AC313A
China's latest, domestically developed multipurpose large helicopter, the AC313A, made its maiden flight on 17 May 2022, taking another step toward the expansion of China's arsenal of aviation equipment for emergency rescue. It is planned to obtain a civil aircraft type certificate in 2024 and put it into use in 2025. Taking off at 8:55 am and landing at 9:17 am at the Lümeng Airport in Jingdezhen, East China's Jiangxi Province, the first flight of the AC313A went smoothly, the Global Times learned from the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), the manufacturer of the aircraft. The AC313A will make further test flights, and it is expected to receive an airworthiness certificate during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) before being delivered to users, AVIC said.
AC313 is a civil helicopter developed in China on the basis of Z-8, and it is a French Super Frelon. In March 2010, the first prototype of AC313 completed its first test flight. The aircraft is designed to carry 27 passengers, with a maximum take-off weight of 13.8 tons and a maximum range of 900 kilometers. The follow-up improvement of AC313 mainly focuses on military use.
Overall, although the AC313A continues the numbering of the AC313, it is not a modification of the AC313, but an improvement on the basis of the latest Z-8L wide-body helicopter. There is a possibility here that the Z-8L wide body is not what was envisaged back then. Perhaps, China had been working hard to develop a domestic helicopter similar to the EH101, but due to technical constraints, China can only continue to improve on the Z-8 platform.
In order to reduce the risk and shorten the time, the original plan is divided into two or even three steps. The first step is to reduce the height of the cargo compartment and increase the width of the fuselage. This is the current Z-8L. The second step is to make deep improvements to the defects in the engine and transmission system that have existed for a long time on the straight-8 platform, which is now the AC313A.
It can be seen from the public pictures that the AC313A adopts the general layout of the Z-8 wide-body helicopter, cancels the floor fuel tank, and places the fuel tank outside the large pontoon-type fairings on both sides. In this way, the height of the cargo compartment is lowered, which facilitates the loading and unloading of materials, and at the same time, the external fuel tank is separated from the cabin, which improves the safety of the crew when the plane crashes.
The biggest change to the AC313A is a change to the engine layout. The logistics sector has boosted YTO Express's expected net profit in 2021. The Z-8 series follows the engine layout of the Super Frelon. There are 3 turboshaft engines, 2 engines are arranged side by side in front of the rotor shaft, and 1 engine is arranged behind the rotor shaft. The drive shaft of the front left engine is directly connected to the rear engine drive shaft, the two engines are paralleled, and then paralleled with the front right engine. The current AC313A moves the front two engines to the sides of the fuselage, and the three engines directly drive the main reducer forward. This design is similar to the EH101, which reduces the engine power loss by more than 3% and further improves the AC313A's payload.
In addition, it is said to use a sloping tail rotor similar to that of the "Super Stallion" helicopter, and the tail rotor is inclined to the lower left of the fuselage, but the specific details remain to be seen. The advantage of the inclined tail rotor is that it can provide an upward component force while providing a horizontal component force to offset the moment generated by the main rotor. Especially when the helicopter is rising, the helicopter with inclined tail rotor design can achieve the same effect at lower power, making the helicopter more fuel-efficient.
Xu Jianhua, director of the Aviation Industry Helicopter Institute said: "The first flight of the helicopter is a very important milestone in the entire development process of the helicopter. Being able to enter the first flight shows that we have achieved success in the preliminary trial production work and the preliminary ground test work. There is an indication of the safety and reliability of the entire aircraft. I think the greatest significance of this aircraft's first flight is that it has broken through the technical blockade of foreign countries, and we have offered a robust product in our country's emergency rescue system."
Xie Xiaowen, Deputy General Manager of Aviation Industry Changfei said: "According to the needs of the construction of the national aviation emergency rescue system, on the basis of the existing helicopter research and development level, this type of aircraft can be upgraded to a large, new, high-power engine by replacing it with a large, new, high-power engine. Electricity and transmission system and other measures to improve the emergency rescue capability of domestic large-scale civil helicopters."
It is understood that the AC313A helicopter is an important helicopter developed by the aviation industry to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on strengthening the construction of my country's emergency rescue capabilities, actively promoting the modernization of emergency management systems and capabilities, and to meet the needs of the construction of the national aviation emergency rescue system equipment.
As a 13 ton-class multipurpose large helicopter developed based on the AC313 for civilian purposes, the AC313A is equipped with a new type of engine with a greater drive power, longer lifespan and better reliability. It has also received upgrades in mechatronics, avionics, flight control and steering systems, and it now also has a health and usage monitoring system, as well as an anti-icing device for rotor blades.
The redesigned widebody fuselage enables the helicopter to have a larger internal space. The AC313A switched to use the world's most powerful turboshaft engines, as well as new reducers, a tilted tail rotor, improved rotor and control systems, and a widebody structure, giving a comprehensive boost to the chopper's performance, said Liu Wenqi, the chief designer of the helicopter.
To fully ensure the safety of the first flight, the AC313A had completed a 50-hour iron bird endurance test, Liu said. An iron bird is a ground-based device to test an aircraft's functions. The avionics system of the AC313A received the first domestically developed flight management system, which enhanced the aircraft's area navigation system, improved system safety and significantly lowered the workload for the flight crew, said Cao Xi, leader of the system's development.
With a maximum takeoff weight of 13.8 tons with external loads and capable of carrying 28 passengers, the AC313A is designed to reduce the weaknesses in China's arsenal of emergency rescue. By having equipment like search lights, fire buckets, electric winches and loudspeakers, the helicopter excels at missions like fighting fires and search and rescue.
Thanks to the upgrades, the AC313A performs in an outstanding way at high altitudes, making it an effective choice in emergency rescue and supply transport in plateau regions like Southwest China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region. It can also be customized for missions like emergency medical assistance, emergency control and command, law enforcement and maritime rescue, so it can satisfy different types of needs throughout China's varied terrains and weather conditions, AVIC said.
The innovative development mode of AC313A helicopter is mainly carried out by Changfei Helicopter Institute of Aviation Industry, in conjunction with Daqing Aviation Rescue Detachment of Forest Fire Bureau of Emergency Management Department, and cooperates with Jiangxi Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Center of Civil Aviation of China. The latest airworthiness standards require various research and development work. Several parties jointly set up an efficient and coordinated model development work team, and jointly promote model design, trial production and test flight through the "five integrations" work mode of concept integration, talent integration, service integration, standard integration, and work integration. At the same time, strengthen the party building of the model development line, and set up a model development multi-party joint party member commando team and the first flight Luoyang youth joint commando team. The research and development team overcame the impact of the epidemic, insisted on two-line operations, and promoted the development of high-quality models with high-quality party building to ensure the smooth development of model work.
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