Originally published in Jetstream Magazine by Daniel Mena.

那是香港国际机场一个阴沉的九月清晨。

台风塔帕让我在澳门滞留了三天，但与朋友相处一段时间后，我很高兴又能重返天空。对于大多数在17号登机口的旅客来说，这只是一次普通的飞往上海的短途航班——例行且容易被忘记。但对我而言，这次飞行意义非凡。

我即将登上中国的COMAC C919，这是一款国产新干线客机，距投入运营仅两年时间，承载的雄心远不止于跑道之上。

COMAC C919是中国本土生产的短程客机，旨在与Boeing和Airbus在日益竞争的市场中竞争。尽管该机型尚在寻求中国以外的认证，但目前正在被Air China、China Eastern和China Southern等航空公司越来越多地用于中国境内的区域航线。

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今天，我有幸乘坐B-919A——首架投入商业运营的C919。过去四年我几乎每周都乘坐Airbus A320和Boeing 737，所以我很期待看看C919与它们相比如何。中国真的能制造出一款世界级的客机吗？

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The History of COMAC's C919

2008

• 28 October - COMAC launches the C919 program, targeting a maiden flight in 2014.

2010–2015

• Chinese cyber group “Turbine Panda” allegedly infiltrates multiple Western aerospace suppliers to steal intellectual property related to C919 components.

2011

• June - COMAC signs a cooperation agreement with Ryanair for C919 development.
• 24 November - COMAC completes the joint definition phase, ending preliminary design; detailed design scheduled for 2012.
• 9 December - Production begins on the first C919 prototype.

2012

• Composite wing development is completed (but later abandoned)—results not made public until 2018.

2013–2014

• Prototype final assembly expected in 2014, but significant delays occur. Zhuhai Airshow announcement confirms first flight delayed to 2017.

2015

• COMAC rolls out the first C919 aircraft.

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2017

• May - High-speed taxi testing is completed.
• 28 July - The C919 performs its maiden flight from Shanghai Pudong. COMAC announces a 4,200-hour test program aiming for service entry in 2020.
• 28 September - First prototype’s second flight lasts 2 hours and 46 minutes.
• 3 November - First prototype completes its third flight, reaching 3,000 m in altitude.
• 10 November - Prototype is transferred from Shanghai to Xi’an for further testing.
• 17 December - Second prototype completes its maiden flight.

2018

• 12 July - Static load testing simulates a 2.5g maneuver, bending wings nearly 3 meters during testing.
• Mid-year - Reports surface of flight-test grounding for modifications, though COMAC denies grounding and calls the work routine.
• 28 December - Third prototype performs its first flight.

2019

• January-August - COMAC continues to expand its fleet of test aircraft. International espionage investigations result in arrests of four individuals in the U.S. connected to theft of aerospace trade secrets.
• 1 August - Fourth prototype completes its maiden flight.
• 24 October - Fifth prototype completes its maiden flight to support extreme weather and environmental system tests.
• 27 December - Sixth and final flight-test prototype completes its maiden flight.

2020

• 27 November - C919 receives CAAC type inspection authorization, confirming the aircraft’s structural design is finalized.

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2022

• 14 May - First pre-delivery flight test of aircraft B-001J (MSN107) is completed at Shanghai Pudong.
• May - COMAC lists the C919 at 653 million yuan (~US$101M), near the price of A320neo/737 MAX.
• 29 September - C919 receives CAAC airworthiness certification.
• 9 December - First operational C919 is delivered to China Eastern Airlines.

2023

• January-April - China Eastern conducts numerous route-proving flights; thrust reverser issues delay verification.
• 7 May - Test flights resume after a three-month grounding.
• 28 May - First commercial passenger service: Flight MU9191 departs Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) and lands in Beijing Capital (PEK).
• 29 May - Regular daily service begins between Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) and Chengdu Tianfu (TFU).
• 14 July - China Eastern receives its second C919 (B-919C).
• September - Suparna Airlines signs an agreement to lease 30 C919 aircraft (US$3.6B framework).
• 20 September - Brunei’s GallopAir begins certification processes to operate the C919; deliveries targeted for Q3 2024.
• 12-17 December - The C919 appears at Hong Kong International Airport; on 16 December it performs a demonstration flight over Victoria Harbour.
• 17 December - COMAC and Tibet Airlines sign a deal to jointly develop a high-altitude version of the C919.

2024

• February - C919 performs an international flying display at the Singapore Airshow—its debut outside China; Tibet Airlines orders 40 C919s, including high-altitude variants.
• May 2024 - The first delivered C919 (B-919A) passes its first “A-inspection” after a year of operation.
• 1 June - First commercial flight outside mainland China takes place, flying students from Hong Kong to Shanghai.
• 29 August - Air China takes delivery of its first C919.

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2025

• August - Outer wingbox of the first C919-600 (shortened variant) receives CAAC structural approval—the first certified component of the shrunken model.

Onboard the C919

机舱内部，C919看起来与竞争对手差别不大：商务舱为2-2布局，经济舱为26排3-3布局。行李舱明显偏小，但仍可用。我记得在737上，头顶行李舱能轻松放下我的随身行李并留有富余空间。今天，我的包几乎刚好塞进去。

China Eastern的C919经济舱座距为30英寸，座宽为18英寸。座椅较薄，这是航空公司为了提高载客密度越来越常见的做法。作为参考，Boeing 737在美国的平均腿部空间为30到32英寸，平均座宽约17英寸。COMAC的设计并不偏离这一标准。

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在安全演示时，乘务员提到了飞机，并说明我们“乘坐的是COMAC C919，中国国产的商用飞机”。航空公司对该机型的自豪甚至延伸到了座椅头枕套，上面写着“The World's First C919”。

不确定这是否只有B-919A才有，但无论如何这是个很酷的细节。

我在C919上注意到的主要不同点是噪音。起飞前不久，一位乘务员要求我摘下耳机（可能是出于安全考虑？），即便是没有戴耳塞，我也几乎听不到发动机的轰鸣。飞机安静得令人惊讶。

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除了噪音以外，这次飞行感觉和其他航班无异：有完整的餐食服务，每隔几排上方设有机上娱乐系统，还有饮品服务，乘务员用标有"The World's First C919"字样的杯子提供饮料。

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当地时间下午2:34，大约起飞后2小时4分钟，我们抵达上海虹桥。总体而言，我很享受这次飞行，我认为从乘客体验的角度看，C919在短中程市场中是一个非常有竞争力的选手。

The Future of the C919

尽管C919目前尚未在全球范围内与Airbus或Boeing匹敌，但它代表着更宏大的意义：多极化航空世界的黎明。随着小型制造商争取市场份额，主要参与者被迫在战略上进行创新。

尽管最初目标是2025年交付75架，COMAC因运营挑战被迫将目标下调到25架。此外，C919对西方部件的依赖，例如其发动机CFM LEAP-1C，为其供应链带来额外的物流挑战。然而，中国正努力研发自主发动机ACAE CJ-1000A，COMAC计划在未来的C919上采用该发动机。

随着订单增长，COMAC正计划建设第二座C919生产工厂，以满足当前和预期订单的需求。根据媒体Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily的报道，第二工厂选址已确定在上海浦东的“临港新片区”，总建筑面积为300,000平方米。这约为3.2百万平方英尺，约为Boeing位于华盛顿州Everett工厂的三分之二到三分之二多出的规模。

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该媒体还报道，“项目建成后，可满足C919未来的大规模生产需求。”该工厂计划于2027年投产。

目前，C919仅限在中国境内飞行。不过，根据South China Morning Post的报道，中国民用航空局（CAAC）已与European Union Aviation Safety Agency（EASA）就在欧盟取得认证进行接触。EASA的成员甚至在7月对上海机场的C919进行了现场检查。这些进展对该机型的未来具有积极意义。