China has launched the first passenger plane of its own production
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China has launched the first passenger plane of its own production. On Sunday, the C919 model of China Eastern Airlines made a flight on the route Shanghai – Beijing.
The narrow-body aircraft is manufactured by the Chinese aircraft construction company SOMAS. China Eastern Airlines bought the first copy in December 2022. After a series of tests, it was put into commercial operation.
The twin-engine plane can take on board 164 economy and business class passengers. It belongs to medium-range aircraft and can fly 5,500 kilometers. As of the end of 2022, SOMAS has already received applications for the purchase of 1,035 such aircraft from 32 customer companies.
SOMAS believes that the C919 can compete successfully with the market leaders – Boeing and Airbus. The company intends to produce about 150 aircraft per hour.
Although most of the parts are made in China, the model also depends on Western technologies: its engines and avionics are imported. Leap-1C engines are produced by CFM International, a joint venture of the American corporation General Electric and the French industrial group Safran.
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