The tail part of China's self-developed amphibious aircraft AG600, intended to be the world's largest amphibian, rolled off the production line in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province on April 20, marking an important step toward its scheduled maiden flight 。

Consisting of the middle-rear and rear fuselage, the 17.5-meter tail part was manufactured by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corp, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC).

As one of the three ongoing China-made aircraft projects, together with air-freighter Y-12 and China's first large passenger aircraft C919, the 40-meter long AG-600 will be the world's largest amphibious aircraft, surpassing Japan's ShinMaywa US-2 and Russia's Beriev Be-200.

The aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 53.5 tonnes and a maximum range of more than 5,000 kilometers, can absorb 12 tonnes of water within 20 seconds, which is ideal for performing multiple operations including forest fire fighting, over-water Search and Rescue, marine environment monitoring, resource exploration, passenger and freight transportation and other operating tasks. Its amphibious function makes it possible to take off from both land and water, rescuing 50 people at most on water at one time.

Following given coincidence inspections and authorized certificates by the Shanghai Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Center of CAAC, the tail section will be transported to Zhuhai. In the meanwhile, the middle and outer wings of AG600 would be completed in China Aircraft Corporation Xi'an Branch.