Aircraft

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) today had the first flight of the second ARJ21-700 regional jet aircraft to be produced.

"The aircraft took off at 1121 at Dachang airport, Shanghai and landed at 1222 at the same airport," Comac says in a statement to ATI.

"The whole flight lasted 61 minutes," it says, adding that the aircraft rolled out of Comac's aircraft assembly plant at Dachang on 1 June.

The aircraft first taxied on 19 June, says Comac which refers to it in the statement as AC102.

A Comac official in Shanghai confirms AC102 is the second ARJ21-700 to be produced.

The very first ARJ21-700 produced had its first flight on 28 November last year.

Chinese carrier Kunpeng Airlines will be the first to receive the ARJ21 and an official at that airline told ATI in May it would receive the aircraft in late 2010.