The AC352 medium-lift utility helicopter has been cleared for commercia] operation in China with project managers seeingbig potential in a wide range of public service and business fields.

Ata certificate-issuance cere mony in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, the Civil Aviation Administration of China conferred the type approval certif icate to Aviation industry Corp of China's Harbin Aircraft Industry for the AC352, also known as the Z-15

This marked the sucoessful com

pletion of the helicopters

research development and test flights, giving it a green light for mass production and delivery to users, according to AVIC

Yin Shijun, chief engineer at the aviation administrationsaid at the ceremony that the AC352 has put an end to the absence ofa domestically built medium-lift civilian helicopter and will strong ly improve the countrys general avation industry and its emergen cyrespanse system

He urged AVIC to continue to develop variants of the AC352 and collect and compile know-how and eperience from test flights and

certiication to facilitate the

researchdevelopment and testing of other helicopter models.

The AC352 Chinasfirst 7-metric ton-ciss belicopterwas co-devel oped by Avic and Airbus Helicopters.

Work began on the helicopter in2006 and it made its frst flight in December 2016 in Harbin.

Propelled by two turboshaft engines, the nelicopter has a maxi- mum takeoff weight of 7.5 tons, a maximum carrying capacity of 3 tons and a cruising speed of about280 kilometers per hour. It ean fly up to 850 km on a single flight, according to AVIC.

The State-owned aviation con- giomerate said the AC352 is one of the most comfortable and environ. mentally friendly medium-sized helicopters in the worid.

Operated by two pilots, it can transport up to 16 passengers inside its 12-cubic-meter eabin.

Lo Weijian chief designer of the AC352,said the aircraft has advanced teehnologies and word- class capability and is able to undertake many tasks such as search and rescue personnel transportation, medical airlift and chartered flights.

"For instance, helicopters in the7-ton category are most suitable for search and-rescue operations. The AC352 is capable of flying in strong wind and can stay in the air for a long time. It can also be used to extinguish fires in remote are- as," he said.

The designer said the helicopter can meet the operational require ments of various industries in the next three to four decades.

Liu Yongsheng,deputyhead engineer at Harbin Aircraft Indus-try said many buyers are awaiting delivery of the helicopter, and mass production will soon begin. The first massproduced AC352 is scheduled to be assembled around the end of this year and will be delivered to a government user in 2024.

The European model which Air- bus Helicopters refers to as the H175. made its maiden flight in December 2009 in France and was certified in January 2014 by the European Aviation Safety Agency. Deliveries to customers began in December 2014, according to Air bus Helicopters.