China Inaugurates Homegrown Jet [with photo]

AP ^ | 12/21/07 | ELAINE KURTENBACH

[OCCASparky]

Complete with lead wings and cheap plastic parts which fall off in midflight...

[Soliton]

Wow!,

It doesn’t look anythig like an American plane.

[RobinOfKingston]

Yup! Wait for the first recall. The “investigators” will find the factory disassembled and the building empty. No one will know where it/they have gone.

[Doogle]

...see how many people they execute when the first one noses in

[Soliton]

"The manufacturer says the ARJ-21"

ARJ = American Re-engineered Jet

[duckman]

Soon to be available at your local Walmart.

[HardStarboard]

Wow....a DC-9 with winglets.

[Domandred]

Have to admit that’s a nice looking plane. Question is though does it have a six month half life like all other Chinese products.

[charles m]

I don’t think Boeing has much to worry about. Airbus on the other hand....

[DoughtyOne]

China's first fully homegrown commercial aircraft...

LOL. As if...

[Phantom Lord]

Regardless of what country this happens in, is producing something that other countries have been making for 50 years really all that big of an accomplishment?

[charles m]

is producing something that other countries have been making for 50 years really all that big of an accomplishment?

50 years isn't very long in the whole scheme of things though. It's shorter than one lifetime. The US was behind England's industrial revolution by at least 50 years, and look where we are today.

[Zman]

Don’t swallow any of the parts; they’re likely toxic.

[UNGN]

What are those engines? They look like Stubby CF34's.

Way too small for as heavy as that plane will be (It is made in china, after all, and cheap = heavy)

They also look a little low and too close to the wing root.

I won't be flying in one.

[heywoodubuzzoff]

And they won’t be able to sell it here ‘cause of the lead based paint.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It doesn’t look anythig like an American plane.

Looks an awful lot like a Canadair CRJ, though. ;)

[Soliton]

Isn’t Canada the 51st state?

[vigilence]

But look at 50 years of aviation history and we go from Kitty Hawk to the first F-4’s.

[charles m]

You are right: “Nov. 4, 2002. AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. Ltd. (ACAC) of China today signed a cooperative Letter of Intent with GE selecting GE’s CF34-10A engine to power the ARJ21 regional jet now in development.”