China’s first big jetliner COMAC C919 to fly for first time tomorrow
May 4, 2017
The maiden flight of Chinese manufactured COMAC C919 is scheduled for Friday, 5 May. The event will be held near Shanghai Pudong International Airport’s fourth runway under the presence of 2,000 guests. Several of the country’s political heavyweights are also expected to be in attendance.
Comac received a special flight permit from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on 22 April, as well as a temporary civil aircraft registration and an aircraft station licence. The flight permit and the station licence both expire on 31 May.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has also started work on certifying the C919, and it held a safety conference in Shanghai together with the CAAC on 28 April. FlightGlobal reported last November that Comac has submitted an application for type certification of the C919 with EASA, via the Chinese regulator.
The COMAC C919 is a 168-seater aircraft that is roughly same as the size of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) will be delighted to conduct the maiden flight today but the aircraft has a long way to initiate commercial operation.
