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Chinese AC313 receives certification
The Avicopter AC313 has been certified by the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority (CAAC), paving the way for the aircraft’s introduction to operational service with civilian operators in China.
In issuing the certification on 5 January for the 13-tonne helicopter, the authorities said the AC313 meets the regulations in accordance with the requirements of CCAR-29R1, allowing the aircraft to play a role in disaster relief activities, forest fire prevention and offshore operations.
Details released by the Xinhua News Agency said that the AC313 went through a strict airworthiness test regime for certification, including 200 hours of flight testing with a particular emphasis on high altitude performance with flights in Tibet and up to the Everest base camp.
With a full-load of 13 tons the AC313 can fly to an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Test flights also concluded that with ten rescue personnel onboard and operating from the Everest base camp the AC313 would be able operate out to 350 km, allowing the aircraft to cover a major part of the 'vast Tibetan Plateau'.
Development of the type has taken four years, and reports suggest that Chinese operators have ordered some 32 AC313s.
The type is powered by three Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-67A turboshafts and despite being hailed as an indigenous design, the aircraft bears a strong resemblance to the Aerospatiale Super Frelon, examples of which were exported to China in the late 1970s.
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