Sightseeing airship sold to first buyer

The AS700 civilian airship conducts a demonstration flight in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Saturday. Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's leading aircraft maker, has delivered the AS700 multipurpose civilian airship to its first customer, who will use the craft for aerial sightseeing. According to a news release from AVIC, the first AS700 was delivered on Saturday to Guangxi Guilin Fangzhou General Aviation, a private company, at a ceremony in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. At the ceremony on Saturday, AVIC received orders for another 12 AS700s from Guangxi Guilin Fangzhou General Aviation and China Comfort Travel Group, according to the conglomerate. Designed and built by the Special Aircraft Research Institute, an AVIC subsidiary in Jingmen, Hubei province, research and development of the AS700 began in August 2018, primarily to meet the demand for aerial sightseeing tours.