CBN Friday Special丨First C919 delivery takes China’s 50-year

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Hello! Welcome to this edition of CBN Friday Special. I’m Stephanie Li.

The world's first C919 aircraft, also China's first domestically-developed passenger jet, was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in Shanghai on Friday, and it is expected to be put into commercial operation in the spring of 2023.

The jet will be put into the routes in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Kunming, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen, the airlines said.

A total of 80 guests boarded the plane, being the first to experience the safety, economy and comfort of the plane. The plane was welcomed by a watergate ceremony, and is now officially part of the China Eastern fleet.

China Eastern has arranged two-cabin layout with 164 seats, including 8 business class and 156 economy class, all of which use a new generation of domestic cabin seats that are completely independently developed by China.

It is a major milestone in the development of China's large aircraft industry, and it means that the global civil aviation market will welcome a latest newly developed single-aisle aircraft over the past more than 30 years, the producer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) said on Friday.

China Eastern and COMAC signed the purchase contract for the first batch of five C919 aircraft in March of 2021. The remaining four aircraft will be delivered in the coming two years.

Now let dive in to find out more about the C919 — how is it being developed, and why is it important for China’s longtime dream to have its own civil jet.

But first, what is C919 anyway? 

The C919 is a narrow-body jet being built by COMAC, a state-owned company based in Shanghai, to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320. China formed COMAC in 2008 to design and build the single-aisle C919.

How is the C919 being developed and what’s new?

The project of C919 large passenger aircraft was established in 2007 and the plane made its first flight in 2017. The aircraft adopts advanced aerodynamic design, propulsion system and materials, with lower carbon emissions and higher fuel efficiency. The cockpit is equipped with a new generation of integrated side operating levers, five 15.4-inch high-definition display screens. The cabin has an aisle height of 2.25 meters, and the middle seat is slightly wider than the seats on both sides, which will provide passengers with a more comfortable riding environment.

Now, in order to better understand why C919 makes such a difference to China’s aviation industry, we will have to take a look back in history:

China has dreamed of building its own civil aircraft since the 1970s. On September 26, 1980, after ten years of research for more than 300 units, China's self-developed Y-10, a four-engine passenger jet, conducted its first test flight. But due to the project's high financial commitment, Y-10 was shelved for various reasons. Only three Y-10s were ever made. 

In 1985, China cooperated with McDonnell Douglas to jointly develop the McDonnell Douglas -82, and in 1995, the two sides began to assemble the McDonnell Douglas -90 passenger aircraft. The partnership ended in December 1996 when McDonnell Douglas was merged. Since then, the nation has carried out several international cooperation to develop civil aircraft projects, yet none became sustainable.

In 2006, the State Council issued a plan, making clear that large aircraft is one of the 16 major projects. China then decided to build a regional jet first to break the ice — the ARJ21, which helped pave the way for the C919. On December 21, 2007, after five years of development, the first ARJ21 aircraft rolled off the assembly line. 

Although the C919 is made in China, foreign firms are playing key roles by supplying systems as well as the engines, which are made by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric (GE) of the US and France's Safran.

GE also formed a joint venture with the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in 2012 to focus on avionics development for the C919.

The C919 made its maiden test flight in 2017 and obtained the type certificate of the Civil Aviation Administration of China on September 29, 2022, and gained the production certificate on November 29.

As the first C919 officially being delivered to commercial airline, the Chinese aviation dream to have its homegrown passenger jets finally comes true.

This isn’t the end, but only a beginning for Chinese aircraft to shine in the global aviation stage.

China is among the world’s fastest-growing civil-aviation markets, and the C919 is the nation’s ambitious attempt to manufacture its first commercial jetliner to meet its own rising demand. To date, 1,115 orders have been placed for the C919 in China and overseas.

China's air travel market has steadily recovered since the pandemic emerged. In the third quarter of this year, the sector transported 86.4 million people, 49.3 percent the volume recorded in the same period of 2019 and a rise of 23.2 percentage points from the second quarter. In particular, with the gradual return of international passenger flights, the volume of such traffic reached 537,000 people, up by 73.3 percent from the second quarter, according to CAAC.

The C919, which will compete with Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus SE A320, is widely regarded as a symbol of China’s civil aerospace ambition. It is the first single-aisle aircraft for which the nation owns independent intellectual property rights, and the tag "Made in China” will soon be applied for large-scale passenger jets.

The delivery of the first C919 and the upcoming route operation will provide more choices for global airlines and customers, bring more opportunities for global suppliers and partners, and inject new vitality into the global commercial aircraft industry.

Looking forward, the success of the project will be economically beneficial for China, as it could break the country’s dependence on the duopoly currently enjoyed by Boeing and Airbus, and has the potential to catapult COMAC into the multibillion-dollar aviation industry.

C919迎来重要里程碑！东航“提货”首架C919，国产大飞机半世纪的求索终迎梦圆一刻。

12月9日上午，中国东方航空作为C919的全球首发用户，正式接收编号为B-919A的全球首架飞机。调机航班号为MU919的上海浦东——虹桥两场间“首秀”飞行，标志着大飞机事业发展迎来一个新的里程碑，正式迈出民航商业运营的关键“第一步”。

C919首架机交付是继C919获颁中国民航局型号合格证后，我国大飞机事业征程上的又一重要里程碑。C919客机有望最早于2023年春投入商业载客运营，这意味着历经几代人的努力，我国民航运输市场首次拥有了中国自主研发的喷气式干线飞机。

首架机还有着特殊的涂装和专属“身份证号”。除了东航的标准化涂装之外，这架飞机在机身前部印有“全球首架”的“中国印”标识和对应的英文。飞机注册号选用B-919A，B代表中国民航飞机，919和型号名称契合，A则有首架之意，突显这一全球新机型、全球首架的非凡意义。

交付当天，东航选派了3名资深机长执飞“首秀”飞行，驾驶C919从上海浦东国际机场飞往上海虹桥国际机场，3位资深机长的总飞行时间超5万小时。出席交付仪式的80名各方嘉宾代表登上飞机，率先体验东航C919的安全性、经济性、舒适性、环保性。飞机飞抵上海虹桥后，将穿过象征民航最高礼仪的“水门”，正式成为东航机队的新成员。

东航为全球首架C919配备了两舱布局，164座，包括8个公务舱和156个经济舱，均选用完全自主研发的新一代国产客舱座椅。“乘坐舒适宽敞”将是C919今后服务旅客时鲜明的亮色——公务舱座椅为全铝合金框架结构，采用摇篮式设计，后靠可达120度、前后座椅间距超过1米；经济舱设计匠心甚至更让人惊艳：国际主要窄体机型的经济舱中，每排2组3联座椅的中间座位，因空间局促往往不受旅客青睐。而东航C919经济舱三联座中间座位比两边宽1.5厘米，“中间座最宽”的人性化设计让旅客多一分舒适。

让我们来回顾一下国产大飞机C919的重要时刻：

C919大型客机是我国按照国际通行适航标准研制、具有完全自主知识产权的全球新一代单通道干线客机，于2007年立项。2014年5月15日，中国商飞C919大型客机前机身大部段在江西南昌成功下线。2017年首飞，2022年9月29日取得中国民航局型号合格证（TC证）；11月29日，取得中国民航局生产许可证（PC证）；12月9日，东航在上海虹桥机场接收全球交付的首架C919飞机。

从2007年立项到如今，国产大飞机C919走过了15个春秋，背后承载着几代航空人的共同梦想，让中国的大飞机翱翔蓝天。

1980年9月26日，300多家单位历经十年攻关，中国自主研制的运-10飞机进行了首次试飞。尽管试飞的情况良好，但在当时无论是国力还是制造能力，都不足以支撑大飞机这样的超级工程，1982年运-10飞机因种种原因搁置。1985年中国与麦道公司合作共同研制麦道-82，1995年双方开始合作装配麦道-90客机。1996年12月，麦道公司被兼并，合作就此终止。此后，我国还进行了几次国际合作来发展民机项目，但最终这些项目都未能持续进行。

2006年国务院发布《国家中长期科学和技术发展规划纲要》，大型飞机被确定为16个重大科技专项之一。此后围绕大飞机的立项工作全面展开，在总结之前失败的经验之后，这一次中国航空人决定先打造一型喷气式支线客机来为中国的民机产业破冰。在C919立项之前，承担探路重任的ARJ21出场了，2007年12月21日历时五年研制，第一架ARJ21飞机总装下线。C919大型客机系列型总设计师吴光辉介绍：“ARJ21是大飞机的探路者，通过ARJ21锻炼的一批队伍，使得我们具备了适航取证的能力。”

就在ARJ21下线的同一年，C919大型客机立项。2007、2008年，全球几乎没有新的民机项目，世界航空市场迎来难得的空窗期，国产大飞机的研制进入快车道。全国20多个省市，1000多家企事业单位，30多万人参与其中。2017年5月5日，中国民用航空工业迎来了里程碑的一天，C919大型客机迎来首飞。

首飞成功之后，C919先后投入六架试飞机和两架地面试验机，开始了试验试飞的取证之路。C919是我国第一款真正意义上的民航大飞机，过去五年一直在进行各种严苛的飞行试验，先后投入六架试飞机，分别在陕西阎良、江西南昌、山东东营、内蒙古呼伦贝尔、新疆吐鲁番、甘肃敦煌等地进行不同科目的试飞取证工作，同时还有两架地面试验机分别投入静力试验、疲劳试验等工作。

随着全球首架C919正式交付东航，最快在明年上半年，中国人就可以坐上国产大飞机，半世纪求索终迎梦圆一刻。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: HE Jia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI 

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

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编委:  于晓娜

策划：李艳霞 

编辑：和佳

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮

音频制作：李莹亮

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