NAGOYA: Japan's first passenger jet made its maiden test flight Wednesday, a landmark in a decade-long programme to launch the plane aimed at competing with Brazilian and Canadian rivals in the global market for smaller aircraft.
About half a century after the last Japanese-made commercial plane took to the skies, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), painted with dark blue, red and beige stripes, took off from Nagoya airport under clear skies for a 90-minute trip.
After being barred from developing aircraft following World War II, Japan -- and its MRJ jet -- is competing with other regional passenger jet manufacturers such as Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier.
The two-engine MRJ -- developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- marks a new chapter for Japan's aviation sector, which last built a commercial airliner in 1962 -- the YS-11 turboprop that was discontinued about a decade later.
The MRJ is approximately 35-metres (115-feet) long, has a pointed nose and will seat about 80 passengers.
Developer Mitsubishi Aircraft, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy, boasts that the fuel-efficient MRJ will offer more passenger comfort with lower operating costs, eyeing the booming regional jet sector.
Mitsubishi Heavy would not disclose how much of the aircraft consists of Japanese components, but the aircraft is powered by two next-generation engines developed by Pratt & Whitney of the United States.
The company said the US parts are key and have helped it slash operating costs by about 20 percent.
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