(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-22 10:33

China's first fully homegrown commercial aircraft, the ARJ-21, rolls off the production line and is towed into a hangar at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory on Friday.

China's first home-grown regional jet, ARJ21-700, rolled off the production line in Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory on Friday afternoon, said a spokesman of the producer.

The first ARJ21-700 jet, powered by a turbofan engine, can carry 90 passengers with a maximum range of 2,000 nautical miles.

The ARJ21 jet's name, "Xiang Feng," meaning "Flying Phoenix" was also unveiled on the roll-out ceremony. The name was chosen in a global competition via the Internet, said a spokesman of the China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I), the jet's designer and producer.

It is planned to make its maiden flight in March and be delivered to the first customers in the third quarter of 2009 after it gets airworthiness certification in the first half of the same year.

Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan and Shanghai Party chief Yu Zhengsheng were  present at the ceremony.

"By adopting mature technologies, the regional jet is reliable on safety and it sells well, which will definitely promote China's aviation industry and its civilian aircraft industry to step onto a new stage," said Zeng.

The Vice Premier also encouraged the jet producers to work hard to ensure a successful maiden flight of ARJ21-700 jet next year and to meet the needs of the market.

"Ten candidate pilots have been selected for the ARJ21. They are attending training courses at the Chinese Flight Test Establishment of AVIC I. One of them will be selected for the maiden flight next March," said Luo Ronghuai, general manager of the AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co Ltd.

"Although their average age is below 30, they have been flying passenger airplanes for quite a few years," Luo said.

Vice chief designer Chen Yong said the jet will go through more than 170 tests before it gets the certification.

"The ARJ-21 also focuses on comfort. The passenger cabin is 123 inches wide, 15 to 25 inches wider than Bombardier's CRJ700 and CRJ900, and Brazil's ERJ170 and ERJ190. The seat is 0.9 inch wider than that of the Boeing 737," said Chen. "It's one of the amplest cabins of any regional plane in the world."

"We aim to provide regional air passengers with the service comparable to trunk line airplanes," he added.

AVIC I has received orders for 171 "Xiang Feng" aircraft, of which two are from a Laotian airline company, said the spokesman at the ceremony.

The latest order for 100 ARJ21 jets were inked on Friday by Shenzhen Airlines based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. It is the largest single order that AVIC I have ever received.
The manufacturer also received orders for 71 jets from other domestic airline companies, including Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Shenzhen Financial Leasing Co Ltd and Shanghai Electric Leasing Co Ltd.

"Some foreign companies show increasing interest in the ARJ21 jets these days. We expect to receive more overseas orders in the first half of next year," said a source with the AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co Ltd at the ceremony.

AVIC I plans to begin mass production in 2009 and expects to realize an annual output of 50 aircraft by 2011.

At present, China uses foreign-made Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier planes on domestic air routes. The ARJ21 is expected to grab up to 60 percent of the domestic market for mid-size regional airliners over the next 20 years, said AVIC I.

The ARJ21, a regional passenger jet with 70 to 110 seats, is the world's first plane designed to take into account to China's natural environment. The plane will be capable of landing and taking off at airports in western China's plateau in high temperatures.

The ARJ21 program was formally approved by Chinese authorities in 2002, with a first-stage investment of 5 billion yuan ($667 million) from the government.

ARJ21, short for "Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century," is featured for its safety and low price. It is the first regional jet that China has fully developed on its own, in accordance with the standards set by General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (GACAC), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA).