Aircraft Similar To DC-9 Should Fly By End Of '06

Described as a potential challenger to foreign manufacturers' dominance of the Chinese airliner market, China is set to begin trial production next year of its ARJ-21 passenger jet, state media reported on Friday.

China is billing the ARJ-21 (or "Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century") as the country's first domestically designed passenger plane, although the plane is rumored to share many similarities to the McDonnell-Douglas DC-9. This may not be surprising, as part of that company was later sold to China's National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp.

The 78-to-105-passenger twin engine jet has passed an initial "air worthiness appraisal" and is now in the final design stages, according to Huang Qiang, president of the first Airplane Designing Institute with China Aviation Industry Corp. Qiang was quoted by China's official Xinhua News Agency.

Trial assembly of the aircraft should begin by the end of the year, with a maiden flight expected in late 2006, according to the report.

The ARJ-21 is China's first attempt to produce a commercial aircraft for its own market, having relied in the past on airliners from foreign manufacturers, in particular Boeing. The jet is expected to compete with smaller Boeing and Airbus jets, as well as Regional Jets from such manufacturers as Brazil's Embraer.

The aircraft will use components from 19 international suppliers, and will be powered by GE Aircraft engines. The plane's manufacturer, China Aviation Industry Corp. subsidiary AVIC I, expects to produce 300 of the planes within 20 years.

Cost and delivery dates have not been disclosed, although AVIC I has announced 35 orders from local carriers for the smaller RJ-version of the airplane. The manufacturer also builds aircraft for the Chinese military, as well a passenger plane based on Russia's Antonov-24 transport plane that seats up to 60 people.

Boeing has predicted the burgeoning Chinese air travel market will need more than 2,600 new airplanes over the next 20 years in order to meet anticipated growth. Many of those planes are expected to be models of Boeing's forthcoming 787 "Dreamliner," a twin-aisle medium range jet that is not expected to compete with the ARJ-21.

FMI: www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/avic.htm