China’s C919 aircraft achieved another major milestone of receiving its production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in Shanghai, paving way for mass production. Upon obtaining the certificate, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, (COMAC) the manufacturer of C919 said that obtaining the certificate was an important milestone for the aircraft indicating the C919 has taken a solid step toward industrialization.
The production certificate serves as a permit issued by the authority to the aircraft manufacturer and allows a model to be put into continuous production based on an approved quality control system, COMAC said.
COMAC explained that the issuing of a production certificate demonstrates that production organization and control, quality control, and overall management of an aviation manufacturer have reached a certain level. From the standards of raw materials to the management of suppliers, production supervision, and after-sale maintenance, every detail must be rule-based and documented.
Now the only step remaining is the last certificate or a permit for the commercial operation of passenger flights. Once all three certificates are obtained the C919 can be launched for commercial operations.
The first C919 aircraft has completed its production test flights and fulfilled delivery requirements, and it is expected to be delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December. So far, the C919 has received 1,115 orders from home and abroad.
Experts are of the opinion that C919 will be a fierce competitor to Airbus A320 and B737 models.