en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, the AC312E helicopter successfully completed all test subjects for expanding the takeoff and landing envelope at Daocheng Yading Airport, located at an altitude of 4,400 meters, thereby enhancing its high-altitude takeoff and landing capabilities. This marks the first such attempt for a domestically produced 4-ton class civil helicopter and represents another significant breakthrough for this model, following its previous record for the highest altitude rappelling delivery by a domestic civil helicopter. This achievement indicates that the model is now fully adaptable for takeoff and landing operations at China's high-altitude airports, further improving the country's aviation emergency rescue capabilities in plateau regions.
This test flight strictly adhered to civil aviation airworthiness regulations and scientific flight test standards, and was completed over nearly a month. The AC312E helicopter successively completed key test subjects including hover performance, near-ground handling characteristics, limit height-speed envelope, and Category B takeoff/landing. Its boundary performance, handling characteristics, system reliability, and safety redundancy capabilities in a high-altitude environment of 4,400 meters were fully verified. Overcoming challenges such as high-altitude hypoxia and variable weather, the test team scientifically planned the test subjects, precisely controlled flight conditions, and progressively validated takeoff and landing performance and limit boundary subjects under different weight and center-of-gravity conditions, ensuring the successful completion of the test flights.
In 2024, the AC312E helicopter participated in the "Emergency Mission · Tibet 2024" joint rescue exercise for earthquake disasters in cold and high-altitude regions. As a core asset for aviation emergency rescue, it primarily undertook tasks such as deploying professional rescue personnel and conducting disaster reconnaissance. This mission marked the first time a domestically produced civil helicopter performed rappelling at an altitude of 4,600 meters in a plateau region, setting a new record for the highest altitude rappelling by a domestic civil helicopter. It fully demonstrated the excellent plateau performance of the AC312E helicopter, adding a new capability to China's aviation emergency rescue equipment system for plateau regions.
High-altitude regions serve as a rigorous testing ground for aircraft takeoff and landing. At an altitude of 4,400 meters, the thin air, low atmospheric pressure, and significant engine power degradation, combined with the complex and variable weather in plateau mountainous areas, impose stringent requirements on helicopter power output, flight control response, and emergency handling capabilities. The expansion of the AC312E helicopter's takeoff and landing capabilities at high-altitude airports will enable it to better serve economic development in plateau regions, while also representing another achievement in the construction of China's aviation emergency rescue equipment system.
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