First C919 to Roll Off Production Line in November - Sources

China's first home-made C919 prototype aircraft will official roll off the final assembly line at COMAC's Shanghai factory on November 2 and show to the world, people familiar with the plan said Wednesday in Nanjing.

According to the new plan, the C919 could make its first test flight in Shanghai around the third quarter of 2017, with probability of another delay in 2017, said Wang Jian, Chairman of AVIC Electromechanical Systems Co., Ltd.

Another rumor said the C919's first flight is planned on Nov. 28.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has completed basic assembly of the aircraft and now is making final preparations for its roll-out, some insider of the company told Shanghai Great Wisdom. But they had no knowledge of the specific date of first flight.

COMAC is working on an internal target to roll out the C919 later this year, and the source said under the best circumstances, pre-flight preparations could be completed four months thereafter. Though the exact timing is unclear, it is definitely that the C919 aircraft will roll off the production line before the end of this year, the insider said.

The aircraft has two models, one with an all-economy class layout of 168 seats, and a first class-economy version with 156 seats. The basic version is designed to cover a range of 4,075 kilometers, and the enhanced version can reach up to 5,555 kilometers.

COMAC has so far secured 514 commitments for the in-development C919 aircraft from 21 customers, most of which are domestic airlines and leasing firms.

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