China's C919 narrow-body jet during its first high-speed taxi test
at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, April 16, 2017
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First Chinese-Built Airliner Flies for the First Time
By: Jay Bennett
May 5, 2017
popularmechanics.com
The Comac C919 is China's first step to competing with Boeing and Airbus in the commercial aviation sector.
China's very first home-built passenger airliner took flight on Friday, soaring over Pudong International Airport in Shanghai for about an hour. Chinese government officials and aerospace industry leaders gathered to watch the C919 narrow-body jet make its maiden flight. The state-run manufacturer of the of the jet, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), declared the test a success after landing.
The flight represents China's ambitions to become a world leader in aviation and start not only manufacturing jets for its own airlines, but also exporting passenger aircraft to other countries. The C919 is designed to accommodate 158 passengers or more, putting it in a class of aircraft with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320.
The first flight of a large passenger plane is a good start, but China's aircraft manufacturers still have a long way to go before they can compete with established plane builders. The C919 is still "years — if not decades — behind aircraft made by Airbus and Boeing," writes The New York Times.
Although the aircraft was designed and built in China, it uses a number of Western components and technologies, including CFM International Leap-1C engines developed by GE and French aerospace company Safran Aircraft Engines. Honeywell also supplied critical components of the jet, including power systems, fly-by-wire controls, navigation equipment, wheels, and brakes.
It will be some time before the C919, or a future aircraft built by Comac, will be as cheap to fly and as easy to maintain as proven aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. Before western airliners could even operate the twin-engine jet airliner, safety regulators in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere would need to sign off on the plane.
[Source:The New York Times]