Seaplane about to enter trial production

China expects to test-fly next year its first domestically developed seaplane, which is intended to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft, according to an executive at the company working on it.

Trial production of the TA-600 aircraft, formerly known as Dragon-600, will start in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, around the end of this year or the beginning of 2015, as the design has been completed, said Fu Junxu, a senior manager of China Aviation Industry General Aircraft, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp of China, the country's leading aircraft maker.

Fu said contractors will deliver large parts to the company before the end of this year, and the aircraft's maiden flight is planned to take place in 2015.