Russian to produce amphibious passenger planes
( 2002-02-16 11:12) (8)
The Aircraft Building Association in Russia's Far East city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur will start serial production of Be-103 amphibious planes in May 2002, Russian media reported Friday.
It took seven years to develop the airliner, the first civil aircraft in the association's history. Forward samples of the plane made over 600 test flights with landing on runways and water over the last two years, Leonid Vorobyov, director of Russia's general-purpose aircraft manufacturing programs, told Interfax on Friday.
The range of the plane is 1,200 kilometers. Its speed is 300 kilometers an hour. It can carry five passengers and 400 kilograms of cargo.
Talks on sales with possible Russian, US and Asian-Pacific customers are underway, Vorobyov said.
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