ARJ21 passenger aircraft delivered to the "three major airlines", carrying more than 1 million passengers
Highlighting the development potential of domestically produced large aircraft leveraging the trillion-level market
After flying for more than 17,800 hours, "Lao Fei" Zhang Daqi still has a "big wish"-driving a domestic passenger plane straight into the sky.
As a senior pilot of China Eastern Airlines (hereinafter referred to as "Eastern Airlines"), Zhang Daqi has flew military aircraft, civil airliners and business jets, including Gulfstream G280, Embraer EMB145, Legacy 650 (EMB135), Boeing B737, etc. A qualification certificate.
However, what Zhang Daqi remembered most in his flying career was a special "accompanying flight" experience three years ago.
"At that time, I saw the white body and green and blue stripes of the C919 from a distance through the porthole, and I was very excited." He recalled to the reporter, since then, he had made up his mind secretly, "If I could personally Flying in the blue sky with a domestically-made civil airliner, the flying career is truly complete."
Zhang Daqi's wish did not wait long.
At the end of February this year, China Eastern Airlines subsidiary One Two Three Aviation was inaugurated and clearly revealed its mission-to operate domestically-made aircraft such as ARJ21 and C919. Zhang Daqi obtained the first ARJ21-700 flight license as he wished.
"Every Chinese pilot is looking forward to the bright moment of flying a domestic passenger plane"
"I believe that every Chinese pilot has a special expectation, that is to personally fly a domestic aircraft into the blue sky." When talking about his first "close encounter" with ARJ21, Zhang Daqi's tone remained as calm as ever. A different light appeared in the eyes of middle-aged people, "That day is destined to be the most memorable highlight of my flying career."
After joining the army at the age of 18, Zhang Daqi studied flight technology at the Second Flight Academy of the Air Force. From a fledgling pilot, to a flight guide for business jets, to a new generation of pilots' "road guides", no matter what position he is in, Zhang Daqi has maintained a rigorous flying style-respecting life, respecting rules, and respecting duties.
"From a small point of view, pilots must take rigorousness as a habit to control some desires." Zhang Daqi said, "Our profession has no chance to come back. In order to avoid big mistakes, we must cultivate flying style from bit by bit. Style management becomes a habit."
However, in the eyes of colleagues, Zhang Daqi's 28-year flying career has not only a "rigorous" side A, but also a side B who is eager to challenge himself, likes to challenge and break through.
He confessed to reporters that ARJ21 has a "double attraction" to himself. "For every pilot who regards driving a domestically-produced aircraft as a lifelong pursuit, ARJ21 is very attractive; at the same time, for those who want to challenge themselves, flying a newly designed aircraft is of great significance in itself."
Despite being told that flying the first domestically-made passenger plane may encounter some unknown challenges, Zhang Daqi did not hesitate to register.
Different from the previous business jets, the ARJ21-700 introduced by One, Two and Three Airlines is used for fixed flights. “Not only is the number of flight hours different, after the ARJ21-700 fleet gradually grows, the unification, standardization and scale of fleet management are also new challenges. Compared with the relatively small and customized business jets, these are An unprecedented new challenge." Zhang Daqi said.
He said frankly that for pilots, this conversion is not only a technical challenge, but also a psychological adjustment period and a process of ideological conversion.
However, "Lao Fei" Zhang Daqi has long been prepared for the challenge. "From physical to mental, from technology to thought, you must be prepared in all aspects." Zhang Daqi said in a relaxed tone, "I believe that the same is true for other pilots who are determined to devote themselves to the domestic airliner flight business."
On June 28, at the Pudong base of COMAC's final assembly and manufacturing center, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines received their first ARJ21 aircraft. COMAC delivered the first batch of ARJ21 jets to the three major domestic airlines at the same time, marking the official entry of this domestically-made regional jet into the international mainstream airline fleet.
According to the reporter's understanding, as of the evening of July 20, the total number of passengers carried by ARJ21 aircraft has exceeded 1 million. Next, the three major airlines will each introduce 35 ARJ21-700 aircraft, receiving an average of 3 aircraft each year, and complete all deliveries around 2024.
As one of the first pilots of One Two Three Aviation to complete the ARJ21-700 model conversion, Zhang Daqi spoke highly of his "new partner".
"Although ARJ21-700 is a regional model, it is designed with automatic throttle, overspeed protection, and the internal system is relatively advanced. It can be said that it integrates the advantages of existing products on the market and also takes into account the actual situation of domestic civil aviation." Zhang Daqi said that pilots are regarded as the "first user" of civilian airliners, and that he is "of course duty-bound" to help manufacturers continue to improve the performance indicators of domestic airliners and feed back on actual usage. "As Chinese pilots, we all hope that we can do our part to make the domestically-made airliner's advancement road smoother and better."
"Old, middle-aged, and young" three generations of Chinese civil aviation people passed on
In fact, the delivery of ARJ21-700 not only enables civil aviation "backbone" such as Zhang Daqi to fly domestically-made passenger planes into the blue sky, but also allows many older generations of civil aviation personnel and new generation "back waves" to see the potential and hope of China's civil aviation industry. .
"I have been flying for 41 years, but I have always had an unfinished complex-'When will I be able to fly on a civil airliner made by the Chinese themselves?'" Xie Yuanzheng, who is the same age as New China, is a civil aviation meritorious pilot.
After the reform and opening up, he was selected as one of the first batch of pilots to go to the United States to learn passenger aircraft driving skills, and later became the first batch of Chinese pilots to fly large wide-body passenger aircraft flying international routes.
After retirement, Xie Yuanzheng was hired as a flight instructor for COMAC. He not only participated in the design and improvement of the control system of China's new passenger aircraft ARJ21, but also was responsible for the teaching and research of the full-motion flight simulator of this type of aircraft.
At the beginning of the domestic passenger aircraft project, he suggested adding pilots to the large aircraft design team and design the aircraft with user thinking. "Only by using this concept to design aircraft can we truly meet the needs of the civil aviation industry and consumers."
Now, Xie Yuanzheng, who is over seventy years old and has white temples, has finally ushered in the delivery of a domestic passenger plane.
“China’s growing scientific and technological strength and innovation capabilities are strong support for the smooth roll-off of domestic passenger aircraft.” Xie Yuanzheng, who often encourages himself as an “old man,” said that he believes that in the future domestic passenger aircraft will not only be recognized by Chinese pilots, but also Will fly to the world step by step.
For the young "back wave" of the civil aviation industry, the delivery of domestically-made passenger aircraft is not just "realizing a dream", but also an incentive for mission inheritance.
As one of the few female pilots born in the 90s, Xu Fujizehui was born in the "Flying Home". For her, who has listened to flight stories from her father since she was a child, the yearning for the blue sky is "almost a kind of instinct inborn."
"Usually I always listen to the captain discussing ARJ21, and I was longing for it at that time. It is not only my own dream to drive a domestic aircraft, but also my father's dream." Xu Fujize said with a smile, this year's New Year's Day, I quietly in the New Year The goal of "driving a domestically-produced aircraft" was added to his wish, and he was ready to surprise Dad.
"My dad is approaching retirement age, and he may not be able to catch up to fly a large domestic plane. Fortunately, I am still young, and I have witnessed and experienced the rapid progress of China's civil aviation industry." The delicate girl told reporters that she opened every time. Family photo albums seem to have seen a picture passed down by generations of Chinese civil aviation. "Now, the baton has been handed over to our post-90s. I am willing to contribute all of my strength, with the dreams of my parents, to light up the bright future of domestic passenger aircraft."
Feeder aviation "pins needles" for regional and industrial integration development
As China’s first self-developed short-to-medium-range turbofan regional airliner with independent intellectual property rights in accordance with international civil aviation regulations, the ARJ21 new regional aircraft not only embodies the dreams of all practitioners, but also supports the development of regional aviation in small and medium-sized cities. Wish.
In an interview with reporters, independent financial analyst Xia Shu said, “The three ARJ21-700s delivered this time all adopt a 90-seat full economy class layout, and the cabin seats use a'two left, three right' seat layout, which can fully meet the needs of the central city. Requirements for the use of radial routes in surrounding small and medium cities."
"At present, there is still the problem of'mainline aircraft for regional routes' in China. Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 are still used on short- and medium-distance routes. These models are generally too large and have high operating costs. This also leads to The feeder aviation industry often operates at a loss and requires government subsidies to maintain it.” Xia Shu analyzed.
"Take Heze City and Liaocheng City in Shandong Province as examples. Both cities are third-tier cities with a population of more than 6 million. However, people who want to fly by plane must first go to Jinan and then rush to the airport. This is very time-consuming and time-consuming. Energy. If regional aviation is developed, then people in these third-tier cities will be more willing to choose the way to travel by plane, which will also promote the development of the civil aviation industry."
Therefore, in his opinion, the delivery of ARJ21 is of great significance to the development of my country's regional aviation industry and Tongcheng aviation industry. "ARJ21 is small in size and low in fuel consumption. It is a suitable model for flying regional routes. Using ARJ21 can effectively solve the embarrassing problem of'medium-sized aircraft being dissatisfied and flying once and losing one', thereby increasing flight profits and promoting regional aviation. Market development."
In addition to stimulating the development of the civil aviation market, the emergence of domestic passenger aircraft such as ARJ21 and C919 will also drive the development and growth of the civil aviation manufacturing industry and a series of related industries.
As we all know, aircraft manufacturing and its supporting industries have a high output value. They are a strategic pillar industry of a country and are also one of the few trillion-scale industries in China that are still blank. According to the "Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Market Forecast Annual Report (2018-2037)", the Chinese market is expected to deliver a total of 9,008 passenger planes in the next 20 years, worth about 9 trillion yuan, an average of about 450 billion yuan per year.
"The large aircraft industry has a strong industrial chain driving effect, which can greatly promote the development of related industrial industries and the national economy." said Xue Xu, an associate professor at the School of Economics of Peking University. "At present, China's domestically produced large aircraft industry is advancing steadily. The large-scale production of the aviation industry will also promote the cluster effect of the aviation industry, further enhance the regional supporting and collaboration capabilities, and accelerate the migration of the global aviation manufacturing industry to China."
"In recent decades, the domestic and foreign passenger aircraft market has been monopolized by Airbus and Boeing. With the successive delivery of domestically produced large aircraft, this pattern is expected to be broken, and China's civil aviation manufacturing industry will usher in a period of important strategic development opportunities." Xue Xu analyzed. In the future, there will also be huge room for the after-aviation markets such as aircraft maintenance support and engineering services.
In this sense, the delivery of ARJ21 not only enables the "old, middle-aged and young" three generations of Chinese civil aviation personnel to realize their desire to "operate domestically-produced aircraft," it also injects new momentum into the development of the civil aviation industry, and gives people reason to look forward to the domestically-made large passenger aircraft C919 Bright prospects for market launch.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Zhenqi Source: China Youth Daily
July 23, 2020 Version 11