COMAC C919 Passenger Airliner Enters Intensive Flight Testing Phase

China's self-developed C919 passenger aircraft has entered intensive flight testing phase, with two planes to take part in key static tests on ground and other planes for various flight tests in multiple sites around the country.   

The No.102 C919 plane landed at Dongying Shengli Airport in east China's Shandong Province Thursday, after its first long-distance flight from the final assembly line in Shanghai, its developer state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) announced.

COMAC said in a statement that there will be six C919 planes taking various flight tests, and another two planes for static and fatigue tests on the ground, Xinhua reports.

COMAC has cooperated with local governments and institutions to construct industrial bases and conduct flight tests for the C919 project.

There are currently three flight test bases for the project, with Shanghai as the main base, as well as Xi'an Yanliang Airport, in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and Dongying Shengli Airport.

The C919 completed a successful maiden flight on May 5, 2017. The narrow-body jumbo was developed to rival the updated Airbus A320 and the new Boeing B737.

COMAC has also set up a joint venture with a Russian state company to build wide-body passenger jet CR929. It said the joint development is now in full swinging.