China's Home-made C919 Jet Nears Certification Phase

China's home-made C919 narrow-body jet, designed to challenge the Airbus-Boeing duopoly, is nearing certification with test aircraft completing all test flight missions, the company said on Saturday.

China's Home-made C919 Jet Nears Certification Phase. State-owned manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) said on its official social media account that six test aircraft have completed test missions as the program enters the final stage of obtaining certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is required for commercial operations. This would be a milestone in China's goal of moving up the manufacturing supply chain. China's COMAC has become the third choice in the market for planes with more than 100 seats after Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Airbus struck deals to take over production of rival planes made by Embraer and Bombardier (OTC:BDRBF). The C919 aircraft program, designed to compete directly with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus 320neo families, has faced a series of technical problems and tighter US export controls since its launch in 2008, Reuters reported. The first customer is state-owned China Eastern Airlines (NYSE:CEA), which ordered five C919 jets in March last year. The airline is scheduled to receive the first delivery in August, Changjiang Daily, a local government newspaper in Wuhan, reported on July 8. The aircraft, assembled in China, relies heavily on Western components, including engines and avionics.   Source: investing.com