ightglobal.com 11-17 June 2019 | Flight International | 51
PARIS
Chinese industryin Xian, mostly focused on flutter, airspeed
calibrations, loads, stability and general per-
formance.
During a February visit to Comac’s facility,
the manufacturer told FlightGlobal it hopes to
have three more C919 prototypes flying this
year. The aim is to add one flight-test aircraft
in each of the second, third, and fourth quar-
ters, and these jets are now in various stages of
assembly.Comac states that the aircraft will have a ca-
pacity of between 158 and 168 seats, and a
range of between 2,200nm (4,075km) and
3,000nm. That puts it at a disadvantage to the
A320neo and 737 Max, which both offer more
range and capacity.
Fleets Analyzer shows that Comac has or-
ders for 305 C919s, options for 45 additional
aircraft, and letters of intent for 658 more.
Like the ARJ21, Chinese airlines and leasing
companies dominate the orderbook. FleetJonathan Browning/Shutterstock“The track record of Comac
suggests that the certification
could be challenged”
Rob Morris
Global head of consultancy, Ascend by Ciriumits first of 25 aircraft ordered in August 2018.
Urumqi Air is set to become the third opera-
tor, with its first aircraft due for delivery
around August.
One of Comac’s challenges is the limited
capacity of its Shanghai manufacturing facili-
ty, which can only build 15 ARJ21s per year.
To clear that bottleneck, the manufacturer
plans to construct a new facility near Shang-
hai Pudong International airport that can as-
semble 30 aircraft per year.
Assuming that capacity is realised, produc-
tion could theoretically stretch on for a decade,
with Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer showing that the
ARJ21 has 237 firm orders, and options and let-
ters of intent for a further 476 – almost all from
Chinese carriers and leasing companies.
But there are doubts over how many of
those aircraft will be produced. Cirium’s
Fleets Forecast predicts that only 79 ARJ21s
will be delivered before Comac switches its
focus to production of the larger C919.
NARROWBODY PRIORITY
Development is progressing on the narrow-
body C919, following its first flight in May
- Service entry is targeted for 2020 or 2021
with launch operator China Eastern Airlines.
Three prototype aircraft, all powered by
CFM International Leap-1C engines, are now
involved in a series of tests from Comac’s base
Forecast predicts that Comac will deliver
around 1,200 C919s by 2037.
At the same time, Comac is working with
UAC under the CRAIC joint venture that is
developing the widebody CR929. Comac will
take responsibility for producing the CR929’s
fuselage and completing final assembly in
Shanghai. The aircraft’s composite wings,
empennage, and tail section will be produced
in Russia.
Xie says the programme is scheduled to
complete the concept design phase by the end
of this year or early 2020, before moving into a
definition phase expected to last until the first
half of 2022. It has set aside 18 to 24 months for
flight tests, with a target of certification in 2027.
Two variants will be developed. The baseline
CR929-600 is designed to carry 280 passengers
in a three-class configuration, with a range of
6,500nm and a maximum take-off weight of
242t. The stretched -700 will have 320 seats and
a range of 5,400nm. A shorter -500 variant is
also being proposed, capable of seating 250 pas-
sengers and flying 7,570nm.
The -600 is similar in size and capability to
the A330-900 and 787-8 and -9, says Ray
Jaworowski of Forecast International. He adds
that the CR929 will replace the Ilyushin Il-96
in UAC’s product line “if not immediately,
then almost certainly eventually”.
One of the larger items expected to be
checked off this year is the selection of a pow-
erplant for the programme. Xie told Flight-
Global in February that it was “very close” to
selecting between proposals from GE and
Rolls-Royce, before moving to a joint defini-
tion phase.
While the CR929 will initially use a West-
ern engine, Russian and Chinese alternatives
are also expected to be offered. Aero Engine
Corporation of China is working to develop
the AEF 3500 high-bypass engine, while Unit-
ed Engine and Aviadvigatel were awarded a
$1.13 billion contract to develop the PD-35-1
demonstrator powerplant by 2023. That en-
gine is expected to produce over 70,000lb
(321kN) of thrust.CR929 ORDER
CRAIC has yet to secure a launch order for the
CR929, although Comac is confident that one
is imminent – again likely to be from a Chi-
nese carrier.
But it is hardly expected to shake up the
market. The Fleet Forecast prediction for the
baseline -600 variant is delivery of around
224 aircraft, primarily to customers in China,
Russia and the CIS countries, along with
small, politically-linked export sales.
With one jet in service, the next on the way,
and a widebody in the offing, Comac is not
standing still. But having made some mis-
steps in its past, it now faces the challenge of
executing each of them well. ■Limited Shanghai manufacturing capacity
poses a challenge for the airframer