Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

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Mark Huber

Chinese state-owned aircraft company Avic is developing two variants of an “ultra fast” 270-knot tiltrotor code-named "Blue Whale," English-language newspaper China Daily <a href="http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-12/21/content_27728997.htm" target="_blank">reported</a> late last month. Unlike tiltrotors such as the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey or Leonardo AW609, the Blue Whale is a quad proprotor design. Avic chief helicopter designer Wu Ximing said that the aircraft would be "China's equivalent of the V-22 Osprey" and used for disaster relief, supply airdrop and search-and-rescue operations.


A medium variant is said to have an mtow of 44,090 pounds/20 metric tons and a heavy variant will have twice that capacity. Initial targeted range is 1,674 nm/3,100 km.


Avic has not yet set a timetable for the program, with a company official saying only that he expects development to take "a long time." The V-22 made its first flight in 1989 and did not become operational until 2007, and the AW609 made its first flight in 2003 and is still under development.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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