The China Aviation Industry Corp. I
(AVIC I) said that it has inked a deal with General Electric (GE)
to co-produce engines for the country's first homegrown commercial
aircraft.
With GE's technology support, the AVIC I, China's leading aircraft
maker, will produce the CF34-10A engine for its ARJ21-700 aircraft
with the help of a subsidiary in the northeastern Chinese city of
Shenyang.
This is the first Sino-foreign cooperative program to produce
passenger aircraft engines, said a statement from AVIC I.
The cooperation came four years after the AVIC I decided to import
the GE-developed engine to power its ARJ21-700, a regional
passenger jet that has 70 to 90 seats.
Both the ARJ21-700 and its longer version the ARJ21-900 are
expected to make maiden flights in March 2008, with mass production
to begin in 2009.
The AVIC I had received 71 orders for the ARJ21 series by January
of this year. Orders came from domestic airline companies such as
Shanghai Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.
Sales of these aircraft are predicted to reach 50 units annually on
the domestic and global markets in the next few years, according to
AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. Ltd.
(Xinhua News Agency September 10 2007)
