China’s First Big Jetliner, Comac C919 has accomplished its long-awaited second test flight, with a two-and-a half-hour sortie from Shanghai’s Pudong International airport.
The aircraft acquiring Chinese registration ‘B-001A’ conducts its 2nd test flight on September 28 nearly after five months of first flight on May 5, this year.
Flight tracking sites show that it took off at 07:23 and landed at 10:09 local time, flying to the north of Shanghai, where it conducted several orbits over China’s coast. It maintained a constant altitude of around 10,000 ft throughout the flight.
In subsequent statement, COMAC said that the aircraft’s landing gear was retracted during the sortie and will use six flight test aircraft in its test campaign.
COMAC added that the C919’s second flight coincided with a test flight of a new ARJ21 aircraft. This marked the first time in history that two Chinese-made commercial jets have been airborne at the same time.
The second flight was significantly longer than the first, which took just one hour and nineteen minutes. However the report indicates that the second flight was supposed to last until 11:00.’
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. The C919 is powered by two CFM Leap-1C engines. The second prototype aircraft, B-102A, achieved power-on on 28 July. Its first flight is expected before the end of the year, after which it will focus on engine, APU, fuel system tests, and some extreme weather testing. 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.
Video Source:- New China TV
