Aviation industry to take off

Xingdong Airport in Nantong, Jiangsu province, has been selected to run test flights for China’s first domestically developed regional jet.

The ARJ 21-700 made its first landing at the airport at 5:21 pm on March 16 after a one hour and 40 minute flight from Tianjin.

The aircraft will operate test flights from Nantong to a number of major cities including Beijing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Changsha for another two months before it goes into service with China’s Chengdu Airlines.

“Nantong’s Xingdong Airport was chosen because of its proximity to Shanghai and its flights to many cities across the country. In addition, it has such good infrastructure for instrument landing systems,” said Chi Xiangyuan, a senior official at the test flight center of the Commercial Airport Corporation of China.

Chi said the airport would play an even bigger role in promoting the development of the country’s civil aviation industry, as it is likely to become the base for test flights for the C919, a large passenger aircraft being developed by China.

Workers checks the ARI 21-700 regional jet at Xingdong Airport in Nantong before its test flights. [Xu Congjun/NanTong Daily]

The C919 and ARJ 21-700 were both designed by the CACC.

The ARJ 21-700 is the first regional jet that China has developed in accordance with international standards.

Its development started in 2002 and the jet had its maiden flight in 2008. After six years of strict tests, it became the country’s first regional jet qualified for civil aviation in late 2014.

The company said it received more than 300 orders from 18 airlines in China and abroad for the new aircraft.

The ARJ 21-700 jet is 33.4 meters long and 8.4 meters high, with a wingspan of 27.2 meters.

It sports two GE turbofan engines, boasts low fuel consumption, low noise levels and is easy to maintain and repair, according to the company.

The aircraft has a standard mileage of 2,225 kilometers and can fly up to 3,700 km at speeds similar to larger planes.

The jet is suitable to take off and land at plateau regions in Southwest China. Its cabin is 3.1 meters high and about 40 cm wider than regional jets like Bombardier’s CRJ700 and Embraer’s ERJ 170.

The ARJ 21-700 can accommodate 90 economy class passengers or eight first-class passengers and 70 economy travelers.

Compared with other regional jets, passengers on the test flights said the ARJ-700 was more spacious.

They said the plane was comfortable with enough room for bulky winter clothes and cabin luggage.

“The jet has arguably the best interior and is the most spacious among all regional jets,” said Wang Qiuli, deputy head of customer service at the CACC.

General manager of the CACC, He Dongfeng, the jet’s chief designer Wu Guanghui and Chengdu Airlines’ general manager Sui Mingguang were also aboard the test flight.

Industry insiders said their presence on the test flight showed they were confident in the safety of the planes they designed, manufactured and purchased.

Zhu Weiwen, a senior pilot with the CACC, was captain for the test flight.

“The test flight was quite good and w-e had a smooth landing,” said Zhu. “It has outstanding controllability, which is as good as Boeing planes.”

Contact the writers at lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn