China completes main parts for 1st homegrown jet
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An aviation company in northwest China's Shaanxi Province Tuesday finished producing the wings, wing flaps and other components to be used in China's first homegrown large passenger jet, the C919.
Xi'an Aircraft International Corporation (XAIC), a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), was contracted in May 2009 to manufacture six major parts of the C919, a single-aisle jet that can seat up to 168 passengers.
The six major parts include the fuselage mid-section, wing boxes, spoilers, airfoils, flaps and slats.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC), the aircraft's builder, was established in 2008. It is China's first passenger-jet manufacturer.
COMAC announced last month it had struck deals with Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, CDB Leasing and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to build 100 of the jets.
The jet's test flights are due in 2014. The first deliveries will be in 2016, after the model receives airworthiness certification from the General Administration of Civil Aviation.
COMAC said it will first manufacture the 168-seat and 156-seat models of the jet, with more models to be developed in the future.
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