First nose of C919 domestic passenger jet assembled

China completed the assembly on Thursday of the first nose of the C919, the nation's first domestically designed large passenger jetliner.

The 6.6-meter-long nose, consisting of 3,200 components, uses a large amount of advanced composite materials like aluminum-lithium alloy and titanium alloy. The nose successfully went through a strict “bird strike test” — hitting it with a 4.5 pound frozen chicken at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour.

Final assembly of the plane is expected to start in the latter half of this year. The plane will make its maiden flight by the end of next year, according to Wu Guanghui, deputy general manager of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and chief designer of C919.

C919 is among China's major efforts to enter the global passenger aircraft market. The plane seats up to 180, with a flying range of up to 5,555 kilometers. So far, 400 orders for the C919 have been received from 16 customers.