China’s aviation ambition will soon be taking off, following years of delay, after the country’s much-anticipated homegrown large passenger aircraft, the C919, completed two key tests on its engines earlier this week.
The C919 Shanghai assembly plant/posted on Weibo
With the final stage of the testing phase now over, the test flight of the C919 is expected to take place later this year or early in 2017.
Next year will also witness the debut of production of the single-aisle, twin-engine, 168-seat jet airliner, which has been clinching orders, from home and abroad, before making its navigability test.
Down the road, the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC), the manufacturer of the C919, is aspiring to break into the big league – but all will depend on the success of the flagship airliner and its reception. COMAC estimates the potential market of its jet at over 650 billion yuan (95.4 billion US dollars).
Despite deferrals to the C919 program – the first test flight has been postponed twice since 2014 – COMAC announced it has already got commitments from 23 foreign and domestic customers, including Air China and China Southern, for 570 planes.
At China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, south China’s Guangdong Province, last week, COMAC showcased a mock-up of the airliner and announced further deals from prospective buyers.
Mock-up model of the C919 at the Zhuhai Air Show
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Corp will become the first to take delivery of the C919. Meanwhile, China Eastern will start discussions to purchase five C919 aircraft, within a one-year period of the test flight.
COMAC also inked an agreement with Shanghai-based aircraft leasing company SPDB Financial Leasing, and it has received five confirmed orders and another 15 intentional orders from the company.
The state-owned aviation manufacturer is banking on expertise gained from its smaller 90-seat jet, the ARJ21, which has already nabbed 413 commercial orders from 19 airline companies, mostly Chinese.
Getting the C919 from the design board to the skies is crucial for China, which is trying to become a global aviation power with a fleet of homemade airliners. The passenger jet project is one of the 16 key state science and technology projects plan devised by the central government in February 2006.
"Made in China 2025," the country’s plan to comprehensively upgrade its industries, has touched upon the aviation manufacturing sector. The Asian powerhouse has set its eyes on developing wide-body passenger jets, heavy helicopters and various types of engines, in cooperation with global partners.
