China s first home-built plane makes maiden flight

Beijing May 5 (IANS) China s first domestically built large passenger plane successfully took off on its maiden flight on Friday from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The C919 s manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) said the maiden flight lasted 90 minutes with a maximum speed of 170 knots the People s Daily reported.

The jetliner is a narrow-body aircraft designed to carry 168 passengers. It has a standard range of 4 075 km and an extended range of 5 555 km.

The C in the aircraft s name stands for both China and COMAC while nine symbolises forever in Chinese culture and 19 represents the 190 seats at maximum capacity Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 570 orders for the aircraft have already been received from 23 domestic and overseas clients.

--IANS
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