ARJ21 Failed Tests Big Time + CN Exports Regional Jet to Ukraine

choi

(1) Wing Cracks, Other Flaws Delay China Jet Manufacture. Reuters, June 8, 2012.
http://in.reuters.com/article/20 ... INLNE85700Z20120608

Quote:

(a) "In interviews with executives from three different technology suppliers working with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) to develop passenger jets, Reuters has learned that various tests over the past two years have identified flaws in the ARJ21's wings, wiring and computer systems.

"During a stress test in mid-2010, the wings of the ARJ21 broke, or 'cracked' in one executive's description, before the pressure applied reached regulatory norms.

"In further examinations conducted last year, the avionics system -- the brain of the plane -- failed at times to work properly, highlighting what one of the three suppliers executives described as a 'system integration problem.' Faults in the wiring were also discovered in those tests, according to the supplier executives.

(b) "The ARJ21's troubles are more than a blow to Chinese pride. They highlight the country's struggle to become a producer of high-tech items from bullet trains to large commercial jetliners.

"Indeed, recent experience shows that money does not guarantee success in high-tech industries. A rail accident in July 2011 killed 40 people, undermining China's portrayal of the rapid expansion of its high-speed railway network as a sign of its growing technological might.

(c) "A Comac official said last month the ARJ21, which is central to Beijing's aerospace push, was unlikely to win regulatory approval before 2013, putting the project about five years behind its original schedule, without offering a reason.


(2) China-Made Regional Aircraft to Enter European Market. Xinhua, June 9, 2012.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/chi ... ontent_15490943.htm

The first two paragraph:

"China's Xi'an Aircraft International Corporation (XAIC) will sell three MA60 regional aircraft to MARS, a Ukrainian-based airline, marking the first time for China-made civil regional aircraft to enter the European market, the XAIC said Saturday.

"The press release issued by the XAIC did not disclose the contractual price or the delivery date.

Note: Xian MA60
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_MA60
(Xīnzhōu 60, "Modern Ark 60"; Introduction 2000; Status  In production)

choi

(3) Commercial aircraft | Duelling the Duopolies; New entrants to the world jetliner market struggle to take off. Economist, May 19, 2012
http://www.economist.com/node/21555570
("a Russian-built Sukhoi Superjet crash into a mountain in Indonesia on May 9th, killing all on board. But the disaster, on top of recent reports of unreliability among the first Superjets to go into service, is bound to hinder Russia’s ambition to become a big exporter of modern commercial aircraft. * * * the first four planes delivered to Aeroflot of Russia have suffered repeatedly from breakdowns, leading to flight cancellations")

Note: Irkut MS-21
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irkut_MS-21
(Russian acronym is MC-21, standing for "Airliner of the 21st Century")

(4) Christine Negroni, China Market Challenges Plane Makers. International Herald Tribune, May 14, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/1 ... ht-rav-china14.html
("In the past, 'if you’re a Western company that wants to do business and you are asked to bring technology, you bring it from 1978, you don’t show up with your latest and best,' Mr [Richard]  Aboulafia[, an aviation analyst with the Teal Group, in Fairfax, Virginia] said. This explains the lack of innovation on the two airliners presently under development in China; the C919 and the ARJ21 regional jet. They are not yet in production, but are already outdated, he said")

Note:
(a) PAC P-750 XSTOL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750_XSTOL
(a utility aircraft of conventional all-metal low-wing monoplane design; powered by a 750 hp (560 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop; designed and manufactured in Hamilton, New Zealand by Pacific Aerospace Limited; First flight  2001; Crew: 1 (pilot))

Quote: "The type was targeted initially to the narrow market of skydiving. In the parachuting role, the high-lift wings from the Cresco and relatively high power-to-weight ratio enable the PAC 750 to take a load of parachutists to 12,000 feet (3,700 m) and return to land in 10 minuites."

* For "low-wing," see monoplane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoplane
(Types of monoplane: "low-wing, the wing lower surface is level with (or below) the bottom of the fuselage")

(b) P-750 XSTOL. Pacific Aerospace, undated.
http://www.aerospace.co.nz/aircraft/p-750-xstol/description
("This aircraft has such unique Extremely Short Take-Off and Landing (XSTOL) capabilities that it demanded a class of its own. * * * the  P-750 XSTOL is the world's first XSTOL aircraft unmatched by any other production aircraft * * * Take off and landing in less than 800 ft (244m), even when it is hot and high")

* Further down in the same web site: "View video of the P-750 XSTOL in action P-750 [link] XSTOL Videos."

Click "P-750 XSTOL Performance Demonstration," which states, "At AAD2008, renowned South African pilot Chris Briers flying a standard production P-750 XSTOL weighing 4,200 lbs and complete with cargo pod, put the aircraft through its paces.  The demonstration climaxed in Chris achieving a landing distance of 164ft (50m) and a take off distance of less than 104ft (32m)."

* AAD stands for Africa Aerospace & Defence, which is held annually at AFB Waterkloof, Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa.