ARJ21 progress

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18 years 8 months

Posts: 1,101

See
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/11/05/318455/arj21-set-for-first-flight-larger-chinese-aircraft-still-taking.html

They say Comac aims to conduct the first flight around the middle of this month but plans to wait until 15 November before committing to a date.

It is past 15 November.

What is ARJ21 first flight date?

Original post

Member for

17 years 9 months

Posts: 71

It is being built using tooling which was originally provided by McDonnell Douglas for licence-production of the MD-90 in China. This is why it looks like the DC-9 series. It has exactly the same nose shape, cabin cross section, and tail.

So you could say that the design already made its first flight, in Long Beach, USA on 25 February 1965 - as the Douglas DC-9. The McDonnell Douglas MD-90 first flew in 1993. :D

It is really a derivative of the MD-90, and not an original design.