On the 30th of last month, entering the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) rotary-wing flight center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, a spacious runway came into view. The runway, measuring 30 meters wide and 700 meters long, had two helicopter landing pads marked with the letter 'H'. The runway is adjacent to the parking area, which is connected to the development building that houses the hangars. This design allows helicopters that have completed maintenance to proceed directly to test flights.
The rotary-wing flight center, built on a scale of 139,000 square meters (about 42,000 pyeong) in the Jinju Gasan industrial complex, was completed on the 16th of last month. This is the first time the rotary-wing flight center, created with an investment of about 91.8 billion won by KAI and Jinju City, has been disclosed to the media. Countries with dedicated helicopter airports include the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. The runway is short since it cannot be used by fixed-wing aircraft, such as fighter jets, which have fixed wings. It took over six years from the first discussions in 2017 until its completion after various certifications.
KAI built the dedicated helicopter airport because it had been unable to conduct test flights of helicopters smoothly. The military allocated runway time to civilian operators only on weekday evenings or holidays. Deputy Minister Kim Woo-jong noted, "There were safety issues with nighttime flights. Due to the limited usage time, project costs increased, making it difficult to meet development schedules." This explains why test flight times took so long even after aircraft development was completed.
Without a helicopter airport, KAI conducted test flights of the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) Miron in Sokcho, Gangwon Province. It took about 40 minutes round trip to reach the southern seas, which is designated airspace for aircraft flights, resulting in high expenses. Deputy Minister Kim stated, "We went to Sokcho Airport for 10 days to conduct concentrated test flights." The Miron, which completed test flights hundreds of kilometers away from KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, was first delivered to the Army last month.
Test flights for the first prototype of the amphibious assault helicopter being developed by KAI will take place at the flight center. The second prototype is scheduled for the 6th of this month, and the third for early February. The mine-clearing helicopter is expected to arrive around July of this year. Up to five helicopters can be stored in the rotary-wing flight center's hangar. Deputy Minister Kim said, "Inspections and test flights of the helicopters will take place here, and it is expected that an average of 10 sorties will be flown daily, with 2 sorties per helicopter each day."
KAI plans to further expand this flight center. Around the 1.8-kilometer perimeter of the flight center, excavators were leveling the ground. A proving center for Advanced Air Vehicles (AAV) is expected to be established at this location. The runway also features access roads for bringing in aircraft. KAI plans to create a training center in the space next to the development building. The company is currently operating a simulator program that is 99% similar to actual helicopters and plans to secure personnel to train pilots.
A KAI official noted, "With the completion of the rotary-wing flight center, helicopter production and test flights will be conducted more efficiently," adding, "With the introduction of simulator training and the AAV proving center, it will greatly contribute to not only the enhancement of air power but also exports."