The third prototype of the Chinese C919 flew for the first time last Friday.
The Chinese airliner took off from Pudong International Airport near Shanghai
and remained in the air for an hour and 38 minutes. The further test flight
program will take place in Xian.
 
The C919 has a capacity of 150 passengers and is the Chinese response to the
Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The first C919 flew in May last year, the second
test aircraft took to the air for the first time in December 2017.
 
The Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC will use three more C919s for the test
flight program. These aircraft will fly for the first time in 2019, reports
Xinhua state press agency.
 
In total, more than three hundred C919s have been ordered so far. If all
outstanding options are redeemed, that number can amount to more than a
thousand machines. Practically the complete business for the C919 comes from
China itself.

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 * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)