China picking up the pace in civil aircraft development as demand soars

BEIJING - The civil aircraft industry has gathered momentum in China with multiple major aircraft models at various stages of development.

As the world's second-largest civil aviation market, China has continually achieved growth in the civil aviation industry amid economic growth and rising air transport demand.

China has committed to developing two trunk airliner models and two regional airplane models, respectively the C919 narrow-body and the CR929 widebody jetliners, as well as the ARJ21 regional jet and MA60 series turboprop aircraft.

The homegrown C919 large passenger airplane will enter into a new phase of intensive test flights in the second half of this year, according to its developer, the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China.

The fourth C919 prototype has completed its first test flight mission. A total of six prototypes of the jetliner will be put through intensive test flight missions with two more aircraft set to join the fleet, the developer said.

The twin-engine C919 is China's first homegrown trunk jetliner. The C919 project, which started in 2008, conducted a successful maiden flight on May 5, 2017.

To date, COMAC, its developer, has received 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers worldwide. The C919 is expected to get an airworthiness certificate from the country's civil aviation authorities in 2021.The China-Russia joint CR929 widebody passenger aircraft project has already entered the initial design phase.

The ARJ21, China's first domestically developed regional aircraft, is already on its way to commercial operation at scale. And the Chinese operators are targeting to build regional airline networks with the model.

China's Genghis Khan Airlines plans to expand its fleet to 25 ARJ21 airplanes in five years. Set up in March 2018, Genghis Khan Airlines is based in Hohhot, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

With the ARJ21 planes, Genghis Khan Airlines is gearing up to build a regional airline network with 60 air routes to 40 destinations.

Developed by COMAC, the ARJ21 has a designated seating capacity of 78 to 90 and a range of 3,700 km. It is capable of flying in alpine and plateau regions and can adapt to various airport conditions.

The first ARJ21 jetliner was delivered to Chengdu Airlines in 2015. To date, the airline has used the ARJ21 airplanes on more than 20 air routes and transported more than 450,000 passengers.

China-developed MA700 turboprop regional aircraft is expected to be put into market in 2021, according to its developer Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

The MA700 project is in the trial production and test phase. And the first MA700 is scheduled to roll off the production line this September and the maiden flight is expected to take place within the year, the AVIC said. Large parts of the plane's fuselage middle section and nose section were delivered in May.

The MA700, an upgraded version with high speed and high adaptability, is the third member of China's MA60 "Modern Ark" regional airplane family, following the MA60 and MA600. It is designed with a maximum speed of 637 kph and a single-engine ceiling of 5,400 meters. It is designed for airports with high temperatures, high altitudes and short runways.

To date, it has received 285 intended orders from 11 customers at home and abroad, said AVIC.

China is now the world's second-largest civil aviation market. The International Air Transport Association forecast that China is expected to become the world's largest by the mid-2020s.

As of June, China had a total of 3,722 civil aircraft, based on the latest statistics released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.