The Comac C919 is a planned 168-190 seat narrow-body airliner to be built by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).[1][2][3]
It will be the largest commercial airliner designed and built in China since the defunct Shanghai Y-10. Its first flight is expected to take place in 2014, with deliveries scheduled for 2016.[4] The C919 forms part of China's long-term goal to break Airbus and Boeing's duopoly, and will compete against Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 737 Next Generation.[5]
On September 8, 2009, during the Asian Aerospace 2009, Comac unveiled a scale-model of the C919, stating that the engine supplier will be selected by the end of 2009. [6][7] Construction of the nose section of the aircraft commenced on 2 September, 2009.
Design
Design and assembly of the aircraft will be done in Shanghai, initially using foreign-made jet engines[9] and avionics. However, China has expressed its desire to eventually produce a locally-made engine for the C919.[10]
CFM will supply a version of the LEAP-X engine, the LEAP-X1C, to power the aircraft.[11]
Dimensions of the C919 are very similar to the Airbus A320, possibly to allow for a common pallet to be used. Its fuselage will be 3.96-metres (13-feet) wide, and 4.166-metres (13-feet, 8-inches) high, producing a cross-section of 12.915 square metres (139 square feet). The wingspan will be 33.6 metres (110 feet, 3 inches), or 35.4 metres (116 feet, 3 inches) if winglets are included.[8]
Payload will be 20.4 metric tonnes. Its cruise speed will be Mach 0.785 and it will have a maximum altitude of 12,100 metres (39,800 feet).[8]
There will be two variants. The standard version will have a range of 4,075km (2,200nm), with the extended-range version able to fly 5,555km (3,000nm).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comac_C919
Comac Trunkliner To Fly In 2016, Named C919
China's forthcoming trunkliner will fly in about eight years, says manufacturer Comac, suggesting that the project has brought forward its service-entry goal of 2020.
The company has completed the preliminary design and feasibility study for the aircraft, which will be called the C919, says chief designer Wu Guanghui.
Comac says it is looking for foreign suppliers, including engine makers, and will choose those contractors at an early stage in the development.
The confirmation that the C919 will use foreign engines means that Aviation Engine Industry Corp., a subsidiary of Avic, will not power the aircraft, at least not in it early versions. That proposal from the Chinese engine always looked ambitious.
The aircraft is planned to seat 130 to 200 passengers. Comac is a Shanghai-based spin-off of Avic, which is now only a minority shareholder in the business.
Comac has previously said it would begin building the C919 in 2014, presumably meaning the prototypes. If the first of them flies in 2017, as Wu says, and Comac allows one or two years for flight testing, then the C919 would enter service in 2018 or 2019. That hasn't been specified, however, and earlier references to a 2020 entry into service were always vague.
Development will be very slow by western standards, reflecting Comac's great challenge in taking on Airbus and Boeing. The project can be counted as having been launched in May 2008, when Comac was established for the express purpose of developing, building, selling and supporting the aircraft. Development is therefore projected to last 10 or 11 years, compared with the six years now expected for the Boeing 787.
"Given what we know about the resources they have, I would have to say that it is a very ambitious schedule," says one western industry executive with experience in working with Chinese aerospace companies. "Could they make a first flight eight years from now? Maybe."
The Comac ARJ21 regional jet will have been in development for eight years if it meets its delayed target of entering service next year.
Critically, Comac has not yet achieved U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certification of the ARJ21, an aircraft that is serving as the industry's dress rehearsal for breaking into the mainliner market. Comac certainly needs to know how to get western certification for the C919.
Bradley Perrett/Beijing perrett@aviationweek.com
China names first jumbo jet C919, to take off in 8 years
BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua)-- China has named its first home-made jumbo jet C919, which will take off in around eight years, its chief designer Wu Guanghui said on Friday.
"C represents China as well as COMAC, the abbreviation for Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd," said Wu, who is also the deputy general manager of COMAC, the manufacturer of C919.
"The name also reflects our determination to compete in the international market for jumbo jet. C919 comes after Airbus and Boeing, so you will have ABC in the aviation industry," said Wu, apolitical advisor who is here attending the annual session of 11thNational Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The first 9 in the name implies forever in Chinese culture, while 19 means the first jumbo jet produced by China will have 190seats, he said.
Wu said that his company will choose suppliers of engines, airborne equipment, and materials through international bidding, and will encourage foreign suppliers to enter into partnership with Chinese manufacturers.
"We will choose foreign-manufactured products like engines at the beginning phase, but we will also independently do the research and manufacturing work at the same time," noted Wu.
The Shanghai-based COMAC was set up in May, 2008 after approval in early 2007 by the State Council, China's Cabinet. It has a registered capital of 19 billion yuan (2.78 billion U.S. dollars), with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission as the biggest shareholder.
Wu said the jumbo jet project now involves 47 institutions from China and abroad, and that the preliminary general technical design plan and commercial feasibility study have been completed.
