Fifth C919 completes test flight
THE fifth prototype of the C919, China’s first domestically developed narrow-body passenger aircraft, completed its maiden flight at Pudong International Airport yesterday.
The plane took off from the airport at 10am and landed smoothly after a 97-minute test flight, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China said.
On board the plane were three pilots and two engineers.
The prototype is mainly undertaking tests covering temperature tolerance, the environment control system, electricity generation and fullaircraft draining.
The first four prototypes of the C919 are also undergoing a series of tests in northwestern Shaanxi Province as well as eastern Shandong and Jiangxi provinces.
The sixth prototype, the No. 106 C919, will roll off the assembly line in Shanghai later this year. When this plane is ready, the C919 program will enter the “intensive test stage,” COMAC said. More than 1,000 ground and air tests related to power, performance, stability and flight controls will be carried out on the six planes.
The C919, with 168 seats and a range of 5,555 kilometers, will compete for orders with the Airbus 320neo and the Boeing 737 MAX.
Wu Guanghui, chief designer of the C919, has said the aircraft is being developed in accordance with the latest international safety standards and is set to start commercial operations in 2021.
COMAC has got 850 orders from 30 foreign and domestic airlines for the C919. The first C919 made its maiden flight from Shanghai on May 5, 2017.