Yahoo – AFP,
Quentin Tyberghien, November 11, 2015
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Japan's
Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) takes off on its maiden test flight
from Nagoya
airport, on November 11, 2015 (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)
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Japan's
first passenger jet made its maiden test flight Wednesday, a landmark in a
decade-long programme to launch the plane aimed at competing with Brazilian and
Canadian rivals in the global market for smaller aircraft.
About half
a century after the last Japanese-made commercial plane took to the skies, the
Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), painted with dark blue, red and beige stripes,
took off from Nagoya airport under clear skies for a 90-minute trip.
After being
barred from developing aircraft following World War II, Japan -- and its MRJ
jet -- is competing with other regional passenger jet manufacturers such as
Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier.
Hiromichi
Morimoto, president of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp -- a subsidiary of Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries -- voiced his delight and relief at the successful flight.
"We
were able to see the beautiful fuselage of the MRJ taking off into the sunny
autumn sky," he told a press conference.
"The
fact that I was able to see that with you, as someone who was involved in its
development, there is no greater joy."
Its pilot
also praised the jet.
"The
operation performance of the MRJ was far better than expected," Yoshiyuki
Yasumura said, according to a Mitsubishi Aircraft release.
"We
had a significantly comfortable flight."
The
two-engine MRJ marks a new chapter for Japan's aviation sector, which last
built a commercial airliner in 1962 -- the YS-11 turboprop that was
discontinued about a decade later.
The MRJ is
approximately 35-metres (115-feet) long, has a pointed nose and will seat about
80 passengers.
Mitsubishi
Aircraft boasts that the fuel-efficient MRJ will offer more passenger comfort
with lower operating costs, eyeing the booming regional jet sector.
China is
also developing a similar-sized homegrown regional passenger jet, the ARJ21. It
had its first test flight in 2008 and the initial commercial delivery is
reportedly expected by the end of the year.
'Japan's
pride!'
Mitsubishi
Heavy would not disclose how much of the aircraft consists of Japanese
components, but it is powered by two next-generation engines developed by Pratt
& Whitney of the United States.
The company
said the US parts are key and have helped it slash operating costs by about 20
percent.
The maiden
flight by the Japanese passenger jet stirred excitement at home.
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Japan's
Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) will seat about 80 passengers and will
compete
with other jet manufacturers such as Brazil's Embraer and Canada's
Bombardier
(AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)
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"We
very much welcome the success of the first flight as it is a new beginning for
the Japanese aircraft industry," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga
told reporters.
"We
hope that development for delivery of the first plane will go steadily and both
public and private sectors will continue to work towards the success of this
project."
On the live
streaming website for the flight, one user tweeted: "This is a great
achievement."
Another
excited user simply wrote: "Japan's pride!"
Firms in
Japan were banned from developing aircraft by US occupiers following the
country's defeat in World War II.
Mitsubishi
Heavy, a military contractor, built Japan's legendary "Zero" World
War II fighter jet.
The country
slowly started rebuilding its aviation industry in the 1950s, starting with
carrying out repair work for the US military. It went on to expand its scope to
start licensed production of US-developed aircraft for Japan's military.
Japanese
firms have also long supplied parts to plane manufacturer Boeing.
Mitsubishi
Heavy unveiled the jet in October last year and has received more than 400
orders.
It plans to
make the first delivery to Japan's All Nippon Airways in 2017.
Mitsubishi's
short-to-medium-haul regional jet was backed by the Japanese government and a
consortium of major firms including Toyota.
Automaker
Honda is also developing a small private jet in the United States, which was
first unveiled in Japan earlier this year.
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For China,
its new passenger plane C919 represents at least seven years of
efforts in
a state-mandated drive to reduce dependence on European consortium
Airbus and
Boeing of the US (AFP Photo)
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