AprototypeoftheAG600MfirefightingplanereturnstotheapronatHulunbuirHailarAirport,InnerMongoliaautonomousregion,onJan27.YAOXUDONG/FORCHINADAILYTwoprototypesoftheAG600M,thefirefightingvariantofChina'sAG600seaplane,recentlyfinishedtestflightsinanextremelycoldenvironment,theAviationIndustryCorpofChinasaid.TheState-ownedaircraftmakersaidinanewsreleasethattwoAG600MprototypesarrivedatHulunbuirHailarAirportintheInnerMongoliaautonomousregioninlateJanuary,andthencarriedoutseveraltestflightsfromtheairport.ThetestslastedabouttwoweeksandverifiedtheAG600M'scapabilityandperformanceinfreezingtemperaturesrangingfrom-20Cto-40C.Thetestcrewalsocheckedproceduresforoperationsincoldweather,AVICsaid.ThecompanysaidtheAG600MprojectteamwillcarryoutaseriesoftestflightsoftheprototypesacrossthecountrytomeetitsscheduleofqualifyingtheaircraftforthetypecertificatefromtheCivilAviationAdministrationofChinabeforetheendofthisyear.Aftertheairworthinesscertificationwork,initialdeliveriesareexpectedtostartbefore2025,accordingtoAVIC.TheAG600Mmodelperformeditsfirstland-basedtestflightinZhuhai,Guangdongprovince,inMay2022.Itcarriedoutitsfirstwater-basedtestflightinJingmen,Hubeiprovince,inAugustthatyear.Ithasamaximumtakeoffweightof60metrictons.Inatypicalfirefightingoperation,itwillcollect12tonsofwaterfromalakeorseawithin20secondsanduseittodousefiresoveranareaofabout4,000squaremeters,designerssaid,addingthattheplanehasaflightrangeofupto4,500kilometers.ThebaseAG600model,whichmadeitsmaidenflightinDecember2017,wasChina'ssecondamphibiousaircraftmodelaftertheSH-5,whichwasdevelopedinthe1970sformilitarypurposesandhaslongsincebeenretiredfromservice.Withalengthof37metersandawingspanof38.8meters,theAG600isroughlythesizeofaBoeing737.Itistheworld'sbiggestamphibiousaircraft,surpassingJapan'sShinMaywaUS-2andRussia'sBerievBe-200.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.