Production of the first jetliner designed by Russian and Chinese engineers has reportedly been launched in China. The wide-body airliner, the C929, is expected to rival Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.
The news was first reported by Jiefang Daily, the official paper of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Earlier this year, Yang Zhigang, general engineer of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), said that manufacturing of the long-range, wide-body aircraft would kick off in 2021.
The China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation (CRAIC), a joint venture between the two nations, was launched in 2017 with the goal of producing a jetliner to compete with the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing, and take at least a 10% share of the global market.
The prototype was revealed at the opening of China’s largest airshow in the Chinese coastal city of Zhuhai in November 2018. The new jet is expected to make its maiden flight in 2023.
The prototype fuselage, which is 22 meters long, 6.5 meters tall, and 5.9 meters wide, revealed a spacious interior with nine-abreast basic seating in economy class. The salon was equipped with two rows of first-class seats, three rows of business-class seats, and four rows of economy-class seats.
The basic version CR929-600 is projected to carry 280 passengers over a distance of up to 12,000km (7,500 miles). The aircraft family will reportedly include a modification with an extended fuselage (CR929-700) and a shortened fuselage (CR929-500). The aircraft length will be 63.25 meters, with a wingspan of 58-61 meters, and a height of 17.9 meters.