China’s major aircraft manufacturer announced on Thursday the launch of its new regional turboprop program, an indication that the country is investing heavily to grab a bigger share of the civil aviation market.<\/p>\n
Dong Jianhong, chief designer of the aircraft at Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation’s largest aircraft manufacturer, said at a news conference in Beijing that the next-generation turboprop, the 78-seat MA-700, will serve regional air transportation within an 800-km range and be able to fly at high altitudes and in high temperatures.<\/p>\n
He said the AVIC turboprop will have a cutting-edge design, low operation and maintenance costs, eco-friendly technology and rigorous safety standards.<\/p>\n
“The safety standards we adopt will be even stricter than those of civil aviation authorities in China and other nations,” Dong added. “We also designed a spacious place for each passenger that is larger than that of other aircraft of its kind.”<\/p>\n
The aircraft will have the most advanced flight control system \u2014 fly-by-wire technology \u2014 its first use on a turboprop aircraft.<\/p>\n
The designer said the MA-700 will be able to carry a payload of up to 8.6 metric tons and fly 610 km per hour.<\/p>\n
The plane’s design is expected to be finalized next year, and its maiden flight is set for 2016.<\/p>\n
The aircraft will be delivered to buyers in 2018, he said.<\/p>\n
Before the new aircraft, AVIC developed the MA-60 turboprop regional airliner and its upgrade variant, the MA-600.<\/p>\n
Eighty-eight MA-60s or MA-600s have been delivered to 24 buyers from 16 nations in Asia, South America and Africa, said Pang Zhen, head of AVIC’s civil aircraft development.<\/p>\n
The rising cost of aviation fuel has put airlines under heavy pressure, making turboprop aircraft, which consume less fuel than turbofan jets, more attractive.<\/p>\n
Pang said the global market will need at least 2,900 turboprop regional airliners in the next 20 years, and China will need nearly 350 during this period.<\/p>\n
China has nearly 2,000 airliners, 92 percent of which are large aircraft that have more than 100 seats. The situation forces carriers to use large planes to conduct short-distance flights or even abandon short-haul routes, leading to economic losses, Pang said.<\/p>\n
Liu Jieyin, executive vice-president of Beijing-based Okair Airlines, echoed Pang’s remarks on the need for more turboprops. Airlines are usually reluctant to use large aircraft to perform short-distance flights because it accelerates wear and tear on engines and other costly equipment while making only small profits, Liu said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, taking regional aircraft for short trips is more convenient for travelers than other forms of transportation, which plays into the huge demand for such planes, he said.<\/p>\n
“Say you want to travel from Yantai in Shandong province to Dalian in Liaoning province. An MA-60 makes the flight in 45 minutes, but it takes six to seven hours if you go by ship.”<\/p>\n
Liu said his company has signed an agreement with AVIC to procure 50 MA-series aircraft, including the MA-700 and its variants.<\/p>\n
Geng Ruguang, AVIC deputy general manager, said the company has commissioned consulting agencies to survey 112 potential users and will consider their requests and suggestions in the design process.<\/p>\n
The MA-700 platform will also be refitted to serve multiple purposes such as medical service, search and rescue, maritime surveillance and scientific experiments, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China’s major aircraft manufacturer announced on Thursday the launch of its new regional turboprop program, an indication that the country is investing heavily to grab a bigger share of the civil aviation market. Dong Jianhong, chief designer of the aircraft at Aviation\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-2517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsofchina","tag-null"],"yoast_head":"\n