First jumbo jet to take off in 2014

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-12 18:41

China's first jumbo jet is expected to make its maiden flight in 2014 and get the Certificate of Airworthiness in 2016, said a senior executive from Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on Wednesday.

Zhang Hongbiao, who is in charge of the science and technology department of AVIC told reporters that the program of developing China's own jumbo jet has gone smoothly up until now and the plane may make its long-expected maiden voyage five years from now.

Zhang is a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress and made the announcement during a press conference of the annual session.

AVIC owns more than 26 percent of Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) that produces the country's jumbo jet, according to a report from the official Xinhua News Agency.

Zhang said there will be many tests on the aircraft and so it will take a relatively long time before the jumbo jet can get the Certificate of Airworthiness, a permit for mass production.

Asked by reporters whether the key parts and components of the homemade jumbo jet will be imported, Zhang replied that airplanes made by Boeing, Airbus and the plane engines of General Electric (GE) and Pratt and Whitney (P&W) all have made-in-China parts.

"We welcome those powerful transnational corporations to take part in the co-bidding in terms of commercial aircraft," Zhang was quoted as saying., adding many companies had expressed interest in cooperating.

But the China partnership will possess the intellectual property rights since "it is our own plane", he noted.

Feng Peide, also a senior executive of AVIC and member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, said it is impossible for the engines and all airborne equipment to be all made by foreign countries.

Chief designer of the jumbo plane Wu Guanghui had previously said that they will use foreign engines in the first phase of the research but homemade engines will be developed simultaneously with the aircraft.

This January, AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co (ACAE) was set up in Shanghai. It aims to provide engines for the homemade jumbo jet in order to wean from its reliance on foreign companies.

Established in the commercial hub of Shanghai last May, COMAC‘s project of developing China's first large passenger aircraft is an ambitious objective.

It has a registered capital of 19 billion yuan ($2.78 billion), with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission as the biggest shareholder.

The first home-made jumbo jet is already named C919, with C representing China and also the first letter of the abbreviation for Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. The first "9" in the name implies "forever" in Chinese culture, while "19" means the first jumbo jet produced by China will have 190 seats, according to chief designer Wu Guanghui.

In an earlier report, Wu said the China-made large passenger aircraft will eventually compete with Airbus and Boeing in the international market.

Jumbo jets having about 150 seats account for 70 percent to 80 percent of world demand for civilian passenger aircraft now and the trend will continue in the following two decades. It is estimated China will need about 1,400 such aircraft in the next 20 years, whereas the demand in world market will exceed 20,000.

Zhang Hongbiao also disclosed to reporters that AVIC will sign an agreement with its Russian counterpart to jointly develop an advanced large helicopter.

Russia's Mi-26 helicopter played an important role in the rescue work of last year's May 12 earthquake in southwest China. Currently, China is lacking large helicopters which are helpful for disaster relief work and putting out forest fires.