News on China's scientific and technological development.

China's indigenous maglev - the past (i.e. 2005): "Zhonghua-06" 400 kph light maglev



China's light maglev "Zhonghua-06" made debut
UPDATED: 15:41, May 13, 2005


China's light maglev train "Zhonghua-06" made its debut in Dalian (in northeast China's Liaoning Province) on May 11, 2005.


The train is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide, and 1.87 meters high. The design speed is 400 kph (i.e. kilometers per hour).


The driver's cabin in the Zhonghua-06 maglev.



"China's 1st maglev train starts test run
Updated: 25 Jun 2009


China's first domestically-made low-and-medium speed Maglev trains are now undergoing test run operations.

Maglev trains come in various speeds, not only high-speed trains. Low and medium-speed Maglev trains are more suitable for running in urban city areas, similar to subways or light rail. China's first domestically-made low-and medium-speed Maglev trains are now undergoing test run operations.

This is China's newest Maglev train. The test runs began in Tangshan in Hebei Province on June 15th about one week ago. The train has three carriages. And each carriage has between 100 and 120 seats.

Maglev trains float on a magnetic field and are propelled by a linear induction motor. There are no wheels running along a track, so there is no wheel noise. Just like this newest Maglev train shown here, its working noise can hardly be heard five meters away.

The Maglev train has a design speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour. That's faster than light rail trains, which can attain speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. The Maglev train also has stronger power going uphill and turning corners. The Maglev train will offer more convenience and faster service for urban transport.

Vehicle power supplies are located inside the train carriages. Even if there is a sudden loss of electricity, these power supplies can help the Maglev train keep on running to a safe area, before gradually stopping. Engineers say there will be very little electro-magnetic radiation created when the power generating machine is running.

Chairman of Beijing Enterprises Holdings Maglev Tech. Devt. said, "Compared with the radiation from television and electric shavers, the electro-magnetic radiation from the Maglev train is minimal."

The operational system of the Maglev train is also designed to increase safety.

Currently, Japan has the most mature technology on low-and medium-speed Maglev train development. Successful test runs on China's newly-developed Maglev trains show that China will be able to mass produce this technology.

SOURCE: CCTV"

China's indigenous maglev - the present: domestically-designed 500 kph maglev



"China Plans 1000 Km/h Maglev Trains
Posted by Andi On August - 5 - 2010



China’s locomotive jewel is the Maglev in Shanghai. A train that floats on magnets and can reach a cruising speed of around 500 Km/h, pretty darn fast by our standards, but obviously not fast enough.

Jiaotong University currently has a prototype Maglev that can hit 600 Km/h and is planning a smaller ‘Express’ version, which will hit the dizzying speed of 1000 Km/h!! Twice that of current Maglevs in China or Japan!

The people behind these super fast trains decided the only way to make them go any faster was to reduce friction, but as they already float on magnets there was little they could do to drop it further unless of course they put the whole train and its rails in a tube and created a vacuum……. So that’s what they’ve done!

The cost for the tube is said to be around 10-20 million RMB per kilometer!! And is penned in for testing within the next 2-3 years!"



CHENGDU, CHINA: People visit the high-speed maglev train which is manufactured by domestic CAC Central Air industry on April 8, 2010 in Chengdu, Sichuan province of China. The train has a top speed of 500 km/h.


The interior of the domestically-designed and manufactured maglev train.



"China produces first home-grown maglev train
2010-04-09 13:49 BJT

China's first home-grown sample maglev train has been completed, making China the third country able to design and produce the trains after Germany and Japan.

This maglev train has a maximum speed of 500 kilometers per hour. It is expected to take its pilot run on the maglev line in Shanghai during this year's World Expo.

Wu Xiangming, Engineer, Maglev Train Dev’t Project’s expert Group, said, "This is the first domestically-designed and produced maglev train in China. We own the independent intellectual property rights. We will make a pilot run to test whether the train has any flaws."

Maglev trains are the fastest mode of ground transportation in the world. The vehicle contains materials that are used on airplanes.

China used to import maglev technology from developed countries, but after years of learning and innovation, the country has now mastered the entire range of production from building the rails to developing the control system.

Dai Ganchang, Engineer, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, said, "We had a deal with Germany. They introduced technology to us and we digested it. Currently, we only import some parts from Germany. The design and manufacturing are totally home-grown."

China's first maglev line officially opened at the end of 2002 in Shanghai. The trains were imported from Germany. The line has transported a total of 23 million passengers since its introduction. It travels at a speed of 430 kilometers an hour."

China's indigenous maglev - the future: China Plans 1,000 kph Super Train


Vacuum tube maglev train



"China Plans 1,000 KPH Super Train
Jason Mick (Blog) - August 5, 2010 1:19 PM

Design would almost double today's record speed


China is planning to build a 1,000 kph locomotive, which would nearly double the current record speed. (Source: China Daily)

We've discussed a couple of times the U.S.'s growing gap in high speed rail compared to China. As fossil fuels become more scarce, more expensive, and more dangerous from a political standpoint, mass transit solutions look increasingly appealing. High speed rail is particularly promising as it promises not only to reduce fossil fuel use, but also to get you to your destination faster.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) reportedly are preparing a record-shattering 1,000 kilometer per hour train, according to the Beijing Times.

The new trains will make use of a vacuum tube to reduce friction losses. They will first build a prototype vacuum magnetic suspension train capable of traveling between 500 and 600 kph. That gives it a shot at breaking the record set by Japan's JR-Maglev train, which achieved a speed of 581 km/h (361 mph). The record for a traditional railed train was set by France's TGV at 574.8 km/h (357.18 mph).

After the prototype, the group plans to implement a smaller train capable of speeds of as much as 1,000 kph. Shen Zhiyun, a member of the research team, comments, "The speed can be reached by making vacuum pipelines for maglev trains to run through, with no air resistance."

Daryl Oster, who owns the U.S. patent on evacuated tube (vacuum) rail, now works at the CAE. Along with Zhiyun and another researcher, Zhang Yaoping, he is leading efforts to deploy the technology. The team hopes to begin laying ETT rail lines within the next ten years.

It would use less steel than current trains, but would be slightly more expensive. China is targeting a cost of 200 million yuan ($29.54M USD) per kilometer for its traditional rail. The Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) rail would cost approximately 210 to 220 million yuan ($31.0M USD to $32.49M USD) per kilometer.

Currently the planned trains travel at 350 kph. A cost increase of 5 to 10 percent seems a fair tradeoff to score nearly twice the speed. It's just one more example of how ambitious China is when it comes to high speed rail."

China's Godson gets vector boost, aims for 28 nm
August 26, 2010 | Rick Merritt | 222903399
A chief architect of China's microprocessor initiative has described an ambitious set of new Godson CPUs including a server chip with vector processing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wei-wu Hu, a professor at Beijing's Institute of Computing Technology that has led development of the chips, announced several new 65 nm parts debuting in 2011 and plans to leapfrog to a 28-nm process for the next generation.

The ICT has developed six generations of the MIPS-based Godson chips since it started work on the architecture in 2001. Hu presented a paper at Hot Chips focusing on the latest high-end part, the Godson 3B.

The eight-core processor runs at up to a gigahertz and consumes 40W in a 65-nm STMicroelectronics process. The chip--which taped out in May and will be in silicon in September--measures 300 mm2 and delivers 128 gigaflops, Hu said.

The heart of the chip is the 64-bit, MIPS-compatible 464V core which sports a superscalar out-of-order pipeline capable of retiring four instructions per clock cycle. It supports 200 instructions to emulate the Intel x86.

The "V" in the core's name indicates the latest twist in the Godson design, extensions for vector processing.

The core extends its previous 64-bit floating point unit with a 256-bit SIMD vector unit including eight 64-bit MACs. Engineers also created a unique interface to feed the chip with pre-formatted data.


Hu provided little performance information for the part. However, he did say a single gigahertz core could decode H.264 video in 1080-pixel progressive resolution at up to 100 frames per second. The results are based on a combination of FPGA prototypes and RTL simulation.


The Godson 3B chip is currently in wafer testing. Researchers have yet to see the first packaged chips.


Hu showed several board-level examples of designs that will use the 3B in servers or as nodes in massively parallel supercomputing clusters. Earlier this year Shenzhen-based computer maker Dawning Information Industry Co. Ltd. created a petaflops system based on Intel and Nvidia processors and said its next generation will use the 16-core Godson 3C.

Hu suggested some of the Godson designs could hit performance levels of multiple petaflops—potentially putting China's designers in the number one slot on the list of the world's Top 500 supercomputers for the first time. The server chips also aim at design wins in high-end embedded systems.

Also on the road map is the Godson 2H, a single-chip PC processor that integrates graphics, a memory controller and a full suite of peripherals due in late 2011. Hu's group also plans a 16-core server chip for 2012, the Godson 3C.

The Godson paper created a buzz at Hot Chips where Hu was peppered with questions after his talk. However, some - including analyst Nathan Brookwood of Insight64 in a video interview - expressed skepticism whether China could make good on its ambitious plans, particularly for securing 28nm process technology.

The eight-core Godson 3B is in the works at a time when AMD is already shipping a 12-core server chip. Intel described at Hot Chips its Westmere-EX, a 32nm dual-threaded, ten-core server processor with advanced security and virtualization features it will ship soon.

China's CPU engineers plan to leapfrog 45nm process technology, using a 28nm process for their next generation design. Hu optimistically predicted he will have a prototype 28nm Godson design by April, though real products will not be ready until 2012.

However, it's unclear where China will find a 28nm fab. It currently uses STMicro with TSMC as "a second source," Hu said.

TSMC will have 28nm available for key partners such as Xilinx and Altera in 2011, but it's unclear whether a China national project would fab its part in a Taiwanese foundry.


STMicro and China have a long relationship. In the early 1990's ST and the Shenzhen Electronics Group held talks about building an advanced fab in southern China, but the discussions never came to fruition.


The Chinese government has invested as much as US$10 billion in a range of 16 high tech projects in the last five years, said Hu, a member of China's National People's Congress and a professor at ICT. The projects range from China's space program to systems to handle the country's growing water pollution problem, but the brunt of the spending has gone into an initiative to develop a homegrown processor and operating system, he said.

The Godson processor initiative got its start nearly a decade ago in China's 10th Five-Year Plan. The project has met its goal of the current Five-Year Plan--developing a range of CPUs for desktops and servers.

In the next decade--the period of China's 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans--the country aims to build out an ecosystem for the chips.

Here is the paper on Godson technology

Re: China's indigenous maglev - the past (i.e. 2005): "Zhonghua-06" 400 kph light mag

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China's light maglev "Zhonghua-06" made debut
UPDATED: 15:41, May 13, 2005

[qimg]http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7388/zhonghua06a.jpg[/qimg]
China's light maglev train "Zhonghua-06" made its debut in Dalian (in northeast China's Liaoning Province) on May 11, 2005.

[qimg]http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4884/zhonghua06b.jpg[/qimg]
The train is 9.6 meters long, 1.65 meters wide, and 1.87 meters high. The design speed is 400 kph (i.e. kilometers per hour).

[qimg]http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/6338/zhonghau06c.jpg[/qimg]
The driver's cabin in the Zhonghua-06 maglev.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

"China's 1st maglev train starts test run
Updated: 25 Jun 2009

[qimg]http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/83/chinamediumspeedmaglev.jpg[/qimg]
China's first domestically-made low-and-medium speed Maglev trains are now undergoing test run operations.

Maglev trains come in various speeds, not only high-speed trains. Low and medium-speed Maglev trains are more suitable for running in urban city areas, similar to subways or light rail. China's first domestically-made low-and medium-speed Maglev trains are now undergoing test run operations.

This is China's newest Maglev train. The test runs began in Tangshan in Hebei Province on June 15th about one week ago. The train has three carriages. And each carriage has between 100 and 120 seats.

Maglev trains float on a magnetic field and are propelled by a linear induction motor. There are no wheels running along a track, so there is no wheel noise. Just like this newest Maglev train shown here, its working noise can hardly be heard five meters away.

The Maglev train has a design speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour. That's faster than light rail trains, which can attain speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. The Maglev train also has stronger power going uphill and turning corners. The Maglev train will offer more convenience and faster service for urban transport.

Vehicle power supplies are located inside the train carriages. Even if there is a sudden loss of electricity, these power supplies can help the Maglev train keep on running to a safe area, before gradually stopping. Engineers say there will be very little electro-magnetic radiation created when the power generating machine is running.

Chairman of Beijing Enterprises Holdings Maglev Tech. Devt. said, "Compared with the radiation from television and electric shavers, the electro-magnetic radiation from the Maglev train is minimal."

The operational system of the Maglev train is also designed to increase safety.

Currently, Japan has the most mature technology on low-and medium-speed Maglev train development. Successful test runs on China's newly-developed Maglev trains show that China will be able to mass produce this technology.

SOURCE: CCTV"

Click to expand...

Whoa the Zhonghua-06 train is hanging off a rail?? That's pretty cool right there.

First posted by Emperor on CDF

U.S. says China building 'entirely indigenous' supercomputer
Petaflop-class supercomputer 'expected to be complete within the next 12 to 18 months,' DOE says
Patrick Thibodeau
November 4, 2010 (Computerworld)



WASHINGTON -- China may be no more than a year away from developing a supercomputer built entirely from its own technology, a big step toward freeing itself of Western technology.

This is the view of some research and industry experts in the U.S., but most notably Steven Koonin, the undersecretary for science at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), who says China is now working on petaflop-class supercomputer "using entirely indigenous components that is expected to be complete within the next 12 to 18 months."

"It is clear that DOE will not be the only organization working to push the limits of computer performance," wrote Koonin, in a post published on DOE's Energy Blog on Friday.

Explainging how the 12-to-18 month estimate was made, an advisor in Koonin's office told Computerworld it was a collective assessment based on data coming from China and Chinese researchers and visits to China by several people.

Koonin isn't the only person to think such a time frame is possible. Jack Dongarra, a professor of computer science at University of Tennessee and a distinguished research staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, makes a similar prediction, and cites China's work on microprocessors, which include chips based on MIPS architecture, and the Loongson or Godson processor.

China's supercomputing goals are becoming plain. Last month, China announced that its Tianhe-1A supercomputer had achieved 2.5 petaflops in a standard benchmark test, making it the world's most powerful supercomputer.

This standing is expected to become official when the Top500 supercomputing list is released in the middle of this month. (A petaflop is one thousand trillion sustained floating-point operations per second.)

Today, U.S. chip makers, in particular Intel, dominate supercomputing, and even the Tianhe-1A relies Intel Xenon processors and Nividia Tesla GPUs. Intel chips are used in 406 of the top 500 systems, followed by AMD at 49, and IBM Power at 42, according to Top500 list data.

However, China's Tianhe-1A shows how the country is gradually making its break from Western technology. Along with the Intel and Nividia chip, this system includes a third chip, the FeiTeng 1000, an eight core Chinese produced Sparc-based processor that is used to operate service nodes, such as log-ins.

China's latest supercomputer includes its own proprietary interconnect that is faster than InfiniBand but not as fast as the proprietary interconnects from U.S. companies, said Steve Conway, an HPC analyst for IDC. "[But] the most impressive thing about this is they developed most of the software themselves," Conway said.

China has also developed its own Linux operating system, called Kylin.

It's conceivable that in 12 to 18 months the Chinese could build a supercomputer based on all Chinese processors, but it would be for this specific supercomputer and not for the commercial market, Conway said.

"I would have a hard time believing that those would be processors that they could sell into the global marketplace," said Conway, who said competing globally may take China five to 10 years.

But China is clearly motivated to develop its own technology, Conway said. "For historical reasons China was unable for decades to buy the most powerful class of supercomputers from the West, and they were in a state of dependency, and presumably they want to escape that dependency," he said.

Nathan Brookwood, a chip analyst at Insight64, said doesn't doubt that China can design a homegrown system, but added: "I'm not sure where they can manufacture such a chip. Intel just opened the most advanced fab in China, but it operates at 65nm, two generations behind the facilities it uses in the rest of the world."

China could use chip makers outside of China, such as the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and other makers as well, Brookwood said.

The challenge by China to produce supercomputers for scientific research and industrial development may be coming at an interesting time. This week's election is expected to bring a new push to cut federal spending.

The U.S. is the major source of funding of large systems that compete on the scale of those being built in China, Europe and Japan.

The U.S. has allocated just under $2 billion this year for high-performance computing in unclassified areas. Funding for classified systems is not disclosed.

"With the change in Congress there will be heavy pressure to cut discretionary spending, so yes, researchers in all disciplines should be concerned," said Peter Harsha, director of government affairs for the Computing Research Association.

But science funding does find some support from elected officials on both sides of the aisle, "who recognize that the country's ability to stay a competitive is tightly tied to its ability to remain a home for innovation, and that fundamental research is a huge driver of that innovation," Harsha said.

"Tianhe-1 is a great example of how capable and committed to research our economic competition has become," he said.

Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is [email protected].

Reddex--First Non-Toxic, Fire Resistant Composite Material from ITRI



"Reddex--First Non-Toxic, Fire Resistant Composite Material from ITRI
Posted Nov 4, 2010

ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute), Taiwan's largest and one of the world's leading high-tech research and development institutions, introduces Reddex, the first non-toxic fire resistant composite material technology to simultaneously offer ignition resistance and fire protection in one system, effectively reducing the risks associated with structure fires.

ITRI will receive a "2010 R&D 100 Award" from R&D Magazine next week for this breakthrough technology.


Reddex composites

Reddex introduces a new family of polymer inorganic composite which provides ignition resistance and effectively slows down the rate at which fire burns -- it is unique in its combination of these advantages. This allows more time for people to escape, for less -- and non-toxic -- smoke to be produced -- one of the most harmful aspects of a fire -- and for fire fighters to get to the scene before the fire has dramatically spread and intensified, limiting the building's structural damage -- which can save lives and money.

Reddex sets a new standard in fire protection and offers versatility in its applications. It can be prepared as a paint, paste or foam, and is offered in mechanical properties ranging from flexible to rigid. It is ideal for buildings, hospitals, schools and residences, as well as for interiors of cars, airplanes and boats. With its flexibility, Reddex is useful in applications never imaginable: films, tapes, hoses, tubes, electrical cables and wires. Reddex can be coated onto the surface of substrates, polymeric foams, woods, silicate boards and metals, etc. for the construction of fire-resistant layered structures. The Reddex composites have excellent adhesion to these useful substrates.

"Reddex signals a breakthrough in fire prevention and will to play an integral role in reducing the risks associated with fires," said Echo Tseng, director of business development at ITRI's Commercialization and Industry Service Center. "Reddex's versatility makes it cost-effective. We anticipate material manufacturers being particularly interested in this technology."

Fires are harmful and destructive, and can cost millions of dollars in maintenance and repairs. In a recent study, the U.S. municipal fire departments responded to an estimated average of 109,300 structure fires in non-residential properties annually. These fires resulted in 100 deaths, 1,410 injuries and $42.5 billion in direct property damage each year. High-rise buildings had an average of 13,400 reported structure fires per year and $179 million in direct property damage.

Reddex's key breakthrough is the polymer component that chars and burns at a slower rate than any other fire retardant. The Reddex material eventually converts into a bound inorganic porous structure, which effectively becomes a structure that has low thermal conductivity to insulate heat and good mechanical rigidity to maintain structural integrity. Reddex's formulation does not use conventional ignition resistant additives that contain halogen, sulfur or phosphor components. As a result, no toxic gas is generated when exposed to fire. By using polymers such as PU as the organic component, which is turned into water vapor and carbon dioxide when burned, much less smoke is produced."

Russian, Chinese Scientists Share Nanoscience Medals

Paris-based UNESCO has awarded the first medals"for contributions to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies"to Russian Academician Zhores Ivanovich Alferov and Chinese chemistry professor Bai Chunli, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said Wednesday.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, handed the medals on Tuesday night to Alferov, Russian winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics, and Bai's representative Shi Shuyun, Chinese Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.

Bai is a professor of chemistry at the Laboratory of Molecular Nanostructure and Nanotechnology in Beijing and executive vice- president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"This award is recognition of the tremendous benefits of progress in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnologies on our societies, our economies and on all of us,"Bokova said at the awarding ceremony.

According to Eleonora Mitrofanova, chairperson of UNESCO's Executive Board, Professor Bai is the inventor of sophisticated nano-research tools including the ultra-high-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope and Professor Alferov developed the "ideal" semiconductor infrastructure that forms the basis of all microelectronic devices used today.

The medal was initiated by the International Commission responsible for developing the nanoscience and nanotechnologies theme for the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), one of the world's biggest web-based archives published jointly by UNESCO and EOLSS Publishers.

China Reaches New High for Most Space Missions in a Year



"China Reaches New High for Most Space Missions in a Year
By Stephen Clark
05 November 2010


A Chinese Long March 3C rocket stands poised to launch China's second moon mission, the Chang'e 2 lunar orbiter, on Oct. 1, 2010. Credit: CALT

Sunday's launch of a navigation satellite was the 12th flight of a Long March rocket in 2010, eclipsing the record for most Chinese space missions in a single year.

This weekend's flight broke an annual record China set in 2008, when it conducted 11 launches of human, scientific and military payloads.

This year, the country's burgeoning space program has launched 12 rockets, all successfully.

Payloads include four Beidou navigation satellites launched in January, July, August and October. China plans to continue a rapid pace of Beidou flights over the next two years, eventually reaching an intermediate stage of deployment by 2012, when it will provide positioning services over China and neighboring regions.

China will have launched 14 Beidou satellites by 2012 to achieve the localized coverage in the Asia-Pacific region, according to official government sources.

Three Long March flights have orbited Yaogan military reconnaissance satellites, beginning in March when a trio of spacecraft blasted off on a Long March 3C rocket.

Two more Yaogan payloads, believed to be electro-optical or night-vision radar spy satellites, were sent into space in August and September.

State-owned Chinese media outlets report the Yaogan satellites accomplish scientific experiments, survey land resources, estimate crop yields and contribute to natural disaster response efforts. But observers believe the spacecraft are actually operated by the Chinese military.

Long March rockets in June and October sent Shijian technology demonstration payloads into orbit.

The June launch of Shijian 12 started a groundbreaking rendezvous test that reached a crescendo in August, when it approached another Chinese satellite. China released no official account of the demo, but independent analysts using U.S. military tracking data concluded the spacecraft must have passed within about 600 feet of each other.

Other boosters launched a Tianhui mapping satellite, the Chinasat 6A television broadcasting spacecraft and the Chang'e 2 probe to the moon.

Chang'e 2 launched Oct. 1 and reached the moon five days later.

At least three more satellites are planned to launch this year, potentially extending the record to around 15 missions by the end of December.

China is preparing another Long March rocket to haul a Fengyun weather satellite to orbit as soon as Nov. 4. Another communications satellite and Beidou navigation platform could follow later in November and December.

The pace of Beidou launches, coupled with increased activity in China's human space program, should continue a frenzied launch manifest through 2011.

China is testing the core module of a mini-space station named Tiangong 1 for launch late next year. Future Chinese astronaut crews will visit the complex starting in 2012, Hooray for NASA's EPOXI flyby of Comet Hartley 2! according to state media.

This year's record launch rate comes as NASA and China open a joint dialogue on potential space cooperation. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden visited China last month, and his hosts afforded him unprecedented access to human spaceflight facilities.

Although the talks did not include discussions on specific partnerships, according to NASA, the visit provided a basis for further dialogue."

China's first domestic-made light civilian helicopter makes debut



"China's first domestic-made light civilian helicopter makes debut
English.news.cn 2010-11-08 15:10:49


An AC311 multi-purpose helicopter, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), is seen during its first test flight in Tianjin, north China, on Nov. 8, 2010. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)


The first light civilian helicopter developed and manufactured in China made its successful maiden flight on Monday. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)


The two-tonne helicopter has a seating capacity of six and can be used for flight training, policing, communication command, aerial photography, medical aid, power line patrol, forest fire prevention and pest control. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng)

TIANJIN, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The first light civilian helicopter developed and manufactured in China made its successful maiden flight in northern port city of Tianjin Monday.

The two-tonne AC311 helicopter, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has a seating capacity of six and can be used for flight training, policing, communication command, aerial photography, medical aid, power line patrol, forest fire prevention and pest control.

The aircraft was equipped with a fuel-efficient engine, a durable and flexible composite rotor system, and a highly integrated avionics system, said Wang Bin, general manager of Avicopter Corporation Limited, a joint venture between AVIC and the Tianjin municipal government.

"Its technology and performance are close to the international advanced level. In terms of cost, it is about 10 to 15 percent less than similar products from other manufacturers," Wang said.

"The AC311 helicopter will be sold wordwide. The first two have been purchased by police from Tianjin's Binhai New District and Guiyang (capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province)," he said.

The AC311 helicopter is expected to obtain a type certificate from China's civil aviation authorities in October 2011 and go on the market in 2012, he said.

"It is expected that the market demand for this type of helicopter will reach 500 in the next 10 years," he said.

Editor: Deng Shasha"