Aircraft
Mitsubishi Plays Catch Up with MRJ Program
First delivery is still scheduled for the second quarter of 2017.
The fourth MRJ flight-test airplane undergoes wing mating inside MHI's Komaki South Plant in Aichi Prefecture.
The fourth MRJ flight-test airplane undergoes wing mating inside MHI's Komaki South Plant in Aichi Prefecture.

Despite the announcement in April that Mitsubishi would delay the first flight of its MRJ regional jet from this spring to September or October, the company continues to cite a second-quarter 2017 first delivery target. The company has assembled the first two flight-test airplanes. Plans call for the first flying prototype to perform envelope expansion and systems tests; the second to carry out performance and function tests; the third to evaluate detailed flight characteristics and avionics tests; the fourth to perform interior, community noise and icing tests; and the fifth to assess autopilot function.