AVICopter AC311

Light Utility Helicopter [ 2015 ]

The AVICopter AC311 is an in-development Chinese-originated offering for the growing global light utility helicopter market.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 10/22/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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With China's massive industrial growth in recent decades, its defense industry has flourished with a range of ongoing projects and many more on the horizon. No longer content with being a military purchaser (primarily from the Soviet Union/Russia), its military-industrial complex has taken on exceedingly more complex programs - from Fifth generation fighter aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to full-fledged Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and infantry assault weapons. AVICopter, a state-owned defense concern with origins as far back as 1951, began work on a new light helicopter design in 2009 which has become the AC311 product today.

The foundation for the AS311 program was formed decades before when Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) began illegally copying the French Aerospatiale/Eurocopter AS350 "Ecureuil" (meaning "Squirrel") as the "Z-11". The original French design was developed in the 1970s and introduced during 1975 before entering service with a plethora of global operators including Australia, Brazil, and Jordan. Work on a more localized version - the Z-11 - was started in China in 1989 and development eventually produced a workable system which first flew in late 1994. Introduction was in 1998 to which several versions of this light design eventually emerged for military service - including an armed, light attack platform.

From this work then blossomed the modern AC311 series, its appearance not unlike the lines regularly encountered in light-class French helicopters. The aircraft features a largely glassed frontal section for excellent vision out of the cockpit. A small cabin area is situated aft of the cockpit and under the single engine installation found along the cabin roof. The tail stem originates from a low part of the cabin body and houses a shaft used to drive a tail rotor affixed to the starboard side of the vertical tail fin. The main rotor is a three-bladed assembly. As only one engine is featured in the design, only a single jet pipe is seen over the tail stem. First flight was in 2011. The engine is an American Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 turboshaft driving the three-bladed main rotor and two-bladed tail rotor.

The AC311 program has since evolved by way of a new engine installation, a revised main rotor, and improved flight controls which has produced the AC311A variant. The mark also includes largely Chinese avionics and comes in some 100lbs heavier than the original model. Development of the new mark began in August of 2013 and the engine of choice became the French Turbomeca Arriel 2B1A turboshaft (based on a 2011 agreement between the French engine maker and AVIC). First flight of the AC311A was announced in August of 2014.

The AC311 has achieved certification in China (2012) and dozens of the aircraft are said to be on order for AVIC.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

2015

Origin

China

Status

ACTIVE
In Active Service.

Crew

2

Production

10
UNITS

AVICopter - China

(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.

✓ 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.

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Length

36.1 ft
(11.00 m)

Width/Span

35.1 ft
(10.70 m)

Height

10.3 ft
(3.15 m)

Empty Wgt

2,590 lb
(1,175 kg)

MTOW

4,960 lb
(2,250 kg)

Wgt Diff

+2,370 lb
(+1,075 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base AVICopter AC311 production variant)

Installed: 1 x Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 turboshaft engine driving three-bladed main rotor and two-bladed tail rotor.

Max Speed

180 mph
(290 kph | 157 kts)

Ceiling

15,092 ft
(4,600 m | 3 mi)

Range

410 mi
(660 km | 1,222 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

1,680 ft/min
(512 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base AVICopter AC311 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. Conceivably militarized forms will feature machine guns, gun pods, rocket pods, and missile armament.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft machine gun pod

Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets

Graphical image of an aircraft rocket pod

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

AC311 - Base Series Designation; initial product model; powered by Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 turboshaft engine.

AC311A - Improved flight controls; revised main rotor; Turbomeca Arriel 2B1A turboshaft engine; Chinese avionics.

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