On Wednesday, Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Company of China Aviation Industry Corporation I delivered the wings and the fuselage components of China's newest turbofan regional aircraft in Xian, a significant development in the making of China's new, locally-made turbofan regional ARJ21 jet.

The Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Company has been responsible for developing the main components of this new type of turbofan aircraft, including the wings, and the front, middle and middle-rear fuselages. These components are the biggest parts of all, and also the most complex and difficult to manufacture. The whole manufacturing process involves a series of key technologies and major technical research projects, such as the digitally-controlled processing of large wing boards, digitally-controlled shot blasting and forming, chemical milling, automatic riveting, processing of titanium alloy parts, and flame spraying. In many cases, this is first time these technologies have been applied in the domestic aviation manufacturing industry.

To date, China has received orders for 71 ARJ21 aircrafts. The test flight is scheduled for March 2008 and the first planes will be delivered in the third quarter of 2009.

By People's Daily Online