Inside the first 'made in China' plane arriving in Vietnam

QUANG NINH - Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) gave Vietnamese customers a full tour of the cockpit and passenger cabin at the exhibition in Van Don.

Vietnam is the second overseas destination for the C919, after Singapore. At 10am on February 27, Comac allowed spectators to freely tour the C919 and ARJ21 aircraft at the Van Don International Airport apron - something Comac had not allowed at the Singapore air show last week. At that time, only a few businesses and customers who had been pre-selected were allowed to board the C919 aircraft.

Comac flight attendants introduce the cabin features to visitors. This time, Comac brought the entire crew of Chinese people. The flight crew followed the C919 from Singapore Airshow to Vietnam.

The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a length of nearly 39 m, a maximum capacity of 192 passengers, and a maximum range of 4,075 km. Beijing hopes to break the monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in the global aircraft manufacturing market with this narrow-body aircraft line.

Each C919 costs about 99 million USD, tens of millions cheaper than the Airbus A320 neo or Boeing 737.

The C919 has two business class rows with eight leather seats, light brown in color, that can be adjusted to the customer's needs.

The distance from the floor to the highest point of the ceiling is about 2.25 m, giving a more comfortable feeling than on the older generation A321/320. According to the manufacturer, the lighting system in the passenger cabin can be customized with up to 10 color modes.

The economy configuration on this narrowbody aircraft is similar to the Airbus A320/A321 and Boeing 737 max models, with three seats on each side. The seats are about 18 inches wide. However, Comac has arranged a wider distance between the rows of seats on this display aircraft, making passengers feel more comfortable. There are safety instructions in Chinese and English behind each seat.

The C919 cockpit configuration is quite similar to the Airbus A320 model. Most of the equipment in the cockpit and the front of the aircraft comes from the US and Europe.

The communication and navigation system uses components from the manufacturer Rockwell Collins (USA). In front of the two pilots are five 15.4-inch LCD screens.

In particular, a screen next to the pilot's seat connects to a ceiling camera system, allowing the crew to fully observe from the entrance to the end of the aircraft's passenger compartment.

The C919 galley can accommodate 7 food carts with the system, bar, and food warmer on board. There are also two small toilets in front of this area. Overall, this area is no different from that of Airbus aircraft.

In addition, the aircraft also has a number of other parts from American manufacturers such as wheels and brakes (Honeywell), aluminum fuselage (Acronic), black box (GE). At the exhibition, Comac sealed two C919 engines.

However, according to previous announcements, this aircraft uses CFM International LEAP engines from American and French manufacturers, similar to the Airbus A320 neo.

Comac placed the ARJ21 jet aircraft next to the C919 at the exhibition. This is the first aircraft that Comac researched and produced itself. The ARJ21 uses two GE CF34-10A engines from the US; flight and landing equipment from Liebherr (Germany).

The ARJ21 has a range of 2,225 to 3,700 km. The aircraft can be configured with seats from 78 to 97.

Chinese carriers have used the jet on many domestic routes. According to Comac, the ARJ21 has flown 13 million passengers. Comac will deliver the ARJ21 to its first international customer in Indonesia in 2022.

The ARJ21's luggage compartment can hold a carry-on suitcase weighing about 7 kg, similar to other aircraft in the same segment as the ATR72 and Embraer 190. In addition, the ARJ21 can also be configured as a private jet to serve VIP customers.

The ARJ21 was certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in late 2014 and certified for production in July 2017.