CRI听力:World Largest Amphibious Aircraft Starts Final Assembly

General assembly has begun on China's self-developed amphibious aircraft AG600 in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong province.

Workers are currently assembling the fuselage of the world's largest amphibious aircraft.

Huang Lingcai, chief designer of the AG600 project, says that one of the aircraft's main functions is long-distance sea rescue.

"The golden rescue time for those in the water is twelve hours. The helicopter is still the first choice for coastal water rescue while for long distance rescue exceeding 500 kilometers, a helicopter cannot reach that far and a boat is too slow. The AG600 can reach a speed of 480 kilometers per hour. Under suitable conditions, it can land on waters directly to carry out rescue work. "

The aircraft has a flying range of 5,000 kilometers, with an effective rescue range of around 3,000 kilometers.

Besides maritime rescue, the AG600 will also be used to fight forest fires.

"When the aircraft is on water, it can absorb 12 tonnes of water in its four water tanks in twelve to fifteen seconds. After arriving over the fire-hit area, the tank doors opens and the water pours onto the fire in four seconds."

The AG600 will also be used in marine environment monitoring, resource exploration, and transportation.

It can take off from both land and water and rescue a maximum of 50 people on water at one time.

The AG600, along with the airfreighter Y-20 and the large passenger aircraft C919, are all China's large planes.