The Mitsubishi SpaceJet (, originally named ''Mitsubishi Regional Jet'') is a
regional jet
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of ...
developed by Japanese company
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation
, abbreviated MITAC, is a Japanese company that develops, produces, sells and supports the Mitsubishi SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) passenger airliners. The manufacturing of the aircraft is carried out by parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI ...
(MAC), a
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
(MHI) subsidiary. The
airframe is made mainly in
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
with a
carbon fibre composite
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
s empennage. The low-wing twinjet is powered by underwing
Pratt & Whitney PW1000G
The Pratt & Whitney PW1000G, also called the Geared Turbofan (GTF), is a high-bypass geared turbofan engine family produced by Pratt & Whitney.
After many demonstrators, the program was launched with the Mitsubishi MRJ's PW1200G in March 2008 ...
s, and was the first program to select the geared turbofan. The M90 (originally named MRJ90) should seat 86 to 96, while the smaller MRJ70 was to accommodate 70 to 80 passengers. The MRJ70 was replaced by the SpaceJet M100, stretched by 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) to better meet US
scope clause
A scope clause is part of a contract between a major airline and the trade union of its pilots that limit the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by the airline's regional airline affiliate. The goal is to protect the union pilots' job ...
s at 76 seats with premium seating. It is comparable with the
Embraer E-Jet E2
The Embraer E-Jet E2 family are medium- range jet airliners developed by Embraer, succeeding the original E-Jet. The program was launched at the Paris Air Show in 2013. The first variant, the E190-E2, took its first flight on 23 May 2016 and wa ...
.
MHI first announced the concept in June 2007, then targeting
certification for 2012, as the first
Japanese airliner since the 1962
NAMC YS-11
The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...
. After a delayed development, the
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
of the MRJ90 took place on 11 November 2015. In June 2019, Mitsubishi rebranded the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ, ja, 三菱リージョナルジェット, links=no) program as the SpaceJet.
As
flight testing
Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
took longer than expected, the scheduled entry into service was further pushed back until development was first paused amid the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers.
Significant reductions in passenger numbers have resulted in flights being cancelled or planes ...
[ and subsequently suspended indefinitely.][
]
Development
Launch
In 2003 the Japanese government started a five-year, ¥50 billion ($420 million) research program to study an indigenous regional jet
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of ...
for 30 to 90 passengers, led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
(MHI).
In 2004 MHI was focused on a 2m high by 2.8m-wide, four-seat-abreast cabin, seating 30 to 50 passengers, and was hoping to fly a prototype in 2007 and deliver the first aircraft in 2010.
In 2005 it switched to a larger 70-90 seat category.
MHI launched its concept at the 47th Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
in June 2007, showing a full-scale cabin mock-up and aiming to be the first regional jet all-composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
airframe, with certification targeted for 2012.
Mitsubishi formally offered the MRJ to airlines in October 2007 - the first Japanese airliner since the NAMC YS-11
The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...
production stopped in 1974 - after being the first airframer to select the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G
The Pratt & Whitney PW1000G, also called the Geared Turbofan (GTF), is a high-bypass geared turbofan engine family produced by Pratt & Whitney.
After many demonstrators, the program was launched with the Mitsubishi MRJ's PW1200G in March 2008 ...
geared turbofan offering a 12% reduction in thrust specific fuel consumption
Thrust-specific fuel consumption (TSFC) is the fuel efficiency of an engine design with respect to thrust output. TSFC may also be thought of as fuel consumption (grams/second) per unit of thrust (newtons, or N), hence ''thrust-specific''. This fi ...
, rated at thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...
on the 70- to 80-seat MRJ70 and 17,000 lb thrust (75.7 kN) on the 86- to 96-seat MRJ90, projecting a ¥150 billion ($1.275 billion) development cost.
The NAMC YS-11 of the 1960s was produced at a loss.
MHI officially launched the Mitsubishi Regional Jet Program on March 28, 2008, with an order for 25 aircraft (15 firm, 10 optional) from All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
, targeting a 2013 introduction.
Mitsubishi is targeting a 20% share of 5,000 sales forecast in the 70-90-seat bracket over 20 years.
Flight testing was scheduled for late 2011 and the $1.9-billion program necessitates 300-400 sales to recoup its cost.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation
, abbreviated MITAC, is a Japanese company that develops, produces, sells and supports the Mitsubishi SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) passenger airliners. The manufacturing of the aircraft is carried out by parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI ...
(MAC) is a partnership between majority owner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
and minority owner Toyota Motor Corporation
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
with design assistance from Subaru Corporation
is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...
, itself already an aerospace manufacturer.
Design
In September 2009, Mitsubishi unveiled extensive design changes, using aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
instead of carbon fibre composite
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
s for the aircraft's wings and wingbox
The wingbox of a fixed-wing aircraft refers to the primary load-carrying structure of the wing, which forms the structural centre of the wings and also the attachment point for other wing components such as leading edge flaps, trailing edge flaps ...
; the remaining composite parts will make up 10-15% of the airframe: the empennage.[
The cabin height is increased by to and the fuselage height is increased to , giving a rounder cabin, wider and higher than its competition.][
The program was delayed six months with final design frozen in mid-2010, first flight delayed to the second quarter of 2012 and deliveries to early 2014.]
Maintenance
Maintenance may refer to:
Biological science
* Maintenance of an organism
* Maintenance respiration
Non-technical maintenance
* Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English
* Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doct ...
intervals are 750 flight hours per A Check and 7,500 flight hours per C check.
A 100-seat stretched MRJ100 was studied in March 2011. it was still under evaluation.
As the MRJ90 MTOW
The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous ...
of 39.6 t is above the US regional carriers scope clause
A scope clause is part of a contract between a major airline and the trade union of its pilots that limit the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by the airline's regional airline affiliate. The goal is to protect the union pilots' job ...
of 39 t, SkyWest and Trans States Holdings could convert their MRJ90 orders for 100 and 50, respectively, to the 1.4 m shorter MRJ70: 67% of the 223 firm MRJ90 orders.
But the MRJ70 seats only 69 in two classes and attain the 76 seats scope close limit only in all-economy: Mitsubishi wants to increase seating within its fuselage to compete with the currently compliant Embraer E-175
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...
and Bombardier CRJ900
The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair) between 1999 and 2020. Their design was derived from t ...
.[
Mitsubishi is working on a three-class, 76-seat design, with more premium seating than the MRJ70 but still within the scope-clause MTOW, to be unveiled at the June 2019 ]Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
.
The reworked MRJ70 will be called the Space Jet M100, its type certificate is expected in 2022 and Mitsubishi considers U.S. production. Program cost is expected to reach ¥800 billion by the 2020 debut of the SpaceJet M90.
Assembly
On 15 September 2010, the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation announced that it had entered the production drawing phase and was proceeding with the manufacturing process.
Assembly of the first aircraft began in April 2011 with construction of the emergency escape for the cockpit.
In April 2012, first flight was delayed to 2013.
In December 2012, the MRJ90s delivery was scheduled for 2017.[
]
A new production facility for the aircraft was built at Komaki Airport
, also known as Komaki Airport or Nagoya Airport, is an airport which lies within the local government areas of Toyoyama, Komaki, Kasugai and Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was once an international airport, but is now a domestic sec ...
in Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...
, Japan, on land purchased from the government at a total cost of 60 billion yen by 2013. The 2015 roll-out of the MRJ took place at Komaki, which had previously been the development site of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M w ...
fighter.
In early 2013, Pratt & Whitney delayed the PW1200G certification to the "latter half" of 2014, after the MRJ first flight scheduled for late 2013.
Mitsubishi announced in June 2013 that it would establish a quality control facility in Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
for the sourcing of MRJ components from the United States.
On 22 August 2013, Mitsubishi announced a third delay to the program, and that the first flight would take place in the second quarter of 2015 instead of end-2013, while the first delivery to launch customer ANA would take place in the second quarter of 2017 instead of 2015, due to parts delivery problems including Pratt & Whitney engines.
On 7 September 2013 were exhibited a prototype of the left wing and four aluminium sections : forward fuselage, front mid fuselage, aft mid fuselage and aft fuselage, to be assembled in October 2013.
Mitsubishi has hired foreign experts to help with relations with suppliers, ground tests, flight tests, and certification.
Pictures of the first fully assembled MRJ90 were available on 26 June 2014.
An official rollout occurred on 18 October 2014. MHI employs new production methods such as integral wing stringers, unusually tight tolerances, shot peening
Shot peening is a cold working process used to produce a compressive residual stress layer and modify the mechanical properties of metals and composites. It entails striking a surface with shot (round metallic, glass, or ceramic particles) with ...
of curved surfaces, and vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, intended to increase quality and thus reduce expensive fault correction to keep price competitive.
Testing
The maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...
of the MRJ90 took place on 11 November 2015. On 24 December, Mitsubishi announced a one-year delay for the first delivery of the MRJ, to mid-2018. The delay was attributed to insufficient wing strength and the redesign of the landing gear for better safety.
Much of the flight testing for the MRJ90 took place in Moses Lake, Washington
Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 as of the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant C ...
, at the Grant County International Airport
Grant County International Airport is a public use airport in the northwest United States, located northwest of the central business district of Moses Lake in Grant County, Washington. Formerly a military facility, the airport is owned by the ...
, due to the crowded airspace in Japan causing scheduling difficulties. Static strength tests were completed on November 1, 2016, and confirmed that the airframe could withstand 1.5 times the maximum load.
In January 2017, a further two-year delay was announced, pushing the expected first delivery to mid 2020. This resulted from moving the avionics bay and wiring looms and in March the flight certification program was extended from 2500 to 3000 flying hours. Four of the five delays were caused, at least partly, by failures to document work for certification or similar failures. As a result, development cost ballooned to 350 billion yen (US$3.17 billion) and the project might never be able to fully recover its costs. Mitsubishi originally planned to use five flight test
Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
aircraft and two ground test aircraft but one or two additional aircraft will also be needed following this introduction of a two-year delay to mid-2020.[
On 26 April 2017, the fifth MRJ was complete in ANA livery, lacking only engines and nose cone, aircraft number six and seven had their fuselage and wings joined without the tails, and the eighth, the first MRJ70, was at the ]assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in se ...
start; Mitsubishi can manufacture 12 aircraft concurrently: in station one are joined fuselage sections, in station two the landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
, wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
s and horizontal stabiliser
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...
s are attached, in section three the major components are assembled, in outfitting takes place in section four and ground tests in station five, then the completed aircraft moves to painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
.
Seattle engineering consultants Aerotec L.L.C. saw problems for avionics and its wiring certification: damage could cause single point of failure, due to fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
, water flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
from a ruptured waterline, or from part penetration of an engine explosion. This necessitated hardware changes in the bays, now frozen, but the electrical wiring interconnection system An electrical wiring interconnect system (EWIS) is the wiring system and components (such as bundle clamps, wire splices, etc.) for a complex system. The term originated in the aviation industry but was originally designated as Electrical Intercon ...
had to be reconfigured with hired specialist Latecoere. In June 2017, 940 hours of flight tests have been done and the four prototypes have an above 98% availability
In reliability engineering, the term availability has the following meanings:
* The degree to which a system, subsystem or equipment is in a specified operable and committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at ...
. On 21 August, FTA-2 experienced a flameout
In aviation, a flameout (or flame-out) is the run-down of a jet engine or other turbine engine due to the extinction of the flame in its combustor. The loss of flame can have a variety of causes, such as fuel starvation, excessive altitude, com ...
west of Portland International
Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city l ...
where it landed; partial damage was confirmed in the PW1200G and the test fleet was grounded until the cause is known. Flight testing resumed on 6 September.
By December 2017, the MRJ test campaign was half done with 1,500 flight hours and less than 1% cancelled due to technical issues. Their rate is accelerating with tests set up before the January 2017 avionics bay redesign: special runway tests, extreme environment and high altitude tests, to be completed in 2018. An additional flight test aircraft incorporating the redesign will join the campaign in the second half of 2018, focused on wiring tests like lightning and high-intensity radio-frequency. Two additional aircraft (10007 and 10010), recently painted white and under structural assembly in December, will be completed and will join the flight test campaign towards the end of 2018. At the end of the year, the mid-2020 deadline seemed difficult to achieve.
In January 2018, the avionics bay rearrangement and rerouted wiring were almost complete to be adequate for extreme events such as bomb explosions or water ingress underfloor. Upgrades and ground tests were performed on four flight test aircraft from February to March at Moses Lake, preceding flight testing for natural icing, avionics
Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
and autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
, performance, stability and control.
In April 2018, the test fleet had logged 1,900 flight hours.
The flight-test fleet attained 2,000 hours in May 2018, and as most of the flight envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The t ...
was explored, the next trimester shifted to runway performance: takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.
For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a ...
, landing
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
and minimum control speeds
The minimum control speed (VMC) of a multi-engine aircraft (specifically an airplane) is a V-speed that specifies the calibrated airspeed below which directional or lateral control of the aircraft can no longer be maintained, after the failure of ...
. The MRJ70 test aircraft (number 8 and 9) were in final assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
as of May for expected delivery by the end of 2021, one year after the MRJ90 introduction.
An MRJ in All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
livery was exhibited at the July Farnborough Airshow
The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...
, alongside appearances by the similar Embraer 190 E2 and larger Airbus A220
The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership. It was originally designed by Bombardier and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries.
The program was launched on 13 July ...
.
In October 2018, Bombardier sued Mitsubishi in Seattle, alleging that its ex-employees stole trade secret
Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily ...
s to help for US certification. By then, the four MRJ90 prototypes had clocked 2,400 hours, targeting certification in late 2019 or early 2020 and first delivery in mid-2020, while the smaller MRJ70 should be introduced in 2022. After the MRJ program lost ¥47.2 billion for six months to 30 September 2018 on top of its ¥110 billion deficit, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries injected ¥220bn ($1.94 billion) in Mitsubishi Aircraft, raising its stake from 64% to 86.7% and capital from ¥100 billion to ¥270 billion. Mitsubishi wants to dismiss the Bombardier allegations and should be heard in Seattle's US District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
on 11 January 2019. By December 2018, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau
The is the civil aviation authority of Japan and a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Its head office is in the MLIT building in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is the Japanese equivalent of the U.S. ...
delivered its type inspection authorisation, allowing to debut certification flight testing in early 2019 with the four MRJ90 in Moses Lake.
In April 2019, a federal judge dismissed Bombardier's claims against Mitsubishi, a strong case but falling short as there was no proof that Mitsubishi knew about those secrets. By then, the program had completed 2,600 flight hours and was undergoing crosswind
A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of travel. This affects the aerodynamics of many forms of transport. Moving non-parallel to the wind's direction creates a crosswind component on the object and th ...
and climate testing, while two more MRJ90s should join this summer.
On 24 June 2019, Bombardier and Mitsubishi announced that Mitsubishi would purchase the CRJ Programme from Bombardier for US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
550 million and assume US$200 million in liabilities. With the deal, Mitsubishi will acquire the maintenance, support, refurbishment, marketing, and sales activities for the CRJ Series aircraft, including the support network locations in Montréal, Québec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, and Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, its service centres located in Bridgeport, West Virginia
Bridgeport is a city in eastern Harrison County, West Virginia, Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,325 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Clarksburg micropolitan area.
The town of Bridgeport had its beginning i ...
, and Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, and the type certificates.
Rename
In June 2019, Mitsubishi rebranded the MRJ program as the SpaceJet. The MRJ90 was renamed as the SpaceJet M90 and a 76-seat variant specially targeted to meet US scope clause
A scope clause is part of a contract between a major airline and the trade union of its pilots that limit the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by the airline's regional airline affiliate. The goal is to protect the union pilots' job ...
s, to be known as the SpaceJet M100, was announced. This version would have been longer than the abandoned MRJ70 but shorter than the M90.
The E175-E2 is heavier than the current, scope-compliant E175, with its larger GTF engines, and being longer (by one frame) and wider (by ): when its cabin is full, it can only fill of fuel within the MTOW limit, limiting its range to a short .
Compared to the E175-E2, the M100 cabin is a tighter fit around its 76 seats, and its wing is lighter, having less span and with smaller winglets than the MRJ90, giving it 50% more fuel than the E175-E2 at the MTOW limit for a range with 76 passengers. Without the scope clause limit, a MTOW M100 could fly with 84 passengers.
The M100 redesign pushed back its projected service entry to 2023, one year later than the MRJ70, while the M90 would evolve into the M200.
The longer fuselage can seat 88 in single-class, and at , the wingspan is shorter with the modified canted wingtip.
The shorter span will allow operating at Colorado's Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, a popular tourist destination, the only in-production jet with the capability after the CRJ700 production ends.
The M90 in its final configuration first flew on 18 March 2020, before joining the rest of the test fleet in Moses Lake.
Suspension and future
In May 2020, Mitsubishi halved the budget of the SpaceJet program for the year ending 31 March 2021. It confirmed its commitment to the baseline M90 version but is to reconsider the M100 in the light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry. All work on the SpaceJet outside Japan, including flight testing of the M90 at Moses Lake, was repatriated to the company's headquarters in Nagoya. In October 2020, Mitsubishi announced a further budget reduction and a "temporary pause" to most SpaceJet activities other than type certification documentation while it assesses a "possible program restart".
However, Mitsubishi Aircraft slashed 95% of its employees from April 2021, leaving 150 employees, while the SpaceJet program budget was cut by half by 2020, from Y370 billion for FY2018, and will be down to only Y20 billion ($194 million) from fiscal year 2021.
In October 2021, the manufacturer confirmed to the Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
that it does not plan to restart development and production of the SpaceJet in the foreseeable future.[aero.de]
(German) 27 October 2021
On 17 April 2022, the third MRJ prototype built, formerly registered as JA23MJ, was dismantled
Dismantled (born Gary Zon) is an electronic music artist from the United States.
History
Dismantled is the product of an experiment that began in late 2000 by Gary Zon, who was attempting to create something similar to Front Line Assembly's s ...
. The remaining flight test aircraft have had their engines removed, and are in storage at Moses Lake, Washington.
Specifications
Customers
Order history
In 2008, All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
was the first customer, with an order for 15 MRJ 90s and an option for 10 more.
In March 2008, and again in October 2008, ''Sankei Shimbun'' and ''Fuji Sankei Business I'' reported that the government of Japan
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary stat ...
would buy ten MRJs to serve as short-haul and small-field VIP transports, supplementing the existing Japanese Air Force One
The Japanese Air Force One and Japanese Air Force Two
are the radio callsigns of the two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft used by the government of Japan for overseas travel by the Emperor, Prime Minister and other high-ranking officials. Each aircraft ...
Boeing 747 aircraft. The government reportedly was still considering this option as of July 2013, with MRJs possibly supplementing the then new Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...
on domestic and short-haul government flights.
At the July 2012 Farnborough Airshow
The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...
, SkyWest agreed to buy 100 MRJ90s, to be delivered between 2017 and 2020. The deal is worth $4.2bn at list prices. During the 2013 Regional Airlines Association conference, held in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, Canada, Mitsubishi announced that ANI Group Holdings, which firmed a MoU for 5 MRJ aircraft in June 2011, cancelled the deal, without giving further details.
On 20 July 2016, one of the officials at Iran's ministry of transportation announced Iran is buying 25 ATR airplanes for Iran Aseman Airlines and for further purchases Mitsubishi has shown interest in offering 20 MRJ planes.
On 21 May 2017, Iran cancelled its plans to buy Mitsubishi's Regional Jet (MRJ) from the Japanese company. Inability to set a delivery timeline for ordered aircraft and lack of testing were cited as their main reasons.
The MRJ's future was uncertain after six years of delays, with 70% of the backlog shared by two US regional carriers bound by scope clause
A scope clause is part of a contract between a major airline and the trade union of its pilots that limit the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by the airline's regional airline affiliate. The goal is to protect the union pilots' job ...
s: the MRJ90 is too heavy and the smaller MRJ70 accommodates seven fewer seats than the 76 permitted. Following five postponements, and having lost ten percent of the MRJ's order book following the acquisition of Eastern Air Lines by Swift Air
iAero Airways, previously Swift Air, is an American airline based in Miami, Florida, United States. It operates charter flights for nationally known fractional aircraft operators, financial institutions, construction, transportation, many colle ...
(bought existing Eastern assets only), Mitsubishi Aircraft
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
closed its books at the end of March 2018 with a negative net worth of $979 million.[ By December 2018, the MRJ90 had 213 firm orders plus 194 commitments.][ During 2019, some of these orders were subsequently cancelled or converted to the new M100 variant, which had 115 commitments from US operators as of 31 October 2019.]
On 19 June 2019, Mitsubishi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an unnamed American customer for 15 of the new 76-seat SpaceJet M100 variant, to be delivered from 2024.
On 5 September 2019, US regional carrier Mesa Airlines
Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air ...
signed a Memorandum of Understanding for up to 100 SpaceJet M100s, 50 of which are targeted as firm orders and 50 as purchase rights. Deliveries would begin in 2024.
On 31 October 2019, Trans State Holdings, Inc. cancelled its order for 100 MRJ90s (50 firm, 50 optional) because the aircraft does not comply with US airlines' scope clauses.
Orders prior to suspension of development
Cancelled orders
See also
References
External links
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{{Mitsubishi aircraft
Regional Jet
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of ...
Toyota
Twinjets
2010s Japanese airliners
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2015