ride on the "xiangyun" to see the mountains and rivers! visit china's first independently developed 10-seat manned airship
2024-09-24
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
as700 is preparing for flight at the yangshuo moon hill take-off and landing point. photo by shen dongfang
as700 pilot lin hong operates the equipment on the boat during the flight. photo by shen dongfang
a "white whale in the sky" traveled in the sea of clouds and fog, and landed steadily after passing through many iconic scenic spots in yangshuo, guilin, guangxi, successfully completing the demonstration flight... on the morning of september 14, the first manned airship "xiangyun" as700 independently developed by the aviation industry corporation of china was officially delivered to customers, and 12 orders for the purchase of airships and 20 intention orders were signed on the spot. this marks that the development, production, certification and delivery of domestic manned airships have been fully connected, and they are about to enter the commercial operation stage.
the "xiangyun" as700 manned airship is the first manned airship in china that is independently developed in accordance with airworthiness regulations, has completely independent intellectual property rights and is the first to obtain a type certificate. it introduces advanced design concepts in the aviation field in accordance with the design idea of "one boat, multiple types, and series development" and can meet the needs of the domestic and international low-altitude tourism market.
what are the principles and characteristics of manned airships? how are they different from other aircraft? in addition to low-altitude tourism, in what other scenarios will they be used in the future? let us step into the world of "xiangyun" together.
it relies on helium buoyancy and propeller pull to stay in the air, with a maximum range of 700 kilometers, a maximum flight speed of 100 kilometers per hour, and can carry up to 10 people.
if one word is used to describe the first impression of "xiangyun", it would be "white and plump". the helium-filled airbag creates its cute image.
zhou lei, chief designer of the "xiangyun" as700 manned airship, told reporters that the manned airship is mainly composed of the following parts: airbags, with auxiliary airbags for filling air inside the main airbags; cabins, mainly used to carry personnel and cargo, etc.; and tail wing, landing gear, nose cone, power unit, system equipment, etc. the maximum take-off weight is 4,150 kilograms, the maximum range is 700 kilometers, the maximum flight time is 10 hours, the maximum flight speed is 100 kilometers per hour, and the maximum number of passengers is 10 (including 1 pilot).
the world's first airship dates back more than 100 years, which is older than airplanes. most early airships were rigid airships, supported by a keel frame, which had high construction and maintenance costs. today's airships are mostly soft, no longer relying on a rigid frame, but completely using the internal pressure of the gas to maintain its shape, greatly reducing construction and maintenance costs.
an airship is a lighter-than-air aircraft that relies on air buoyancy to stay in the air and carries mission equipment and crew. as an airship, how does the "xiangyun" "float" into the air?
"the total weight of 'xiangyun' is about 4,000 kilograms. when the lift is greater than the gravity, the airship can fly. we divide the lift it needs into two parts: 95%-97% of the lift is borne by the buoyancy generated by the helium contained in the airbag; the remaining lift needs to be generated by the high-speed rotation of the propeller and the dynamic lift during flight to achieve take-off." zhou lei introduced that in terms of controlling the flight direction and speed, the airship is basically the same as the airplane, relying on aerodynamic control surfaces to control the flight direction and relying on power to control the flight speed.
in daily life, we often see helium balloons and hydrogen balloons bursting after floating to high altitudes. this is because the volume of gas inside the balloon expands due to changes in air pressure, thus bursting the balloon. the airbags of manned airships also face such a problem. how can they maintain a firm aerodynamic shape and not explode due to changes in air pressure when flying from the ground to an altitude of 3,000 meters?
the two auxiliary airbags inside the main airbag play an important role.
zhou lei used rooms as an analogy, "we can imagine the main airbag as a room, and the auxiliary airbags as two rooms in it. when the airship is flying at low altitude, the 'room' is filled with air; when it reaches high altitude, the volume of helium becomes larger and larger, and the other 'rooms' can no longer hold it, so we will discharge the air in these two 'rooms' to make room for the helium. vice versa: when descending from high altitude, we let the reduced helium return to the original 'room', and we re-inject air into these two 'rooms'." in this way, the difference between the pressure of the helium and the external atmospheric pressure can be kept at a constant value, and the "lucky cloud" can also ensure its safety and strong appearance.
vertical short takeoff and landing is like "pulling onions from dry land". multi-layer composite materials ensure safety and stability, and can achieve a smooth landing even if the power is lost.
lin hong, the 61-year-old pilot of the "xiangyun" as700 manned airship, was originally a fighter pilot. he has flown a variety of general-purpose aircraft. he participated in the entire process of the as700 manned airship from its first flight to its test flight.
for most aircraft, the moon mountain take-off and landing point in yangshuo is not an easy area to fly. it is surrounded by mountains and takes great care when taking off and landing. however, such an environment is not a problem for the xiangyun as700 manned airship, and its specialty is the "dry land onion-pulling" take-off.
"the clearance conditions for 'xiangyun' are relatively simple, and there is no need for a special airport." lin hong introduced that the as700 manned airship adopts a dual-side distributed vector control design to control and drive the steering movement of the ducts on both sides of the airship, providing flexible and reliable thrust vectors for the takeoff, landing and air attitude change of the airship. with the support of vector control technology, the power propeller has the steering capability of -120° to +90°, allowing the as700 to take off and land smoothly on a simple airport or grass with a radius of not less than 100 meters, providing a strong guarantee for the vertical and short-distance takeoff and landing of the airship.
not only that, this technology can also help "xiangyun" to stay in the air, that is, to stay stably at a certain position in the air.
"in theory, as long as the wind direction is stable and the altitude is within 3,000 meters, 'stopping whenever you want' is possible." lin hong said that the as700 manned airship has now achieved small-scale hovering - flying slowly around the landscape at a speed of 37 kilometers per hour.
although the airship looks like a balloon floating in the sky from a distance, its material is not as fragile as that of a balloon. "'xiangyun' feels different from other airships. it feels lighter and thinner, has higher strength, and is waterproof and not easy to break." zhou lei introduced that the airbag part of the as700 manned airship is made of high-strength, low-leakage, low-temperature-resistant, and anti-aging non-metallic multi-layer composite materials. it consists of five layers of functional structures with a total thickness of less than one millimeter, which greatly improves the stability of the main structure of the airship.
even so, what if the airship "leaks"? during the inspection, the maintenance team will pour specially prepared bubble water all over the airship. where bubbles are blown up, it means there is a leak that needs to be repaired. this not only completes the "leakage inspection and repair", but also gives the airship a bath, so that it can start work with a fresh look.
in lin hong's opinion, the safety factor of as700 is very high. the airship is equipped with helium emergency release and ballast water emergency throwing functions. in emergency situations such as complete loss of power or control system failure, it can not only ensure the slow landing of the airship, but also assist in controlling the rise and fall of the airship by controlling the thrust vector steering angle. "once the power is lost, the airship will enter the free balloon mode and become a helium balloon. just like when we are riding a hot air balloon, it will slowly float to a suitable place and land on the ground to wait for rescue."
it is worth mentioning that my country has achieved "three firsts" in the product development, structural design, and technical research of the as700 manned airship. these include the first localization of the main materials of the airship, which has improved the supply chain system of the manned airship; the first breakthrough in the design of lightweight and low-cost bladder structure, which has enhanced the market competitiveness of manned airships; and the first realization of the key technology of synchronous servo control of the airship thrust vector, which has improved the adaptability of the manned airship to take-off and landing conditions.
in addition to low-altitude tourism, it can also be used in transportation logistics, intelligent mapping, emergency rescue, urban security and other scenarios
"how is the field of vision and the comfort of viewing the scenery from your seat? what do you think is the best flight speed range and the best flight time?" every passenger who completes a test ride at the yangshuo moon mountain take-off and landing point needs to fill out a "passenger riding experience record form" and provide detailed ratings of safety, comfort, noise, vibration and other aspects.
"the most obvious feeling of passengers is stability, slow speed, and occasionally a feeling of floating in the wind." lin hong told reporters that from the end of august to mid-september, the "xiangyun" as700 manned airship carried out 15 test rides in yangshuo. each flight time is from 12:30 to 14:30, and the number of people on a single test ride, including pilots and observers, does not exceed 6. the flight speed is 60 to 80 kilometers per hour, and the flight altitude is 500 to 1000 meters. the route is designed to fly over many scenic spots in yangshuo. this "driver and passenger experience record form" mainly collects information such as the sense of security and comfort of passengers riding the airship, accumulates data for improving the comfort of the manned airship, and provides reference for subsequent actual operations.
sitting on the manned airship, the large viewing side windows on both sides of the cabin allow passengers to take in the beautiful scenery outside the cabin during the sightseeing flight, or overlook the scenery below from the air, "unlocking" a new experience of cloud sightseeing. "we specially use left and right joysticks, the right position is for the pilot, and the left is reserved for passengers or trainees. during the flight, passengers can experience driving the airship with the captain's permission and gain a different flying experience." lin hong said.
in recent years, my country's low-altitude economy has been on the rise and "taking off". the low-altitude economy was included in the government work report for the first time this year, and the third plenary session of the 20th cpc central committee also specifically mentioned the development of the low-altitude economy. it is estimated that the scale of my country's low-altitude economy will exceed 500 billion yuan in 2023 and is expected to exceed 2 trillion yuan in 2030.
as700 manned airship is the first 10-seat product in china to obtain type certificate. with its high safety, high energy efficiency and green and low-carbon advantages, it has become the "new darling" of low-altitude economy. low-altitude sightseeing tourism is a typical demonstration scene of "xiangyun". in the future, it will have more possible applications. manned airships will appear in many scenes such as "low altitude + transportation logistics", "low altitude + intelligent mapping", "low altitude + emergency rescue", and "low altitude + urban security".
at present, with the goal of putting the airship into commercial operation as soon as possible, the project team is actively carrying out work such as airship pilot training, maintenance personnel training, and promoting the introduction of low-altitude sightseeing tourism operation regulations. it is expected that all links in the commercial operation of manned airships will be opened up within the year, so that more "xiangyun" manned airships can soar above the magnificent rivers and mountains of the motherland as soon as possible.
shen dongfang reports from guilin, guangxi, china
source: central commission for discipline inspection and national supervisory commission website
