China’s ARJ21 jets licensed to fly
Print Edition
CHINA’S first domestically manufactured regional passenger jet was granted an airworthiness certificate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in Beijing yesterday, marking a crucial step forward for the ARJ21’s entry into the market.
Administration director Li Jiaxiang and Jin Zhuanglong, president of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the manufacturer, were among the first passengers when the plane flew from the capital to Shanghai yesterday.
To gain the certificate, the plane completed 2,942 takeoffs and landings and clocked up 5,200 flying hours, including flights under extreme weather conditions in other parts of the world that included temperatures below freezing and extreme heat, the company said.
China began developing ARJ21, short for advanced regional jet for the 21st Century, in 2002 with the aim of filling a gap created by surging demand for smaller aircraft as airports were built to service remote areas in the nation’s western regions.
There are 78 seats in a dual-class configuration and 90 seats in a full economy class configuration, according to Xinhua news agency. Its economic life is designed to be 60,000 flying hours or 20 calendar years.
An ARJ21-700 made its first test flight in November 2008.
Certification is not the end of the process, said Luo Ronghuai, CACC vice president and head of the ARJ21 project.
There must be a period for improving the model’s design, systems and operations before its entry into the market, Luo said.
The jet will still need to gain brand recognition and market share in order to be a success, and eventually it must be able to bring profits to the airlines that use it, he said.
The plane was initially due to be delivered around 2007, but delays in the design, manufacturing and certification processes meant the corporation had to push back the date several times.
The administration had initially called for 980 test flights, but that was later raised to more than 2,900 takeoffs and landings to ensure safety.
The regional aircraft industry has long been dominated by Canada’s Bombardier Inc and Brazil’s Embraer SA.
CACC estimates that the ARJ21 will grab up to 60 percent of the domestic market for mid-size regional aircraft in the next 20 years, in competition with foreign manufacturers.
So far, the Chinese jet has secured 278 orders from carriers at home and abroad.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
