China Focus: China’s manned airship enables “in the clouds” sightseeing

by Xinhua writers Hu Tao, Shen Feng, Tian Zijun
NANNING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) — China’s low-altitude skies embraced a new type of aeronautic equipment as the first homegrown AS700 civil manned airship was delivered on Saturday, bringing people a sightseeing experience akin to flying “in the clouds.”
The Special Vehicle Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) delivered the ten-seater airship to Guangxi Guilin Ark General Aviation Co., Ltd. in Yangshuo County in Guilin, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The AS700 airship will be used for aerial sightseeing in Yangshuo, known for its ink painting-like natural landscapes. Also on Saturday, two clients placed orders for a total of 12 units of the AS700.
This marks the independently-developed Chinese AS700 manned airship achieving the key phases of development, airworthiness certification and delivery. In addition, it is about to enter the commercial operation phase, said the AVIC, the country’s leading aircraft manufacturer.
“I do want to take a ride! To see my granddaughter studying at a university in Nanning and grandson serving in the army,” said Liu Xiuqun, an 86-year-old granny living in a village near the airship’s takeoff and landing pad in Yangshuo.
Seeing the airship taking off, the granny took a break from her farm work and made her way to the pad for a closer look. Liu said that, despite being very excited to get to the pad, she had decided to change into a pair of new shoes. “The airship is so pretty, and I really don’t want to make it dirty!”
Ever since the large airship appeared close to her village, Liu has often found herself taking a closer look, while expressing her happiness to have such an opportunity.
“Airships have always been in the dreams of the Chinese. Researchers and aviators have been dedicated to the study of airships. Now, we have the AS700, which is a modern airship with completely independent intellectual property rights,” said Zhou Lei, chief designer of the AS700 at the AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute.
The AS700 is a singe-envelope manned airship boasting a maximum flight range of 700 kilometers and endurance of 10 hours. Its designed maximum speed is 100 kilometers per hour and it can carry up to 10 people, including the pilot.
“Safety is the top priority of this manned airship,” Zhou said, adding that the vehicle has adopted a systematic design to ensure its safety, with features including an envelope made of high strength multi-layer composite materials and multiple emergency measures.
“Notably, we have designed a thrust-vectored system which makes the airship realize short and vertical takeoff and landing. This technology is promising in terms of its use in flying cars and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in the future,” Zhou said.
Last December, the AS700 obtained the type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
“I have always been passionate about aviation and flying. Even when the airship was still in the draft design stage, we had set up a company to prepare for its commercial operation,” said Hu Yingjie, president of Guangxi Guilin Ark General Aviation Co., Ltd.
He added that they had discovered the perfect fit of manned airship flight and low-altitude sightseeing in Yangshuo.
“Imagine a large airship more than 50 meters long and around four-to-five stories high. How amazing it will be to enjoy the Yangshuo scenery above hills and waters in a safe, steady and soothing manner aboard the airship,” Hu said.
China has a huge market and dense city clusters. The size of the country’s low-altitude economy is estimated to have exceeded 500 billion yuan (70.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, with its scale expected to rise to 2 trillion yuan by 2030, according to the CAAC.
“The AS700 airship represents the highest level of technology and development capability in the field of manned airships in China,” said Jin Tao, deputy head of the AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute.
According to Jin, the AS700 is not only suited for low-altitude sightseeing, but can also be used in various low-altitude application scenarios such as aerial advertising, urban security, aerial surveying and emergency rescue operations.
“Eyeing the vast skies of the low-altitude sector, we are exploring more innovative types of airships and application scenarios. Electric-powered airships, unmanned airships and other innovative models are in the planning phase,” Jin said. ■