China's very first home-built passenger airliner took flight on Friday, soaring over Pudong International Airport in Shanghai for about an hour. Chinese government officials and aerospace industry leaders gathered to watch the C919 narrow-body jet make its maiden flight. The state-run manufacturer of the of the jet, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), declared the test a success after landing.

The flight represents China's ambitions to become a world leader in aviation and start not only manufacturing jets for its own airlines, but also exporting passenger aircraft to other countries. The C919 is designed to accommodate 158 passengers or more, putting it in a class of aircraft with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320.

Takeoff during the first flight of the Comac C919. New China TV YouTube

The first flight of a large passenger plane is a good start, but China's aircraft manufacturers still have a long way to go before they can compete with established plane builders. The C919 is still "years — if not decades — behind aircraft made by Airbus and Boeing," writes The New York Times.

Although the aircraft was designed and built in China, it uses a number of Western components and technologies, including CFM International Leap-1C engines developed by GE and French aerospace company Safran Aircraft Engines. Honeywell also supplied critical components of the jet, including power systems, fly-by-wire controls, navigation equipment, wheels, and brakes.

It will be some time before the C919, or a future aircraft built by Comac, will be as cheap to fly and as easy to maintain as proven aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. Before western airliners could even operate the twin-engine jet airliner, safety regulators in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere would need to sign off on the plane.

China's C919 narrow-body jet during its first high-speed taxi test at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, April 16, 2017. Getty Images

There is a possibility that the C919 enters Chinese markets sooner rather than later, however. Comac is directly controlled but the Chinese cabinet, and the state-run aviation industry in China could be forced to use the C919 even if it is less efficient to fly than planes from the West. China's aviation sector is the second largest in the world, only after the United States, and in the coming years the Chinese aviation market is expected to continue to grow, perhaps even surpassing the American market.

If China decides to squeeze out Western aircraft in favor of home-built planes, it could represent a major challenge to Boeing and Airbus. The two aircraft manufacturers welcomed the arrival of the C919, however. "We'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Comac for the successful development of the C919 airplane," said Boeing spokesman Yukui Wang.

Cormac said is has 570 orders for the C919 from 23 customers. While most of these orders are from Chinese companies and a handful of foreign nations with close ties to China, there are a few notable exceptions, including 20 orders from General Electric Capital Aviation Services.

It took decades for Boeing and Airbus to refine their airliner designs to achieve the flight efficiency that the companies enjoy today. Cormac is going to have to slog through that same long process, but with backing from the Chinese government and a rapidly advancing aerospace industry, the airliners of China almost certainly have a place in the future.

Source: The New York Times

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