The C919 is designed to accommodate around 158 passengers, aircraft was planned in 2007.
China’s state-owned firmed large passenger plane has been completed and took its maiden flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
China’s first home-built, narrow-body, twin-engine Comec C919 passenger aircraft successfully took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
Chinese government officials and aerospace industry leaders gathered to watch the C919 narrow-body jet make its maiden flight.
The single-aisle aircraft has been launched to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 as the nation aims to take on western airlines.
The C919 is designed to accommodate 158 passengers or more, putting it in a class of aircraft with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320. It makes more significance because C919 aircraft is much cheaper than both.
Behind the celebrations of a Made-in-China jet is the reality, citizen’s thinks that the C919 flight is Beijing’s first step toward independence from Boeing and Airbus as it attempts to replace all 6,000-6,800 of its western aircraft at a cost of around $1 trillion.
Chief financial officer at Honeywell, Tom Szlosek said, “Comac has really leaned on the experience of its suppliers, “We’re adding a lot of value.”
Chief executive officer of Singapore-based research firm Crucial Perspective, Corrine Png said, “The C919 will be a game-changer for China’s aerospace industry.”
In an interview carried out in March but released on Chinese television shortly before the launch, test pilot Cai Jun said he had full confidence in the plane.
“A pilot knows clearly the condition of a plane. He knows very well whether it will work. So I’m not afraid at all, but focusing more on whether the plane is in its best shape now,” he said.
The flight represents China’s ambitions to become a world leader in aviation and start not only manufacturing jets for its own airlines, but also exporting passenger aircraft to other countries.
In 2007, plans to develop a Chinese-built large passenger jet were approved by the State Council. In November 2015, the first C919 jet rolled off the assembly line. Earlier taxiing test in late 2016 the experts detected a problem with the brakes of aircraft.