China-made passenger plane takes off for the first time

The first Chinese-made passenger plane, the C919 jet, with a cruising speed of 834 km/h, took off on the morning of May 28, marking an achievement after 14 years of development.

China conducted the first commercial flight of its C919 narrow-body jetliner today, marking a new milestone in its efforts to break the global monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in aircraft manufacturing. The first flight at 10:45 a.m. on May 28 was operated by Eastern Airlines as flight MU9191 from Shanghai to Beijing, the country's busiest domestic route. The plane landed at Beijing Capital Airport at 1:10 p.m. the same day.

The C919 is a CFM International LEAP-1C twin-engine narrow-body jetliner. It can carry 158 to 192 passengers and has a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers, according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). The 164-seat aircraft has a two-cabin layout with eight business class seats and 156 economy class seats. The middle seat in the three-seat economy class row is 1.5 centimeters wider than the two adjacent seats, making it more comfortable.

The plane has 20 12-inch (30.4 cm) screens that can show 1,080-pixel movies. The C919 also features a filtering system, a passenger-focused lighting system, and low noise. The plane will enter full commercial service in the spring of 2023, with the first route between Shanghai and Beijing.

The C919, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) to compete with Boeing's 737 and Airbus's A320, was granted a certificate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in September last year after more than 14 years of development. The passenger plane was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December of the same year. The C919 has undergone a total of 100 hours of test flights. Commercial flights are expected to begin in the first half of 2023.

The Chinese government plans for the C919 to have a 10% domestic market share by 2025. Comac says it has received more than 1,200 orders for the C919. According to China Eastern, the C919 will operate commercially mainly in Shanghai.

An Khang (According to SCMP/Interesting Engineering )

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