A C919 flew to Zhuhai Jinwan Airport (ZUH) at noon on November 5th, preparing for flight demonstration and ground demonstration during the upcoming China Airshow (better known as the Zhuhai Airshow).
Along with the C919, COMAC flew another ARJ21 to Zhuhai. It's been reported by the Chinese media that COMAC has been developing serialization of ARJ21 type, including emergency medical transport aircraft.
The C919 and the ARJ21, registered as B-001F and B-3328, respectively, were the same ones that flew to Beijing at the end of September for the Type Certification ceremony. Only in September COMAC flew a third aircraft, one C919 registered as B-001J. The B-001J was reported as the first C919 to be delivered to its initial customer, China Eastern Airlines.
COMAC in the upcoming Zhuhai Airshow
According to the schedule posted by the Airshow organizer on its official WeChat social media account, COMAC will conduct the C919 flight demonstration on all six days of the Airshow, including the three days of the professional day, which only open for the industry practitioners, and three days of public days. Each flight will take about 15 minutes.
It will be the first time C919 is doing a flight demonstration in front of the public. Previously it has never been displayed or publicly flown.
Captain Cai Jun, the C919 Chief Pilot of the COMAC flight test center, when being interviewed by China's national TV station CCTV, said,
"We're going to do a flight demonstration show for about five or six days at this Airshow, and we're going to do about two days of training before the show. We're probably also going to do some demonstration flights around the country afterwards."
COMAC has attended the Zhuhai Airshow since 2008 and has accomplished many "firsts" during the Airshow, including the first ARJ21 public flight demonstration, the first CBJ demonstration, the first CR929 cabin demonstration, etc.
Zhuhai Airshow is the biggest and most highlighted Airshow in China. All major Chinese defense, aerospace, and aviation companies will attend the Airshow to demonstrate their civil and military technology and products. This year about 740 organizations are expected to join the Airshow, according to the organizer's announcement.
Other aircraft also scheduled to appear at the Airshow include the J-20, China's 4th generation and most advanced fighter jet, the AG600 (fire extinguisher configuration), the world's largest amphibious aircraft, and as the Y-20, China's largest military transport aircraft.
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C919 close to the first delivery
China Eastern Airlines will receive its first C919 in the coming December, said Mr. Li Yangmin, General Manager of China Eastern, at the China Eastern Group party meeting last week.
COMAC finally got C919's type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on September 29th. The certification of the C919 means it is finally ready to enter service and has passed all the applicable Airworthiness Standards for Transport Aircraft under Part 25 of the China Civil Aviation Regulations.
Have you ever been to the China Airshow / Zhuhai Airshow? Share your experience with Simple Flying in the comments.