AVIC’s electric AS700D airship completes maiden flight
February 24, 2025
The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has made the successful first flight of its electric AS700D manned airship, building on the already-certified conventionally-powered AS700 variant.
Featuring a lithium battery-powered drive system, propellor system, thrust vectoring and cooling system, this “comprehensive electrification upgrade” results in “low flight noise and near-zero emissions,” explains AVIC. As such, the manufacturer adds that the new AS700D is “suitable for noise and emission-sensitive areas and large events, performing tasks such as aerial photography, traffic control, and communication relay”.
China Daily newspaper reports that the aircraft ascended vertically to around 50m, briefly hovering before performing a vertical landing. Pilot Lin Hong is quoted as saying: “The flight of the electric airship feels lighter and smoother, just like driving new energy cars. It operates quietly, and both the piloting and riding experiences are more comfortable”.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a type certificate to the independently-developed AS700 airship in December 2023, making it the first ten-seat, crewed airship in the country to receive type certification. Although range expectations have not been specified for the all-electric variant, AVIC has previously indicted that the conventionally-powered AS700 has a maximum range of 700km and a maximum endurance of ten hours.
The first AS700 delivery was made to a launch customer Guangxi Guilin Fangzhou General Aviaiton in September 2024 and a demonstrator unit has since been touring across China. In January this year, this AS700 (nicknamed ‘Xiangyun’) completed a 1,500km journey from Shaoxing to Quiandongann to conduct a three-day trial flight and passenger experience programme. In December 2024, AVIC explained that the year’s “various tests and trial flights” had laid “a solid foundation for its formal delivery and commercial deployment”.
