People view a model of CR929 airplane during the international aviation and space salon MAKS 2019 in Zhukovsky, Russia, Aug. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

The long-range wide-body aircraft, CR929, to be jointly developed by China and Russia, will kick off its manufacturing in 2021, said Yang Zhigang, general engineer of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC).  

Yang said that the start of CR929 construction means the entire design phase, including the specific shape, size, material, operation systems and various parts suppliers of the aircraft, will be "frozen".

"For the core systems of the CR929, we wish to be supplied by two or more companies," said Yang. He noted that they can phase in an insurance mechanism to ensure the continuous operation of the business, something most civil aviation companies in the world usually adopt. 

According to the official website of COMAC, CR929 is a dual-aisle plane to be jointly developed by China and Russia, initially oriented toward the markets in China and Russia, while extensively meeting the global market demands of international and regional air passenger transport.

Meanwhile, the production of the regional aircraft ARJ21 and the large jet aircraft C919 are also underway.

The ARJ21 aircraft is the first short-medium-range turbofan regional aircraft independently developed by China, according to the COMAC official website. More than 20 ARJ21s were manufactured in 2020 and there are currently almost 50 ARJ21s serving the aviation market, adding more ARJ21 aircrafts will be completed in 2021. 

China's domestically-developed large passenger aircraft C919 is undergoing frequent flight testing in different areas of China. On 16 January, C919 completed its first low-temperature 23-day-flight test in Hulunbuir of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 

"The C919 aircraft is scheduled for delivery to the first client at the end of 2021," said Yang.

Global Times