At the opening day of Zhuhai Airshow 2010, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China singed 100 initial orders for its 160-seat C919 aircraft with four major Chinese carriers : Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines  as well as the airplane leasing company General Electric Capital Aviation Services of the United States and a Chinese leasing firm.

The “ABC” pattern will be formed

Because the aviation industry has been dominated for many years by giants Airbus and Boeing, the situation on the market is known as the “AB” pattern. But with the development of C919, the global “ABC” competition will come into being.

Detailed design of the C919 is scheduled to be completed in 2012; the maiden flight will be made in 2014; and it will go onto the market after receiving airworthiness certification in 2014.

Compared with other similar aircraft, C919 has many advantages. Technically, it operates on a new-generation of engine and body material. It is environmentally sound because the fuel consumption of the C919 is less than 12 percent to 15 percent of that of similar planes, and the carbon emissions will be reduced by 50 percent, Chen said.

These advantages make C919 a star in Zhuhai Airshow.

“The C919 is a good thing and there is room for competition,” said James Simon, vice-president of Boeing China commercial-airplane sales. “It makes all of us do our job better and build more efficient aircraft.”

China’s aviation market, represented by large aircraft, will transfer from meeting the basic demands of national defense to become the country’s economic pillar industry.

Despite the fact that China’s large aircraft project has achieved remarkable fruits, engine development still lags behind. So C919 will use the LEAP-X engine provided by the CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation, a division of General Electric of the United States and Snecma, a division of Safran of France, according to Wu Guanghui, chief designer of C919 and deputy general manager of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.

AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd., which is shouldering the mission of developing engines for large domestic aircrafts, announced during the Zhuhai Airshow that the overall blueprint for engines of domestic aircrafts is expected to be released in 2011. -  People’s Daily