The world's largest floatplane that looks like remarkably like Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose just completed its first sea trial in China – take a look

Xinhua/Li Ziheng/Getty

• China's AVIC AG600 Kunlong seaplane took its first flight over the Yellow Sea on July 26, successfully taking off and landing in untamed waters.
• The flying boat is the world's largest seaplane with potential uses in maritime rescue and aerial firefighting. 
• It can also utilize conventional runways thanks to retractable landing and fly nearly 3,000 miles.
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China's newest flying boat just stretched its sea legs with a successful first flight in open waters. 

The AG600 Kunlong seaplane successfully lifted off from the Yellow Sea just off of Qingdao in East China, Xinhua reported, marking the next step towards certification for the enormous aircraft that's launching a comeback for flying boats.

Airborne for just over a half-hour on July 26, it was the first over-water flight for the aircraft away from the calm reservoir in Hubei from where it first flew. The real-world trial would see the seaplane surrounded by boats and ships also traversing the waters. 

It's the latest development for the Aviation Industry Corporation of China – with the craft billed as the world's largest seaplane – that comes just under three years following its first flight in December 2017, Forbes reported at the time. The past few years have seen China's aircraft manufacturers produce rival offerings to Boeing and Airbus, though their designs been criticized for being similar to current aircraft in the West and developed using clandestine methods, IndustryWeek reported.

But AVIC is now leading the charge for a new era of flying boats, with the Kunlong resembling Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose – a World War II-era flying boat intended for the US military that never entered service – but already proving to be a more viable concept with multiple successful flights and orders from Chinese organizations.

Take a look at the AG600 Kunlong flying boat. 

China began developing the flying boat in 2009, reviving the idea of a flying boat with potential uses such as conducting maritime operations for the country's armed forces and search and rescue.

Source: Xinhua

The unique design has the aircraft rest directly on the water instead of being supported by pontoons.

It's a rare design in the modern era but flying boats dominated aviation in the early days of aerial exploration, opening up air routes to remote island destinations.

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