Look out, Boeing! China’s new C919 plane which aims to take on the famous 737 and Airbus A320 will begin test flights this year
- The C919 superjet will take on giants of global aviation - Boeing's 737 and the Airbus A320
- Designed and built in China, final construction is now underway in Shanghai
- More than 450 orders for the high-tech aircraft are already in place from 18 different airlines
By
LAURIE HANNA FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:56 GMT, 4 March 2015 | UPDATED: 14:13 GMT, 4 March 2015
China's new superjet will take to the skies for the first time in test flights later this year.
The C919, built by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), will be the country's most ambitious effort to date to break into the global aircraft market.
The latest pictures have shown the final assembly work on the nation's first single-aisle airliner, which is currently under construction in Shanghai, is well underway.
Progress: The C919, built by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), will be the country's most ambitious effort to date to break into the global aircraft market
Connected: Assembly of the first prototype airframe is almost complete from nose through to the tail, and the wing-to-body join has also been done
Developed: The single-aisle twin-engine jetliner has been designed to go head-to-head with Boeing's 737 and Airbus A320 in the lucrative aviation market
High tech: The cockpit will feature all of the latest technological advances as China seeks to break into the lucrative aviation market
The single-aisle twin-engine jetliner has been designed to go head-to-head with Boeing's 737 and Airbus A320 in the lucrative aviation market.
Assembly of the first prototype airframe is almost complete, says
People's Daily, with the main landing gear and forward landing gear also now installed.
Some major works - such as the installation of the avionics, flight control and hydraulics systems - are still to be completed.
SKY HIGH STATISTICS: HOW THE C919 COMPARES TO BOEING 737
COMAC C919
Wingspan: 35.4 metres
Cruise speed: Mach 0.76
Maximum altitude: 12,100 metres
Passengers: 168
BOEING 737:
Wingspan: 35.8 metres
Cruise speed: Mach 0.74
Maximum altitude: 12,500 metres
Passengers: 210
The various systems will then have to be fully integrated and rigorously tested before the test flight, which is scheduled to happen before the end of this year.
The various parts of the aircraft - including the nose, front and middle fuselage, wings and tail sections - were designed by the corporation and manufactured in Chengdu, Shenyang and Harbin.
COMAC are reported to have already secured more than 450 orders from 18 different customers, most of which are believed to be local airlines and leasing firms.
The manufacturer is targeting 2017 for C919 certification, with first deliveries also scheduled for that year.
China is keen to develop a successful commercial aircraft to prove it can match the developed industries of the United States and Europe.
Airbus has forecast that China's domestic aviation market will become the world's biggest within the next decade.
China’s air-passenger traffic will increase 8% annually from 2013 to 2032 - compared with an expected global annual growth rate of 4.8% - as many more affluent Chinese passengers take to the skies.
It is hoped that an official date for the first test flight will be announced in the near future.
Almost there: Chinese technicians rivet sections of the fuselage together as they assemble China's first domestically-made passenger jet plane the C919
Comfort: A man tests a business class seat in a model on the first day of the COMAC C919
Final preparations: China is keen to develop a successful commercial aircraft to prove it can match the developed industries of the United States and Europe
Futuristic: It has been forecast that China's domestic aviation market will become the world's biggest within the next decade
Read more:
China's new C919 plane which aims to take on the famous Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 | Daily Mail Online
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