a senior engineer from its developing team.
AS700 has completed its first trial flight between two airports in central China's Hubei Province on March 30, laying a foundation for further long-distance test and commercial operation.
In December 2023, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued an airship type certificate for the AS700.
The first commercial AS700 is scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year.
"Compared with the plane, the airship mainly flies at a slower speed and a very low altitude. So it has great use in tourism, tourists need to see the scenery at a low altitude and speed," said Zhang Hua, senior engineer of the Special Vehicle Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the developer of AS700.
The single-capsule manned airship has a single-point landing gear. It has a maximum take-off weight of 4,150 kg, a maximum flight range of 700 km, and a maximum endurance of 10 hours.
This manned airship can carry up to 10 people, including the pilot.
Compared with hot air balloons which are currently a more common product in the low-altitude tourism market, the airships are more resistant to bad weather impacts.
"Balloons may be swayed by the wind because they have no power. Our airship has power, so you can control the flight, and fly wherever you want to go with relatively higher safety," Zhang said.
The key trial flight paves the way for further long-distance evaluation and eventual commercial operations of the aircraft. It not only fills the gap in the research and development of manned airship in China, but also establishes the product research and development system and the airworthiness technology system.
"Our product happens to be used for low-altitude tourism. It can be taken as a demonstration application in the scenario of low-altitude tourism which will have vigorous development," Zhang said.
Apart from aerial tours, the airship will also primarily serve in the fields of emergency rescue operations, aviation-based geophysical exploration, and other related areas.
"Apart from tourism, airships have a lot of other uses, including aerial survey and photography, as well as geographical prospecting and emergency communication. By making appropriate modifications in the pod and adding our aerial survey equipment, you can take aerial photography of the ground. After adding communications equipment, you can communicate over the air," Zhang said.
AS700 civil airship good for low-altitude tourism, broader uses: engineer
