AVICopter AC313

Heavy-Lift Passenger Transport Helicopter [ 2013 ]

The Chinese AVICopter AC313 is a further development of the French Aerospatiale Super Frelon transport helicopter series.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/27/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

The Chinese technology sectors continue to push in all new directions as its various services actively work to move away from foreign reliance. Various products are now indigenously designed, developed and produced. With the exception of viable engines of local design, the country is doing well for itself in the sphere of aviation as it grows into a self-sustained world power to rival that of the lead competition.

The AVICopter AC313 ("Changhe Z-8F-100"), a large heavy-lift transport helicopter, entered civilian market service on December 5th, 2013. This product was developed around the need to provide an indigenous, all-modern heavy hauler to undertake multiple roles. The result became the largest rotary-wing creation to ever emerge from Chinese drawing boards and ten have been produced to date (January 2017).

The AC313 was developed from the Harbin Z-8 series (detailed elsewhere on this site), itself nothing more than a Chinese version of the French-made Aerospatiale SA321 "Super Frelon" heavy hauler of 1966 (also detailed elsewhere on this site). As such, the AC313 bears some striking similarities to the French product including its rounded frontal section, high-mounted tail stem and wheeled tricycle undercarriage. In many ways, the AC313 is essentially a modernized, Chinese take on the French 1960s-era helicopter.

The aircraft features a trio of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-67A series engines driving a six-bladed main rotor and five-bladed tail rotor. The main rotor sits atop a short mast and the tail rotor is seated to the portside of the aircraft. The cockpit is aft of the nose assembly and given large windows for good vision out-of-the-cockpit. The fuselage sides are flat and dotted by a row of windows for the passengers. The rear of the fuselage is tapered upwards to allow a cargo door to be fitted. The landing gear legs are fixed in flight and non-retracting. The main legs sit under side sponsons. Construction includes composite materials as well as titanium and, internally, the cockpit sports all-modern, digitally-driven systems. Beyond the two crewmen, there is seating for twenty-seven.

The AC313 is flexible enough to meet several market needs - it can be arranged to carry passengers (including VIP) and cargo loads. Beyond its internal cargo hold where some 8,800 lb of goods can be stored, an external sling fitted under the aircraft can carry an additional 11,000 lb. Beyond this capability is the inherent performance of the powerful helicopter, able to reach high altitude, cold weather areas within Chinese that other products cannot.

Beyond its operation in Chinese skies, the AC313 is set to be offered to customers in both Europe and the United States once certification in these respective regions is achieved.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

2013

Origin

China

Status

ACTIVE
In Active Service.

Crew

2

Production

32
UNITS

AVICopter (AVIC) - China / Aerospatiale - France

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

China

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Special-Mission: MEDical EVACuation (MEDEVAC)
Extraction of wounded combat or civilian elements by way of specialized onboard equipment and available internal volume or external carrying capability.

✓ Special-Mission: Search & Rescue (SAR)
Ability to locate and extract personnel from areas of potential harm or peril (i.e. downed airmen in the sea).

✓ Transport
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.

✓ Commercial Aviation
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.

✓ VIP Service
Used in the Very-Important-Person (VIP) passenger transport role, typically with above-average amenities and luxuries as standard.

Length

75.6 ft
(23.03 m)

Width/Span

62.0 ft
(18.90 m)

Height

21.9 ft
(6.66 m)

Empty Wgt

15,135 lb
(6,865 kg)

MTOW

28,660 lb
(13,000 kg)

Wgt Diff

+13,525 lb
(+6,135 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base AVICopter AC313 production variant)

Installed: 3 x Turbomeca Turmo IIIC turboshaft engines developing 1,570 horsepower each and driving a six-bladed main rotor and five-bladed tail rotor.

Max Speed

155 mph
(250 kph | 135 kts)

Ceiling

10,335 ft
(3,150 m | 2 mi)

Range

634 mi
(1,020 km | 1,889 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

1,315 ft/min
(401 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base AVICopter AC313 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

AC313 - Base Series Designation.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.