AVIC bullish on new helicopter's potential

China's leading aircraft maker expects to sell at least 300 AC352s in 20 years

Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's leading aircraft maker, is bullish on the market prospects of its AC352 utility helicopter and will develop variants for industrial users, a company executive said.

Sun Qingmin, deputy manager of Avicopter, AVIC's helicopter branch, said on Thursday that the company had received initial orders for more than 10 AC352s from domestic clients such as CITIC Offshore Helicopter, a leading Chinese general aviation services provider, and expected to sell at least 300 in China over the next 20 years.