China’s AG600 amphibious aircraft starts full-scale fatigue test

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — China’s independently-developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has initiated the full-scale fatigue test, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) said on Wednesday.
The test is carried out at the Aircraft Strength Research Institute of China in Yanliang District in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, according to the AVIC, the country’s leading aircraft manufacturer.
This test will provide an important full-scale test basis for the future life extension and modification of the AG600 aircraft, the AVIC said.
The AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is developed as vital advanced aeronautical equipment to strengthen the country’s emergency rescue capabilities.
The aircraft features a unique configuration consisting of an integrated aircraft-shaped upper body and a ship-bottom-shaped lower body.
The full-scale fatigue test of AG600 aircraft is a special and complicated fatigue test for the whole aircraft. It is the most important test to verify compliance with relevant regulations of the aircraft structure’s damage tolerance and fatigue assessment, according to the developer. ■