When Boeing in the United States exposed various problems, our domestic passenger aircraft came with good news one after another.
All the technologies of the C929 intercontinental airliner are in the process of comprehensive breakthroughs, such as the new generation of large bypass ratio turbofan engine, known as the "heart of the aircraft", the avionics system of the "aircraft brain", the flight control system of the "aircraft cerebellum", and the full carbon fiber composite fuselage structure that constitutes the "aircraft skeleton", etc., all of which are based on domestic production, breaking the US blockade in one fell swoop.
On April 15, the C929 joint project research conference was held at the headquarters of COMAC, attended by 14 academicians and more than 280 experts and scholars from 21 universities, 43 cooperative units and 7 civil aviation enterprises across the country.
These top talents are divided into six special groups, including aircraft overall aerodynamics, fuselage structure, composite structure, avionics electrical, mechanical system, and power system, for a multi-day intensive discussion.
(In 2018, the CR929 carbon fiber composite fuselage independently manufactured by Mainland China, now the R is removed)
They will lead a scientific research and production team of thousands of people to break through all the core technologies of C929. No blockade or difficulty can stop our determination to build a large domestically produced aircraft.
On April 26, there was another good news, Air China signed an agreement with COMAC to purchase 100 C919s, with a total value of about $10.8 billion, and deliveries began this year.
(Announcement on the purchase of 100 C919s by Air China)
C929 technology has made a comprehensive breakthrough, C919 orders have increased significantly, no matter how sarcastic some people laugh, our large aircraft have been incubating and growing.
To this day, some people still say that the C919 engine is foreign, and the avionics system is foreign, isn't it just a shell, what is there to say?
In March, the fifth China Eastern Airlines C919 was delivered
I would like to make two points:
First, don't think that if you build a shell, you don't have the technical content; if it is very simple, then why can't Japan build it, and why can't India build it? If it is very simple, then why has the world's big planes been monopolized by Boeing in the United States and Airbus in Europe?
Second, the localization rate of C919 has been greatly improved. At present, C919 does integrate a lot of foreign technologies and products, some of which we can build ourselves, but choose to cooperate with American companies, mainly to strive for airworthiness certification, and some of them are really not built for the time being, so we can only choose foreign products, such as turbofan engines.
(FCP of C919 cockpit)
For example, the glass-based cockpit of the C919 has four large screens and a flight control panel (FCP), which is the basic equipment of civil airliners. This panel looks very simple, but in fact, it is connected to the aircraft's digital fly-by-wire flight control system, which can set automatic driving and control the aircraft's course, altitude, speed and other parameters, which is a necessary technology for civil airliners.
(FCP Details)
The continental Y-20 military transport aircraft, in fact, also uses a similar glass cockpit and FCP panel, which has very high flight quality. In this way, when the Y-20 usually performs transportation tasks and takes civil aviation routes, it can be autopiloted almost all the way like a civil airliner.
(FCP for military transport aircraft)
The talents and technology of the Y-20 system have laid a solid foundation for the C919 related systems. Even if the technical specifications of C919 for civilian products are different from those for military products, the core technical principles are the same, and there is no risk of being stuck by foreign countries in terms of technology.
The engine of the C919, currently the LEAP-X, was developed by a joint venture between Safran of France and GE of the United States, but the Yangtze River 1000A engine independently developed by Continental has also been tested, and sooner or later it will develop and mature. The turbofan-20 military large-bypass ratio turbofan engine also laid a solid foundation for the Yangtze River 1000A.
（C919目前使用LEAP-1C）
(Completely domestic Yangtze River-1000A engine)
Those who laughed at the "Taihang" engine in the past are no longer talking; now they are still laughing at the C919 engine for not being domestic, wait and see, our scientific researchers have never been afraid of cold eyes and ridicule.
Just like at the Beijing Auto Show, foreigners have been studying various new energy vehicles independently developed by China in turn, and they are shocked by the rapid development of mainland automotive products. At present, the mainland's large aircraft industry is a bit like the automobile industry more than 10 years ago, quietly accumulating strength and waiting for accumulation.
(Foreign friends can't help but measure Chinese cars)
(Famous scene: Koreans at the Beijing Motor Show)
Now there are 5 C919 in operation in China Eastern Airlines, the number is indeed relatively small, but from this year, the production of C919 will continue to increase, what we need to do now is to work steadily, do a good job in the commercial operation of C919, and continue to improve and optimize. Now there are only 5 planes, but in a few years it may be 50 or 500. Only when the foundation is laid is solid, we may avoid detours in the future.
For civil aircraft, the process of accumulating operational experience and technology precipitation will definitely be difficult, even more difficult than the research and development process. New aircraft and new technologies are immature, prone to accidents, and even encounter huge criticism and doubts. This is also what C919 needs to face, and because of this, C919 is currently "urgent" to increase production capacity.
(Long-term struggle)
Referring to the development process of the mainland's high-speed rail, the Wenyong accident caused China's high-speed rail to suffer a lot of abuse, and even became a tool for the West to attack China's manufacturing. But these did not scare us, now China's high-speed rail is the "Chinese business card" to the world, and the representative of China's advanced industry.
This year's C919 production may not be much, but within ten years, the monthly output of C919 will reach 20 to 30 aircraft, with an annual output of 200 to 300 aircraft, quickly filling the demand of the mainland civil aviation market.
Don't say I'm bragging, the J-20 was born on the spot, and the number was very small when it first entered service, and some people said that the production of the J-20 was definitely not enough. But in just a few years, the number of J-20s has reached hundreds, surpassing the American F-22 in both quantity and quality.
This is the Chinese miracle, and such a miracle also happened to the Y-20. At first, the number of Y-20s was not much, but in recent years, production has suddenly exploded, and the mission rate of Y-20 is very high, and it has been to more than 10 countries;
(Yunyou-20, J-20, J-16)
Some people will also say, don't compare military aircraft with civil aircraft, military aircraft can be sloppy, civil aircraft are commodities, we must pay attention to operational efficiency and cost, and the difference of 1% is not good.
Okay, so let's talk about cost and efficiency. This time, Air China purchased 100 C919s (extended-range), with a total value of about US$10.8 billion, and a single aircraft price of about US$108 million. In contrast, China Southern Airlines purchased 96 Airbus 320neo passenger planes in 2022, spending $12.248 billion, and the price of a single aircraft is about $127 million.
The C919 is not only completely comparable to the Airbus A320neo in terms of performance, surpassing the Boeing 737 Max in the United States, but also cheaper in price, giving domestic airlines higher competitive efficiency.
Air China emphasized in the announcement that COMAC has given Air China a large price discount, which is a discount that can only be given by domestic passenger aircraft. Cheaper planes will reduce operating costs, which is good for airlines and passengers.
Of course, the new aircraft needs to establish a new support system, and the cost is also very large, and several major domestic airlines dare to "eat crabs first", which requires a lot of resources and strength. This is the domestic civil aviation market actively supporting the technological progress of C919.
The Soviet Union was able to build the An-225, the largest military transport aircraft in history, and the Il-96, a four-engine wide-body airliner, but Russia's internal market was too small to provide enough market size for Russia's new generation of airliners in the Western blockade.
Fortunately, our domestic demand in China is large enough to provide enough growth space for C919. If you want to break the monopoly of Boeing and Airbus, technology and market are indispensable.
In the past, it took us hundreds of millions of pairs of shirts and jeans to buy a Boeing plane, and now it's time to replace it with a domestic airliner. In the future, the mass production of C919 can also drive the development of hundreds of industrial chains across the country, provide hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs, and benefit millions of people, which is of great significance to the economy and people's livelihood.
(C929 design specifications, expected to make its first flight in 2030)
Finally, some people asked, why does Air China use US dollars to buy Chinese-made aircraft?
In fact, of course, it is bought in RMB, how can domestic enterprises settle with each other in US dollars. It's just that it is an international practice to convert it into US dollars in announcements involving commercial securities. Air France buys Airbus aircraft, which will also be converted in US dollars.
Of course, we hope that more and more countries will use the renminbi for settlement, but the reality is that the United States, through high-tech and financial hegemony, will make the dollar the world currency and harvest the world's wealth.
(C919)
If you want to break the status of the US dollar and internationalize the RMB, it is useless to shout slogans, you must have stronger strength, and the C919 has broken the monopoly of the United States and Europe, which is a symbol of strength. The higher the C919 flies, the more foreigners will accept the yuan.
Of course, this process will not be smooth sailing, or that sentence, C919 is still very small at present, we still need to continue to make breakthroughs and improvements in technology, and we may encounter setbacks and blows in the future, but we are not afraid. As long as we move forward in a down-to-earth manner, we will definitely achieve the achievements we deserve.