First flight of China's self-developed amphibious aircraft successful

[Aeon]

First flight of China's self-developed amphibious aircraft successful
2010-11-11 10:32:22

SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The first flight of China's first self-developed light amphibious aircraft, the HO300, succeeded early Wednesday in a north China city.

The HO300 took off at 10:18 a.m. in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, and landed 15 minutes later.

The HO300, a multi-use amphibious aircraft, was developed by the General Aircraft Co., Ltd. of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), after three years of efforts, said Meng Xiangkai, manager of the company.

The 8.9-meter-long and 12.46-meter-wide airplane with a cruising speed of 231 kilometers per hour can land on both land and water, including lakes, reservoirs and seas, and can take off on plateaus at altitudes below 3,500 meters.

The HO300, designed as a passenger plane, can carry four to six passengers and take off with loads of 1,680 kilograms. Its maximum flight range can reach 1,300 kilometers.

The aircraft is expected to be used for business flights, general traveling, transporting, patrolling, searching, environmental monitoring, as well as other uses.

"The success of the HO300 is an important step for experimental aircraft to be commercialized," Meng Xiangkai said.

The HO300 is expected to reach the market in 2011, Meng said.

 

[Akasa]

This will probably be the next 100 push-ups for the aviation industry:

Dragon 600, World's Largest Amphibious Aircraft To Be Built In China

 

[Martian2]

A Seagull 300 multi-functional light amphibious plane is seen during its test flight in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, on Nov. 10, 2010. The Seagull 300 plane, which is developed and manufactured by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), succeeded in its first test flight on Wednesday. The four- or six-seat plane is designed for a variety of landing surfaces, such as water, grass, asphalt, and concrete. (Xinhua/Wang Min)

Seagull 300 succeeds in maiden flight - People's Daily Online

"Seagull 300 succeeds in maiden flight
16:33, November 11, 2010

The Seagull 300 lands on the runway on Nov. 11, 2010.

China's Seagull 300 light multi-functional amphibious plane made a successful maiden flight in Shijiazhuang, capital city of north China’s Hebei Province on Nov. 11, 2010.

The Seagull 300, the first of its kind in China to have independent intellectual property rights, is developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

It required only 12 months to finish the work from design to maiden flight, setting a new record in China. The success of the maiden flight means the project will switch to testing for flight navigability.

By People's Daily Online"

 

[Martian2]

any idea what advantages there are in having the propeller in the revere position?

Seagull 300 pusher configuration

Pusher configuration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Pusher configuration

Advantages

* Efficiency can be gained by mounting a propeller behind the fuselage, because it re-energizes the boundary layer developed on the body, and reduces the form drag by keeping the flow attached. However, this effect is not nearly as pronounced on a small airplane as it is on a submarine or ship, where it is quite important due to the much higher Reynolds number at which they operate.

* Wing efficiency increases due to the absence of prop-wash over any section of the wing.

* Rear thrust is somewhat less stable in flight than with a tractor configuration. This has the potential to make an aircraft more maneuverable.[citation needed]

* Especially in a single-engined pusher aircraft, the pilot's view both forward and downwards is improved because the engine and propeller do not block forward vision, and because the more rearward centre of gravity makes placement of the cockpit forward of the wings more practical. Consequently, this configuration was widely used for early combat aircraft, and remains popular today among ultralight aircraft.

* The propeller of a single-engined airplane can be placed closer to the elevators and rudder. This increases the speed of the air flowing over the control surfaces, improving pitch and yaw control at low speed, particularly during takeoff when the engine is at full power. This can be beneficial while bush flying, especially when taking off and landing on airstrips bounded by obstacles that must be avoided while the airplane is moving slowly.

* The engine is mounted behind the crew and passenger compartments, so fuel does not have to flow past personnel, any leak will vent behind the aircraft, and any engine fire will be directed behind the aircraft (however, this arrangement puts the empennage at greater risk, if there is one—but this is less of an issue if the fire occurs on, or as a consequence of, landing). Similarly, propeller failure is unlikely to directly endanger the crew.

* The cockpit is generally quieter in a pusher aircraft because both the engine and propeller are behind the crew.

* At the time when many military aircraft were pushers, the engine afforded rear protection to the pilot, and simplified the installation of gun armament."

Any more questions?