Aircraft
Mitsubishi Sees Turbulence Settling for MRJ
Testing accelerates as program enters another critical period
Now scheduled for certification in 2020, the Mitsubishi MRJ90 would compete directly with Bombardier's CRJ family. (Photo: Mitsubishi Aircraft)
Now scheduled for certification in 2020, the Mitsubishi MRJ90 would compete directly with Bombardier's CRJ family. (Photo: Mitsubishi Aircraft)

As Mitsubishi Aircraft entered perhaps its busiest year of flight testing yet for its MRJ regional jet, marketing inroads and progress at the engineering level had finally begun to accelerate to the point of satisfaction for aircraft program managers and top executives at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. By the time the company arrived in Singapore, program teams had flown four flight test airplanes a total of some 1,500 hours, while production crews had attached wings and begun painting the fifth flight-test airplane.