A brief history of Chinese-made passenger aircraft

The C919 is seen here in April 2017. [Photo: hexun.com]

On Friday, the China-built C919 large passenger aircraft will make its maiden flight at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. 

The flight will mark another fulfillment of a Chinese dream to independently develop a passenger airliner, which was first proposed in 1970. 

Since then, two predecessors of the C919 had been developed in China, the Shanghai Y-10 and the MD-82. 

The Shanghai Y-10 is seen during a flight in this undated file photo. [Photo: guancha.cn]

On September 26, 1980, after the participation of more than 300 domestic organizations, the Shanghai Y-10, a 149-seater, made its successful maiden flight in Shanghai. The aircraft was then flown to all corners of China, including Harbin, Tibet, Urumqi and Kunming. 

The Shanghai Y-10 has been retired in Shanghai. [Photo:guancha.cn]

However, due to a lack of commercial viability, the life span of the Y-10 was cut short in 1982 when its development and production efforts were halted. 

China’s pursuit of a passenger airliner did not stop there. Three years later in 1985, the Shanghai Aviation Industrial Corporation partnered with American firm McDonnell Douglas to develop the MD-82, a narrow-body jet airliner, which made its maiden flight in China in July 1987. 

A sketch of the MD-82. [Photo: caac.gov.cn]

Following the MD-82, China and McDonnell Douglas began working on the MD-90, another passenger jet, in 1995. However, the American firm’s later merger with Boeing put that project to an end. 

In 2007, Chinese authorities approved plans to develop a China-built large passenger jet. In late 2015, the C919 was developed and finished by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC). It has 158 seats and a standard range of 4,075 kilometers.

Analysts say the C919 is China’s answer to the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 and that its operation signals China’s entry into the global aviation market as a strong player. 

CACC says the plane has passed nearly 120 tests and received 570 orders from 23 international and Chinese carriers.