SHANGHAI: The first large made-in-China passenger plane took off on its maiden test flight Friday, marking a key milestone on the country's ambitious journey to compete with the world's leading aircraft makers.
The narrow-body C919 jet -- white with green and blue stripes -- soared over Pudong international airport in the commercial hub Shanghai as a crowd of thousands cheered.
Built by state-owned aerospace manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the plane represents nearly a decade of effort in a government-mandated drive to reduce dependence on European consortium Airbus and US aerospace giant Boeing.
The flight is the latest sign of China's growing ambition and technical skill, coming one week after the country launched its first domestically made aircraft carrier and docked a cargo spacecraft with an orbiting space lab.
Before takeoff, CCTV state television said the plane would be tested at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,800 feet), some 7,000 metres lower than a regular trip, and at a speed of around 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour.
The plane took off at 2:00 pm (0600 GMT) and was expected to fly for an hour and a half as ministers, COMAC staff, company partners and others looked on.
China has dreamt of building its own civil aircraft since the 1970s, when it began work on the narrow-body Y-10, which was eventually deemed unviable and never entered service.
Comments
Comments are closed.