Following the public debut of China's J-20 stealth fighter at a premier air show on Nov 1, officials say the country is about to take a giant step forward in civil aviation with the first test flight of the C919 later this year or in early 2017.
The much-anticipated C919, a large, homegrown passenger jet, is expected to provide a major impetus to domestic airplane manufacturing as it clinches new orders before its maiden flight.
News about the single-aisle, 168-passenger, twin-engine jet was a highlight of the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai.
"After the C919 aircraft enters the market, it is expected to drive the growth of related manufacturing industries, including airplane materials manufacturing, electronic engineering, automation and mechanical manufacturing," says Li Xiaojin, professor of aviation economics at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin.
"A cohort of Chinese talent will be fostered in those high-tech sectors. As a concept product with critical symbolic significance, the C919 is set to stimulate growth of the Chinese aviation industry."
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Corp, one of the three major state-owned Chinese airlines, will be the first to take delivery of the C919, officials with plane's manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, said at the Zhuhai show.
"Our staff are working on the project nearly 24 hours a day, and we would like to speed up the pace to conduct the first test flight," says Yang Yang, director of the marketing research center at the COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute.
Within a year of the test flight, China Eastern will start discussions to purchase five C919 aircraft, according to a COMAC statement.
China Eastern says it will fully showcase the safety and other advanced features of the jet, and contribute to large-scale applications and future development.
Meanwhile, COMAC says it signed an agreement with Shanghai-based aircraft leasing company SPDB Financial Leasing on Nov 1 and received five confirmed orders and 15 intent orders from the company.
China is gearing up to become a force in global aviation by building its own aircraft with homemade engines. So far, COMAC has received 570 orders for the C919 from 23 customers, including Air China and China Southern.
Li says China's aviation authorities take the safety of the aircraft very seriously. If the C919 can pass the navigability test, there shouldn't be any worries regarding safety. But in terms of economic efficiency and comfort, there may be some distance yet between C919 and foreign-made aircraft, he says.
"In the short term, the C919 won't have much of an impact on major European and US aircraft manufacturers, since it will take a very small market share, and it will mainly serve as a supplemental product," he says.
"In the long term, the jet has the potential to be exported to other countries."
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