The chief designer of the home-made C919 program has said that the aircraft aims to obtain its certificate of airworthiness in 2021, marking the first time an official has given a clear timetable for the certificate target.
Wu Guanghui, chief designer for the C919 program, made this announcement in a speech at a forum recently held in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, the China News Service reported on Wednesday.
An airworthiness certificate is the market's equivalent to an entry permit. Only by winning its airworthiness certificate from the FAA and the EASA can an aircraft enter the global mainstream market, Lin Zhijie, an aviation industry insider told the Global Times on Thursday.
As China's first large aircraft, the test flight will inevitably be rocky, and the delay in schedule is therefore normal. It is not crucial that its airworthiness certificate is awarded in 2021. The key is to complete the test flight, and ensure the aircraft's safety and reliability, he added.
Wu said that the independent development of commercial aircraft in China is a three-step process.
The first is the ARJ series, regional jets with 78 to 90 seats and flying speeds of 2,250 to 3,700 kilometers. The second is the C919, which has a large flying distance range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers and seat capacity of 156 to 168. Last is the CR929, a long-distance, wide-body passenger aircraft with 280 seats and a 12,000-kilometer flying distance capability.
The ARJ was in development since 2002 and had its maiden flight in 2008. At present, 13 aircraft have been delivered, with 26 operational routes.
The C919 project began in 2008, and exited the assembly line in 2015; its maiden flight was in 2017. Last week, a fourth C919 had its first test flight in Shanghai, and two further aircraft will follow in the second half of this year, showing it has truly entered the test flying stage.
To date, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd has received 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers worldwide.
The CR929 is jointly developed by China and Russia. Global Times previously reported that the CR929 program is in its preliminary design stage. Key objectives of this stage are the determination of the its final design, the selection of system and equipment suppliers, the subsequent signing of preliminary letters of intent, and the signing of contracts with airlines
