The C919 was developed by the state-run Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), a project that started in 2008.
The company said that there is a two-trillion-dollar market for the new plane, which was first unveiled in November 2016.
Comac also said that a total of 23 foreign and domestic customers have placed orders for 570 C919 planes, according to RT.
Aviation experts hail strong momentum of China's aviation industry following successful flight of homegrown #C919 https://t.co/bF0JA49f4W pic.twitter.com/IKlwMQuu4J
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) 6 мая 2017 г.
The plane can carry up to 158 passengers and has a range of 4,075 kilometers. A longer-range version can fly up to 5,555 kilometers, RT reported.
The Russian online newspaper Vzglyad, in turn, drew attention to the fact that the C919's engines were designed by the US-French joint venture CFM International.
A glimpse of China's first domestically-built passenger jet #C919
— Faizan Paracha (@ParachaFaizan) 6 мая 2017 г.
All set for its maiden flight on Friday#teamavination #avgeek pic.twitter.com/pIJZ5kO6mS
Nevertheless, the creation of the narrow-bodied C919 jet from scratch represents China's first major step towards thwarting the global duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, according to Vzglyad.
"Currently, only Airbus and Boeing — two commercially successful aircraft families — manufacture narrow-bodied passenger planes. Each family has airplanes with both old and new engines, which have the highest performance in terms of economic efficiency," Vzglyad quoted Russian aviation expert Oleg Panteleyev as saying.
GoPro video shows maiden flight of China's 1st big homemade passenger jet C919 pic.twitter.com/nnROicmjtE
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) 6 мая 2017 г.
Meanwhile, Airbus experts say that the world market demand for narrow-bodied planes will total at 24,000 by 2035, while Boeing specialists believe that the figure will amount to 28,000.
"Therefore, place for a third and fourth player formally exists [when it comes to the production of narrow-bodied planes]. The next few years may see the emergence of new airlines which can choose to use Chinese or Russian narrow-bodied aircraft," Panteleyev said, referring to Russia's MC-21, which is expected to compete with the C919.
He added that in order "to enter this monopolized market, one must have both a really high-quality product and powerful financial leverage."
Successful maiden flight of the #C919 to provide a major impetus to the domestic airplane manufacturing industry https://t.co/dTI4x6zDDs pic.twitter.com/gACWknmoyi
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) 6 мая 2017 г.
"Obviously, China has such a financial mechanism because Beijing can afford to finance deals on very attractive terms. Besides, the cost of the C919 will not be very expensive," he said.
He said that China should focus on creating domestically-made engines and avionics if wants to become a major world aviation power.
"China will certainly not cope with these two tasks by the end of this decade, but by the end of the next decade the country will certainly resolve them. If you are persistently engaged in a project with virtually limitless resources, you will achieve the result sooner or later," Panteleyev concluded.
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