ARJ21 tail section delivered

The tail section of the ARJ21, the first China-made aircraft, was delivered by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation of China Aviation Industry Corp. 1 on March 13. The aircraft is China’s first venture into aircraft manufacturing. Vice General Manager Liu Qianyou of AVIC1 Commercial Aircraft Co. said the first three ARJ21 jets are expected to be delivered to customers in 2009. Current orders of the aircraft have reached 71. As one of the manufacturers of the ARJ21 new turbofan regional jet, Shenyang Aircraft undertakes 18 percent of the whole production and control the volume of the jet. The large components of the first model jet were already delivered, including the nose section, forward fuselage, center fuselage, center and rear fuselage, wings and tail section. The project will now enter the general assembly stage. Lin Zuoming, general manager of AVIC 1, said the ARJ21 is a key Chinese project. The Chinese government officially approved the project in 2003. The ARJ21 is a turbofan regional jet with 70-90 seats and a maximum range of 2000 miles. China organized domestic and foreign suppliers to participate in the jet production and controlled the core technology.