Type                     Regional jet
Manufacturer        ACAC consortium
Designed by         ACAC consortium
Maiden                 flight Scheduled for Q4 2008
Introduced           2005
Status                  Under Production As Of 2008
Primary users       Kunpeng Airlines, Shanghai Airlines
Produced             Main Production Scheduled to begin in 2009
Number built       1
Unit cost             20 Million USD As Of 2008
Variants               ARJ21-700, ARJ21-900, ARJ21F, & The ARJ21B.

The ACAC ARJ21 Xiangfeng ( II Flying Phoenix)[1] is a twin-engined regional airliner, and is the first passenger jet to be developed and indigenously produced by the People’s Republic of China. This program is supported by 19 major U.S. and European aerospace components suppliers, including General Electric (engine production) and Rockwell Collins (avionics production).

The ARJ21 is a key project, led by the government-controlled ACAC consortium, which began in March 2002 as part of China’s “10th Five-Year Plan”. The maiden flight of the ARJ21 was planned to take place in 2005 with formal handing over of the aircraft for use 18 months afterwards;[4] however, the design work was delayed and the final trial production stage didn’t begin until June 2006.[5] The first aircraft was rolled out on 21 December 2007 with plans for a maiden flight in March 2008,[1] and the aircraft is expected to become available to buyers in September 2009. The ACAC consortium aims to manufacture 11 ARJ21s a year by 2010, and 50 per year by 2015.

The ARJ21 will be built using tooling which was originally provided by the McDonnell Douglas company for licence-production of the MD-90 in China. Consequently, it bears a strong resemblance to the DC-9 series of aircraft, with an identical cabin cross section, nose profile and tail. The general designer of the aircraft was Mr. Wu Guanghui (III), and the deputy general designer was Mr. Zhou Jisheng (III), with the general engineer was Ms. Jiang Liping (III, 1968- ). An all-new supercritical wing, which will have a sweepback of 25 degrees and be fitted with winglets to improve aerodynamic performance, has been designed by Ukraine’s Antonov. Antonov Design Bureau also assisted project with geometrical determination and integral analysis of the construction strength of ARJ21.

Besides the baseline and the stretched models, there will also be standard- and extended-range versions, as well as all-passenger, freight and business jet variants.

Manufacturer

Members of the ACAC consortium, which was formed to develop the aircraft, will manufacture major components of the aircraft:
Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group: construction of the nose
Shanghai Aircraft Company: final assembly
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation: construction of the empennage (complete tail unit)
Xian Aircraft Company: construction of the wings and fuselage

The Shanghai Aircraft Research Institute and the Xian Aircraft Design and Research Institute, which are also members of the consortium, are responsible for the design.

Variants

ARJ21-700 – baseline model which will have a capacity of 70 to 95 passengers.

ARJ21-900 – stretched fuselage model based on the ARJ-700, which will have a capacity of 95 to 105 passengers.

ARJ21F – dedicated freighter version of the ARJ21-700. It will have a capacity of 5 LD7 containers or PIP pallets, with a maximum payload of 10,150 kg.

ARJ21B – business jet version of the ARJ21-700. A typical configuration would cater for 20 passengers.

General characteristics

Capacity: 78-85 passengers
First class: 38 in seat pitch with 2+2 seating arrangement
Economy class: 32 in seat pitch with 3+2 seating arrangement
Payload: 16.799 m³ (593.25 ft³)
Cabin length: 18.426 m (60 ft 5.43 in)
Length: 33.46 m (109 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 27.29 m (89 ft 7 in)
Height: 8.44 m (27 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 79.86m² (859.61ft²)
Empty weight: 24.955kg (55,016lb)
Loaded weight: kg (lb)
Max takeoff weight: 40,500 kg (89,300 lb)
Fuel tank capacity: 10,386 kg (22,897 lb)
Powerplant: 2× General Electric CF34-10A turbofans, 68.20 kN (15,332 lbf) each

Performance

Cruise speed: 0.78 Mach (829 km/h, 515 mph)
Range: 3,700km (2,000nm)
Standard: 1,200 nmi (2,200 km) (1,400 mi, 2,200 km)
Extended: 2,000 nmi (2,300 mi, 3,700 km))
Service ceiling 11,900 m (39,042 ft)
Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)