Flight International has obtained exclusive first pictures of the production line of the Chinese-government backed ARJ21 regional airliner, as the launch variant grows by five seats.
Production of the aircraft project, headed by China's Aviation Industry Corporation I's Commercial Aircraft division (ACAC), has started with the manufacture of the first major components. Xian Aircraft is responsible for building the ARJ21’s fuselage and wing (pictured below), while Shanghai Aviation will carry out final assembly.
ACAC revealed yesterday that it has decided to make its base model ARJ21-700 a 90-seater rather than an 85-seater and is looking to reduce the aircraft’s weight by using composite materials for the tail fin and horizontal stabiliser.
The larger capacity came about because of changes the manufacturer made to the design to meet regulatory requirements, ACAC president Zheng Qiang said in a recent interview in Shanghai.
The ARJ21-700’s original design had fuselage exit doors above and towards the front of the wing but Zheng says regulators suggested these should be towards the back of the wing to make it easier for people to evacuate. Having the doors further towards the aircraft rear created a problem because the doors would be too close to the aircraft’s GE CF34-10A fuselage-mounted engines.
ACAC solved the problem by stretching the fuselage by around 1m (3ft3in) to create more distance between the exit doors and the engines and this in turn meant the cabin could fit another row of five seats. Zheng says ACAC has spoken to airline customers about the higher seat capacity and the general consensus is that “90 seats better suits the airlines’ requirements”.
Zheng says the main task this year is to build all the parts for the first aircraft. ACAC plans to have the first aircraft roll out at the end of 2007 followed by first flight in March 2008, says Zheng, adding that ACAC aims to have the ARJ21-700 receive Chinese certification in September 2009.
China’s Shandong Airlines will be the first to put the aircraft into service with 10 on order. Shanghai Airlines and Shenzhen Financial Leasing have ordered five and 20 respectively.
LEITHEN FRANCIS / SINGAPORE
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Source: Flight International
