Mass production of the ARJ 21, the new turbofan regional jet to which China for the first time has the full intellectual property rights, will start this year. The first three airplanes will be delivered to buyers in 2009. There are currently 71 orders for the aircraft, said Liu Qianyou, Deputy General Manager of Avici Commercial Aircraft Corporation Ltd.

The major sections of the first sample plane, including the nose, the wings, the body and the tail have been manufactured, and will now be assembled.

The ARJ 21 airplane has between 70 and 90 seats, and has a maximum range of 2,000 nautical miles. Unlike many other projects in the aviation industry, China is the main contractor in this project and has organized the involvement of foreign and domestic suppliers according to international rules and using Chinese core technology.

Photo caption: On March 13, the last key component of the ARJ 21 airplane was delivered. General assembly will begin in Shanghai at a later stage.

By People's Daily Online