Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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1. Amphibious aircraft AG600 taking off at airport
2. Various of AG600 flying in sky

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Miao Wei, Minister, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology:
"It shows that the development of civil aviation industry in our country was lifted to a new level and that our capacity of independent research and development in this area has increased by a big margin."

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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4. AG600 landing (shot from escort aircraft)

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhao Peng, commander, AG600 test flight (ending with shots 6):
"So far in the world, only Russia, Germany and Japan have amphibious aircraft like this. Next, we will try to conduct the maiden flight on water next summer."

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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6. Various of AG600 landing
7. People cheering, waving Chinese national flags
8. AG600 taxiing along runway (shot from escort aircraft)
9. AG600 taxiing along runway

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Yuanxian, executive director, AG600 aircraft project (starting with shots 9):
"Next, we will carry out more test flights. We will get China's Civil Aviation Administration's special flight permit as soon as possible. We plan to spend three years in proving its airworthiness and getting the permit."

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, south China - Dec 24, 2017
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11. Various of people cheering, waving Chinese national flags
12. Various of AG600 taxiing
13. People cheering, waving Chinese national flags
14. AG600 crew members getting off, waving to well-wishers
15. Venue of test flight

The successful maiden flight of AG600, China's first homemade large amphibious aircraft, helps China enter the global aviation industrial circle.

AG 600 is capable of going up into the sky, or down to the surface of sea. It adheres to the independent innovation. Among the over 50,000 structures and components, 98 percent of them were made by China itself, playing a significant role in the development of the civil aircraft industry. The successful test flight of AG600 marks another milestone in China's civil aircraft industry after the second prototype of China's home-made C919 passenger jet successfully completing its two-hour maiden test flight on Dec 17, 2017, in Shanghai.

"It shows that the development of civil aviation industry in our country was lifted to a new level and that our capacity of independent research and development in this area has increased by a big margin," said Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology.

At the same time, China has drawn up a short-term plan for the development of AG600.

"So far in the world, only Russia, Germany and Japan have amphibious aircraft like this. Next, we will try to conduct the maiden flight on water next summer," said Zhao Peng, commander of the AG600 test flight.

"Next, we will carry out more test flights. We will get China's Civil Aviation Administration's special flight permit as soon as possible. We plan to spend three years in proving its airworthiness and getting the permit," said Chen Yuanxian, executive director of the AG600 aircraft project.

At 09:39 Sunday, the AG600, code named "Kunlong," took off from the Jinwan Civil Aviation Airport in the city of Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. The flight lasted about one hour at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

AG600 is believed to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft that is now in the Research and Development phase. It will be used in forest fire fighting and water rescue.