Chinas First Passenger Plane Makes Maiden Flight
Chinas first large homemade passenger jet, touted as a competitor to Boeing and Airbus, made its maiden flight from Shanghai today, signalling the Communist giants entry into the global aviation industry.
The 158-seater C919 took to the skies from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and made China the fourth jumbo jet producer after the US, Europe and Russia.
The twin-engine plane departed with five crew members on board but without any passengers.
The "C" in the aircrafts name stands for both China and COMAC, while 9 symbolises "forever" in Chinese culture and 19 represents the maximum 190 seats capacity.
With a standard range of 4,075 kilometres, the narrow- body jet is comparable with updated Airbus 320 and Boeings new generation 737, signalling the countrys entry into the...