The Xian MA700 (MA for 新舟, "Modern Ark") is a twin-engine, medium-range

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

currently under development by

Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, also known as Xi'an Aircraft Company Limited (XAC), is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer and developer of large and medium-sized airplanes. It is based in Yanliang District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, adjac ...

of the

Aviation Industry Corporation of China Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

(AVIC).

Development

When the aircraft was first announced in 2007, it was presented as a 70-seat aircraft. However, when a model of the aircraft was shown at the 2008

Zhuhai Airshow China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () or Zhuhai Airshow (), is the largest airshow and aerospace trade expo in China. It has been held in even years in Zhuhai, Guangdong since 1996. Hist ...

, it was touted as capable of offering about 80 seats in 4-abreast configuration. Preliminary design was reviewed in January 2017, before detailed design.

Okay Airways Okay Airways () is an airline headquartered in Daxing District, Beijing, People's Republic of China. It operates passenger flight services and dedicated cargo services. Its main hubs are Tianjin Binhai International Airport and Xi'an Xianyang Inter ...

and

Joy Air Joy Air () is a Chinese airline launched jointly by China Eastern Airlines and AVIC I on March 29, 2008 based at Xi'an. The airline started testing service in June 2009, and commenced passenger service at the end of 2009. On December 14, 2020, Ha ...

were announced as launch customers for the aircraft and to be involved with its development, which had been due to make its maiden flight in November 2019. By late 2017 there were 185 orders for the 86-seat aircraft with purchase agreements with 11 customers including Joy Air, Okay Airways and

Cambodia Bayon Airlines Cambodia Bayon Airlines ( km, អាកាសចរណ៍ កម្ពុជា បាយ័ន/បាយ័នអ៊ែរឡាញ) was an airline based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Its main hub was at Phnom Penh International Airport. The airlin ...

. The first prototype had been due to be assembled in 2017, with a maiden flight in 2019 and certification scheduled for 2021. AVIC plans to apply for airworthiness certification with the United States' Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency so the plane can enter the Western market. Long-lead items like flap and cargo door structures started to be built from December 2017. In December 2017, Dowty Propellers was selected for a R408 propeller derivative. Manufacturing of its flaps and cargo door had begun in

Xian Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...

and

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

, respectively. In January 2018, AVIC said structural and strength tests allowed to release

wing flap A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stalling speed of an aircraft wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landing ...

s and forward

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

technical specifications.

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 alwa ...

is targeted for November 2019, and Chinese certification by 2021 before introduction. The first was to be rolled out around the middle of 2019 and first delivered in 2022. While detailed design was to be completed by April 2018, the program slipped three years since its launch at the end of 2013, and Avic has not yet built a reputation for dependable products. Design of major assemblies like the

sections 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 ...

es was sent to factories in late May 2018, to be constructed by the end of the year. Structural design was finalized by June 2018 while 25-26 systems critical design reviews were completed. Others should be completed by August and systems should be delivered from October for integrated

system testing System testing is testing conducted on a complete integrated system to evaluate the system's compliance with its specified requirements. System testing takes, as its input, all of the integrated components that have passed integration testing. ...

Technical manual Technical communication is used to convey scientific, engineering, or other technical information. Individuals in a variety of contexts and with varied professional credentials engage in technical communication. Some individuals are designated as ...

s will be written in the second half of 2018. The first MA700 was to be rolled out in June 2019 before a few months of ground tests including

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

runs. The PW150C should get certification by 2019 end. Avic expects the

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

and

FAA 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 m ...

to validate the

CAAC The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible fo ...

certification, anticipated for 2021 after 24 months of flight testing. Avic sibling

Comac , type = State-owned limited company , industry = Aviation , founded = , founder = , location_city = Pudong, Shanghai , location_country = China , area_served = Worldwide , products = Commercial airliners , services = , key_people ...

needed six years for the

ARJ21 The Comac ARJ21 Xiangfeng () is a 78–90 seat regional jet manufactured by the Chinese state-owned aerospace company Comac. Development of the ARJ21 (Advanced Regional Jet) began in March 2002, the first prototype was rolled out on 21 Decem ...

and the

C919 The Comac C919 is a narrow-body airliner developed by Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac. The development program was launched in 2008. Production of the prototype began in December 2011, with the first prototype being ready on 2 November 201 ...

may need at least four years. In July, Avic selected

Rockwell Collins Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Comp ...

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

Meggitt Parker Meggitt (formerly Meggitt plc) is a British international company specialising in components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and selected energy markets. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the ...

and

Parker Hannifin Parker Hannifin Corporation, originally Parker Appliance Company, usually referred to as just Parker, is an American corporation specializing in motion and control technologies. Its corporate headquarters are in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, in Greater ...

as suppliers at the Farnborough Airshow. By then, the CAAC had completed its review of the structure digital model, as the first prototype's fin, doors, undercarriage and nacelles were to begin construction. The engine, avionics, propellers,

APU APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...

and electrical system should be reviewed before the end of 2018. Major assemblies should be sent for final assembly at Xian in the first half of 2019. Avic develops the MA700 mostly from its own resources. By December, the first centre wing box was completed for the static test aircraft towards a mid-2019 roll-out and 2022 service entry. By June 2019, large fuselage parts were finished while the wings debuted assembly, before main components delivery and final assembly by the end of the year and static testing. By July, the forward fuselage was completed after the main and nose fuselage sections. By then, the first roll-out slipped by three months to September. The nose, forward, and main fuselage sections were joined by 18 July. The fuselage was mated with the wings by the end of September. Xian Aircraft Company (Xi'an Yanliang) is facing a potentially insurmountable obstacle with the development of its new clean-sheet turboprop variant, the MA-700, after the Canadian government withheld an export licence for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150C powerplant, Flightglobal has reported. The Canadian engine manufacturer has confirmed that the export licence, for which it had applied in 2018, was denied in 2020 due to pressure from United States to hinder China's development.

Design

The MA700 is conventional configuration, with a straight, tapered wing mounted high on the mid-fuselage, two tractor engines and a

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...

. The tricycle main

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 ...

are carried on faired pods outside the pressure vessel. The 2008 model was equipped with 6-bladed slightly swept propellers and showed 28 passenger windows per side. Powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150C turboprops, the

fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...

aircraft will seat up to 86 passengers, will have a

maximum take-off weight 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 takeoff, take off, due to structural or other limits. The a ...

of and a range of up to . The MA700 is an all-new design, larger than its competitors with 78 seats at 79 cm (31 in) pitch compared to 74 in the

Q400 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

and 68 in the ATR 72, and stretch potential for 90. At launch, the program targeted an empty weight of , but since gross weight came 1 t (2,200 lb) heavier: range was reduced by for with a full payload, saving several hundred kilograms, and shortening the aircraft by 0.4 m (1.3 ft) also saved weight. Its cruise speed is faster than the originally expected and the power installed to achieve fast climbs should let it attain its maximum speed. When it make its first flight, a 50-seat version similar to an ATR 42 should be developed for better high-elevation performance. It would operate from 1,800 m (5,900 ft.) runways in high temperatures or snow, serving 95% of Chinese airports, excluding the highest in Tibet.

Orders and deliveries

As of June 2019, AVIC states 11 operators have ordered 285 aircraft.

Specifications (MA700)

References

External links