COMAC C919

DEFINITION PHASE
Work has started on the joint definition phase, a process that Comac aims to wrap up in the first quarter of 2011, following a major design review planned for the end of the year.

"It's been so far so good, and there are no major showstoppers," says Rockwell Collins' vice-president and managing director for Asia Pacific, TC Chan. Rockwell Collins and its Chinese partners are supplying part of the avionics packages on the aircraft, including communications, navigation and surveillance equipment on the jet.

If the delays to Airbus's A350 and Boeing's 787 programmes are anything to go by, Comac has its work cut out for it, given that it is a completely new player in the aircraft manufacturing industry.

Established in May 2008 with key businesses drawn from state-owned conglomerate Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), Comac was launched following a 2007 government decision to develop China's first large commercial aircraft.

That makes the C919 as much of a political project, one aimed at showcasing China's engineering capabilities and its ability to challenge the established European and US players, as it is a commercial project. Initially, the Chinese had planned for the aircraft to enter service in 2020 but the programme was fast-tracked to 2016, with a first flight in 2014.

Industry sources said then that China wants its new jet to enter the market before Airbus and Boeing launch new products to replace their respective A320 and 737, which the C919 will compete directly against.

Major suppliers on the programme acknowledge that 2014 is a tight timeframe to work with, but they agree unanimously on one thing: there is no doubt that Comac takes its 2014 deadline extremely seriously.

"The joint definition phase is going very well, even though Comac has a challenging schedule. There is a lot of effort going on now between now and year-end, and they are absolutely holding to the schedule," says Roger Seager, GE Aviation's vice-president and general manager for commercial aircraft programmes.

Comac declines to comment on the C919.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is likely to announce the first order for its C919 narrowbody jet at Airshow China in Zhuhai next week.

The first customer, which could be a Chinese airline or lessor, is expected to be unveiled on 16 November, the first day of the airshow.

Comac, which has declined to comment on its C919 programme, will also feature a cabin mock-up of the aircraft at the show.

First flight of the C919 is scheduled for 2014, followed by entry into service in 2016. The joint definition phase of the aircraft is underway, with a major design review planned for year-end.

Comac, which is developing the ARJ21 regional jet as well, is also expected to announce new orders for that aircraft at Zhuhai.

The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) has released the specifications of its Comac C919 narrowbody jet.

The aircraft will have a length of 38.9m, wingspan of 35.8m and height of 11.95m, says Comac in a report released at Airshow China at Zhuhai.

It will have a cabin width of 3.9m and a height of 2.25m between the cabin floor and ceiling.

The aircraft will seat 168 in an all-economy configuration or 156 in a mixed configuration.

Comac says it applied to the Civil Aviation Authority of China for a type certificate for the C919 on 28 October. It aims to conduct first flight in 2014, followed by entry into service in 2016.

Four Chinese carriers - Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines - as well as Chinese lessor CDB Leasing Company (CLC) and GECAS announced an order for up to 100 C919s at the show.

The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China's (Comac) C919 will feature up to six different variants across the commercial, business jet and potentially military markets, matching virtually every application of the Airbus and Boeing narrowbody families.

The baseline C919, intended to seat 156 to 168 passengers in either mixed or single-class configuration, is pegged at an overall length of 38.9m (127ft 7in), though the Chinese airframer says it plans both shrunken and stretched variants.

Three commercial passenger variants would pin the C919 against the Boeing 737-700, -800 and -900ER, as well as the Airbus A319, A320 and A321.

Additionally, Comac anticipates a freighter variant, adapted from the baseline model, which would compete directly with the Airbus A320P2F.

A fifth model, one suitable for the VIP business aircraft market, would also be developed, competing against the Airbus A320 Prestige and Boeing BBJ2.

Lastly, a category defined by Comac for "special" applications is believed to be a candidate for a military platform, such as a refueling tanker or an airborne early warning system.

Comac provided no timelines for the introduction of the five follow-on variants, though the baseline C919 is due for its first flight in 2014, followed by an entry into service in September 2016.

The C919 has received up to 100 orders from six customers, first announced at Airshow China on 16 November.

La Chine prévoit de vendre 2.000 avions C919 d'ici 2030
Le constructeur de
l'avion civil chinois C919 prévoit de vendre 2.000 appareils d'ici 2030,
a déclaré samedi un dirigeant du groupe chinois à l'Agence Chine
Nouvelle, lançant ainsi un défi aux deux géants du secteur Boeing et EADS . L'agence de presse cite Wu Guanghui, l'un des dirigeants de la Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). Le constructeur a déjà reçu 100 commandes d'appareils C919, et attend des commandes supplémentaires au cours de l'année 2011. COMAC avait dévoilé son modèle C919, d'une capacité de 200 sièges, fin
2009. Le premier vol de cet appareil devrait avoir lieu en 2014 et les
premières livraison en 2016. Wu Guanghui a confirmé ce calendrier.
http://www.aerocontact.com/actualite_aeronautique_spatiale/ac-la-chine-prevoit-de-vendre-2-000-avions-c919-d-ici-2030~11565.html

Adding to the many decisions to be made in designing a commercial aircraft, the choice of material is becoming more complicated as more choices become available. Yet the issue is as decisive as almost any other, since overly costly construction will burden an aircraft with a competitive disadvantage throughout its life, while an airliner that is cheap but heavy will burn too much fuel for decades ahead—decades in which fuel prices could rise far beyond expectations.

This is a key question that Comac is now working on as it refines the design of its C919 narrowbody airliner.

One theme in the design of the C919 is to aim for moderate advances while preparing conventional alternatives, say executives involved in the Chinese program. And that applies particularly to the structure, which is far from fixed, even though the first flight is now only about three years away.

One structural decision that has been made is the material for the tail and moveable surfaces: they will be of composite, as they routinely are on new commercial aircraft these days. But the material for the center wing box, outer wing boxes and fuselage is still under study.

According to current program thinking, the inner wing box should be composite, as the Airbus A380’s is. But an aluminum design has been prepared just in case. The outer wing boxes could be either aluminum or composite; officials are leaning toward composite as the likely choice, but this cannot be assumed to be final. Again, Comac has prepared designs for both types.

Material cost is a greater factor in structural design than is often imagined. Mitsubishi Aircraft’s studies led it to choose the heaviest but cheapest material for its MRJ regional jet, traditional 7050-alloy aluminum.

One executive who would like the C919 to be made entirely of the material that his company makes expects that Comac will go for a mix: an all-composite wing and an aluminum-lithium fuselage. One reason for doing so would be that the latest Western narrowbody airliner, the five-abreast Bombardier CSeries, uses that combination.

Bourget: accord Ryanair/Comac
Avec Reuters
21/06/2011 | Mise à jour : 14:26

La principale compagnie aérienne low cost européenne Ryanair a
signé mardi au salon du Bourget un protocole d'accord avec le groupe
aéronautique chinois Comac sur le développement du futur court-moyen
courrier que prépare la Chine.

Si les analystes voient dans cet accord un nouveau moyen pour la
compagnie irlandaise d'exercer une pression sur les deux leaders actuels
du marché, Boeing et Airbus, un tel partenariat peut aussi préfigurer
l'arrivée à terme de nouveaux entrants aux côtés des géants américain et
européen.

La compagnie, dont la flotte est à l'heure actuelle composée
exclusivement de Boeing, a annoncé en mai avoir rencontré des
responsables de Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China et du groupe
russe United Aircraft. Les discussions avec le constructeur américain
sur une commande d'environ 200 avions avaient capoté en 2009, mais
Ryanair n'avait pas fermé totalement la porte à un accord si Boeing
faisait un effort financier.
L'accord conclu mardi avec Comac prévoit une consulation mutuelle sur le
programme du C919, un appareil encore au stade de projet mais dont la
Chine prévoit de livrer le premier exemplaire en 2016.

The launch of the Airbus A320neo programme has had a side benefit for the indigenous Chinese Comac C919 aircraft project.
"An increase in fan size for Neo means the C919 will get a performance boost," said Olivier Savin, executive vice-president at CFM, the engine maker that is supplying its Leap engine for the twinjet, on the eve of the show.
"It's a common engine," said Savin, with 95% commonality between the Leap-X1A for the Neo and the Leap-X1C for the C919. "The core is almost the same, the difference is in the installation," said Francois Bastin, Leap project manager. He said this is because the C919 comes with an integrated propulsion system including the engine and nacelle. "In terms of technical performance, it's the same," he said.
CFM is "looking at final assembly in China" for the engine. A decision on whether to go ahead would be entirely made on business grounds and is under evaluation, said Savin.

Ryanair boss sees China catching Airbus, Boeing

(Reuters) - Chinese manufacturers are set to take a significant bite out of the global market for short-haul planes by 2016, and will then catch up with Airbus and Boeing, the head of Europe's largest low-cost airline said on Tuesday.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, who signed a deal with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China on Tuesday to help it design a rival to Boeing's 737, said the American manufacturer risked falling behind its Asian rival if it doesn't roll out a new plane soon.

"COMAC's C919 will be a very serious alternative ... it will put a large hole in the Boeing and Airbus narrow-body order program from 2016," O'Leary said in a telephone interview.

"There is no technological gap, it's all sub assembly," he said. "If you go forward 10 or 20 years the Chinese will be equally as strong as Airbus or Boeing."

Ryanair, which currently flies only Boeing jets, in May said it had met with officials from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and Russian rival United Aircraft.

Analysts said Ryanair's agreement with COMAC may be a bid to put pressure on Boeing to provide better terms for a large fleet upgrade, after talks over a 200-plane order broke down in 2009.

But O'Leary said Boeing risked falling behind not just Airbus, whose revamped A320neo is selling well, but also rivals in the developing world if it does not decide soon whether to upgrade its current 737 or design a new plane.

"I don't think a re-engineering project is going to be sufficient to respond to the Airbus neo, or indeed the COMAC," O'Leary said.

"We would prefer to see redesigned aircraft that would focus on more seats, lighter weight on the aircraft and more fuel-efficient engines," he said.

Ryanair would like to make a major plane order in 2015-2016, although that is not set in stone, O'Leary said. The key is a plane with closer to 200 seats than the 189 on its 737 fleet, which would allow it to make savings on cabin crew costs.

SCEPTICAL

Ryanair has also spoken to Russia's state-owned United Aircraft Corp (UAC), but O'Leary said they were not as much of a threat to the established players as the Chinese.

"The Russians are a lot further behind. They don't have the same resources to devote to it as the Chinese," he said. "I'd be much more skeptical at this stage about the Russians' ability to deliver on the day that they say they will deliver."

Under Tuesday's deal, signed at the Paris airshow, Ryanair will consult with COMAC on the development of its C919 commercial aircraft, with up to 200 seats, which is due to hit the market in 2018.

Brian Devine, an analyst with NCB stockbrokers in Dublin, said an order in 2015-16 might be too soon for a Chinese manufacturer to be a serious threat.

"In the medium term, the agreement with COMAC is more likely a gambit," Devine said, citing the high maintenance costs of introducing a second type of plane to Ryanair's relatively young Boeing fleet.

"But if they are actively involved in the design, it could allay safety concerns and be a significant development for the longer term."

Le futur moyen-courrier chinois expose sa cabine depuis le 20 juin sur le stand de la COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China).

Concurrent annoncé des Boeing 737 et Airbus A320, le nouvel appareil pourrait effectuer son premier vol en 2014 et serait mis en service mi-2016 selon son constructeur, mais ses prévisions semblent bien optimistes, au regard des déboires de l'ARJ-21.

Even before the latest certification difficulty, industry executives, watching Comac struggle with the ARJ21, had expected Comac to miss its first-flight and delivery targets.“They still have something to learn about project management,” says one Western engineer. Comac’s people are good at working out a solution in a particular area—say, hydraulics—but not nearly so good at balancing costs and benefits in one area against another. This is necessary, because it is the efficiency of the integrated aircraft that counts, not the stand-alone superiority of any particular aspect of it.

Another official says that, despite Comac’s ambition of breaking away from the bureaucratic tendencies of Avic, of which it is an offshoot, the commercial aircraft-maker’s engineers still show an alarming tendency to push decisions up the chain of command.

Comac announced in December it had completed the preliminary design review, the step before detail design. In fact, many issues—more than usual—remained to be determined, typically the placement of various items of equipment and the volume to be allocated to them. It may be that Comac always expected to have lots of loose ends after the preliminary design review but, regardless of that, they were certainly supposed to be tied up by March or April of this year. A few still remain to be resolved, delaying detail design.

A more recent question is whether to mount the thrust reverser on the pylon as well as the nacelle, taking a further step from the accepted integration of the CFM International Leap-X engine and the nacelle. The materials for the aircraft have not been chosen, but that is not necessarily a problem, because Comac has set a baseline design that one otherwise skeptical industry executive regards as mature. “They are doing well on the structure,” he says. It includes composite inner and outer wing-boxes. Additional advanced material may be worked into it later. The delay in beginning the detail design is not a wholly bad thing, says the same executive. The more time spent on the preliminary design, the less likelihood of foul-ups after the detail design has been completed, he notes.

A spokesman for Comac declined to comment on the certification process of the ARJ21 and schedule of the company’s two programs.

Comac announced “orders” for 100 C919s at the Zhuhai air show last November from airlines and other companies associated with the Chinese government or the program, but about half were actually options. Even the orders were not binding, say officials familiar with the contracts, which were signed mainly to save face at China’s premier air show.