COMAC C919-600 completes first flight |

COMAC completed the first flight of its C919-600 last Wednesday, a shortened, high-altitude version of the C919. COMAC has 40 firm orders from Xizang Airlines, formerly Tibet Airlines, and this version of the C919 is specifically intended for high-altitude markets, including Daocheng, the highest-altitude commercial airport in the world. The airport in Daocheng is located 14,472 feet above sea level, and aircraft take-off performance is degraded in the thinner air at high altitudes. The network of high-altitude airports served by Xizang from the airlines' Lhasa base includes several of the highest commercial airports in the world, which require aircraft with strong “Hot and High” performance to operate in the Chinese plateau. [caption id="attachment_196395" align="aligncenter" width="580"] image: COMAC C919-600[/caption] High-Altitude Operations “Hot and High” operations basically describe low air density caused by high airport elevation and high temperatures. At airports along the plateau that are well above sea level, air density is reduced, reducing engine thrust and lift, which requires additional thrust or longer runways for take-offs. At Lhasa Gonggar, air density is roughly 75% of sea-level density, and at other airports like Qamdo Bamda it falls to 65 percent. With engine thrust and aerodynamic lift being proportional to air density, an engine may have only 80-85% of sea-level thrust at plateau altitudes. That degradation in aircraft performance requires higher thrust-to-weight ratios and longer runways for safe operation in difficult areas. The COMAC C919-600 The new aircraft is a shrink of the C919-100, with six fewer fuselage frames and 20-30 fewer seats, depending on configuration. The aircraft is 12.1 feet shorter than the standard 127.6-foot-long C919-100. The smaller aircraft has improved take-off performance with a more powerful version of its CFM LEAP-1C engines lifting a lighter airframe. That combination enables operations from China’s network of high-altitude plateau airports. These airports have been primarily flown by the Airbus A319 in recent years, which has been the aircraft of choice in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and others with high-altitude airports. Airbus now has new competition for a very small market niche. [caption id="attachment_196394" align="aligncenter" width="580"] image: COMAC[/caption] The first flight of the C919-600, registered B-002U, took off and landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport on Wednesday and took 1 hour 59 minutes to complete. According to COMAC, the aircraft successfully completed all planned test items in its successful first flight. Two Derivatives The C919-600 is one of two planned variants of the basic C919-100. A second derivative, the C919-800, will be a stretched version to bring the capacity of the aircraft up to 210 seats. With the two new variants, COMAC will match the Airbus A320 family lineup with three variants with sizes similar to the A319, A320, and A321 models. The Bottom Line COMAC is building its capabilities, including capabilities for its commercial aircraft to operate in high-altitude regions. The C919-600 variant for Xizang Airlines, an experienced high-altitude operator, will add to the credibility of COMAC and the C919 program. While production of the C919 has been slower than expected, partially due to earlier trade restrictions by the US, the company is growing its base of Chinese suppliers as COMAC strategically builds a domestic supply chain to reduce reliance on Western components. That includes engines, with a domestic company designing a replacement for the US-French joint venture produced CFM International LEAP-1C. While China is not yet directly competing internationally with Boeing and Airbus with the C919, its ambition to learn from its first mainline aircraft remains solid. The development of a "high-hot" model adds to the engineering challenges China will need to overcome to provide aircraft that meet the needs of all Chinese airlines, including Xizang Airlines and its operations in Tibet. It appears that COMAC is taking on those challenges head-on.

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