The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation released that the first airplane with China's own intellectual property right, ARJ aircraft would soon enter the stage of manufacturing.

At present, 90 percent of the materials used for building the aircraft nose have been ordered. The aircraft nose production will be started in April and is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.

Experts said that cost of research and development prior to manufacturing was as high as five billion yuan. The aircraft design takes the Germu airport and the Huanglong Airport in Jiuzhaigou in southwest China as its critical condition, with a much higher standard than foreign aircrafts that usually takes the United State's Denver Airport as their critical condition. ARJ airplane can fly smoothly in China's southwestern region which is mostly located on plateaus.

The aircraft is normally built with 72 or 79 seats and the extended class contains 92 or 99 seats. Some passengers complain that airplanes that fly branch lines usually have a narrow cabin. In light of this complaint, ARJ aircraft is built with a cabin space of 3.143 meters, 0.4 meters wider than the general airplane type that fly similar branch lines in the world. Its seats are also wider than that of Boeing 737.

The design and manufacturing work of ARJ aircraft will take place at four different places, Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu and Shenyang. The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation will be responsible for the design and production of the nose and former gate of the plane. Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation will take over the design and manufacture work of the wings. Shenyang will design and produce the oil tank and the gate in the latter half of the plane and Shanghai will do the assembling.

Although the airplane has not taken shape at present, AVIC1 Commercial Aircraft Co., Ltd. (ACAC) said they had already received 35 plane orders and intended order number for the plane totaled to 100. Experts said ARJ aircraft was expected to carry its maiden flight in 2008 and would be fully operational in 2009.

(Chinanews February 23, 2006)