Aircraft
Comac Rolls-out C919, But Program Timeline Still Uncertain
Comac won’t say when in 2016 it now plans to conduct the first flight of the delayed C919

After seven years of development marked by repeated delays, China’s new C919 airliner is ready to start ground testing of its avionics, flight controls and hydraulics systems. It made its debut in a roll-out ceremony on November 2. Developed by state-run Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac), the narrowbody rolled off the assembly line in the manufacturer’s Shanghai factory on to a crowd of some 4,000 government officials and representatives of foreign program partners. The new twinjet promises a range of just over 3,000 nautical miles (5,555 km) and will be able to seat between 158 and 174 passengers.

Comac believes the C919 will challenge the market dominance of Airbus and Boeing. The company believes it can sell up to 2,000 of the new model over the next 20 years.