Yahoo – AFP,
Albee ZHANG, May 3, 2017
China is expected within days to carry out the maiden test flight of a home-grown passenger jet built to meet soaring Chinese travel demand and challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus.
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| The C919's test flight comes after almost a decade of effort by Chinese authrorities to build a domestic aviation giant and reduce reliance on Boeing and Airbus |
China is expected within days to carry out the maiden test flight of a home-grown passenger jet built to meet soaring Chinese travel demand and challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus.
The C919,
built by state-owned aerospace manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of
China (COMAC), was set to take wing over Shanghai and could be cleared for
takeoff as early as Friday, according to state media.
The
narrow-body jet represents nearly a decade of effort in a state-mandated drive
to reduce dependence on European consortium Airbus and US aerospace giant
Boeing.
"The
first flight itself is not a huge deal. (But) of course, it's going to be a
hugely symbolic moment in the evolution of China's aviation industry,"
said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal.
The C919 is
the country's first big passenger plane and the latest sign of growing Chinese
ambition and technical skill, coming one week after China launched its first
domestically made aircraft carrier and successfully docked a cargo spacecraft
with an orbiting space lab.
The C919
can seat 168 passengers and has a range of up to 5,555 kilometres (3,444
miles).
Long way
to go
China is a
huge battleground for Boeing and Airbus, with its travellers taking to the
skies in ever-growing numbers.
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China homegrown jet
|
The Chinese
travel market is expected to surpass the United States by 2024, according to
the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Airbus has
estimated Chinese airlines will need nearly 6,000 new planes over the next two
decades, while Boeing foresees 6,800 aircraft. Both put the combined price tags
for those planes at around $1 trillion.
But
aviation analysts said Shanghai-based COMAC has a long journey ahead before it
can challenge the lock held on the market by Boeing and Airbus.
"This
is an important milestone for China with this new aircraft. But for it to move
to the next stage, which is to sell this product, is not going to be so
easy," said Shukor Yusof, an analyst with Malaysia-based aviation
consultancy Endau Analytics.
But COMAC
may be able to rely on purchases by fast-growing Chinese airlines as it looks
to get sales off the ground.
COMAC had
already received 570 orders by the end of last year, almost all from domestic
airlines.
Waldron
agreed it will take time, but said that over the next century China will become
a world aviation player.
"You
are going to have three big companies. You will have Boeing, you will have
Airbus, and you will have COMAC," he said.
 |
Commercial
Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) had already
received 570 orders by the
end of last year, almost all from domestic airlines
|
China has
dreamed of building its own civil aircraft since the 1970s, when it began work
on the narrow-body Y-10, which was eventually deemed unviable and never entered
service.
COMAC's
first regional jet, the 90-seat ARJ 21, entered service in 2016, several years
late.
Long-haul
ambition
The ARJ 21
is currently restricted to flying Chinese domestic routes as it still lacks the
crucial US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification that would allow
it to fly US skies.
The C919's
first test flight had been due to take place in 2016 but was delayed.
Besides the
C919, China is also working with Russia to develop a long-haul wide-bodied jet
called the C929.
Although
the C919 is made in China, foreign firms are playing key roles by supplying
systems as well as the engines, which are made by CFM International, a joint
venture between General Electric (GE) of the US and France's Safran.
During a
visit to COMAC in 2014, President Xi Jinping said not having a homegrown plane
left China at the mercy of foreign industrial groups, state media reported at
the time.
China last
August launched a new multi-billion dollar jet-engine conglomerate with nearly
100,000 employees, with the hope of powering its own planes with self-made
engines.
After the
C919's first flight, it will still need to pass a series of tests to obtain
Chinese airworthiness certification before it can sell the aircraft.
China also
has for years been in talks with the FAA to obtain certification for both the
ARJ 21 and the C919, without result.
#UPDATE Chinese-built large passenger plane takes off on maiden test flight https://t.co/ZCRMBzxaf9 pic.twitter.com/DcQ2rQZRaJ— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 5, 2017
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