Mitsubishi Reports ‘Good Progress’ on MRJ

Speaking to a gathering of reporters Tuesday at the Regional Airline Association Convention in St. Louis, Mitsubishi Aircraft head of marketing Hideyuki Kamiya reported “good progress” on the now six-year-old Mitsubishi Regional Jet program. Now scheduled for first flight in 2015 and first delivery to Japan’s All Nippon Airways in the second quarter of 2017, the MRJ has progressed to the point where managers expect delivery of the first test aircraft’s initial Pratt & Whitney PW1217G by the end of this month, said Kamiya. Meanwhile, wing-to-body join activities continue on the first of five flight-test vehicles and Kamiya reported that the company took delivery of the airplane’s first pylon from Spirit Aerosystems last month. Crews have also begun joining the fuselage sections of the second flight-test aircraft.