china southern airlines' first c919 flew in for its maiden training. why was dongying airport chosen for the test flight of the domestically-made large aircraft?
2024-09-24
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according to xinhua news agency, china southern airlines' first domestically-produced c919 large aircraft (number b-919j) carried out its first flight training at shandong dongying airport on september 12. the two-day flight training will help china southern airlines' first batch of c919 pilots accumulate experience and prepare for the official commercial operation of china southern airlines' first c919 aircraft.
dongying airport was selected by china southern airlines as the first training base for the first c919, which shows that china southern airlines recognizes dongying airport's experience and capabilities in the field of test flight support for domestic large aircraft.
in fact, as early as the stage of research, development and flight testing of domestic large aircraft, shandong has forged an "indissoluble bond" with c919. not only are important components such as radomes developed and manufactured in shandong, but comac's only self-owned flight test base outside of shanghai is also located in dongying.
according to the relevant person in charge of dongying airport of shandong airport management group, if the manufacturing plant is the "birthing bed" and "cradle" of the aircraft, then the flight test base is its "kindergarten".
so, why dongying airport?
first, from the perspective of infrastructure, dongying airport has good infrastructure, including a long runway and complete supporting facilities. at present, the runway of dongying airport has been extended to 3,600 meters, which can effectively guarantee the test flight of large passenger aircraft such as c919.
in addition, dongying has also built a 20-square-kilometer airport industrial park, striving to create a special park that integrates on-site flight tests, ground verification and training, test modification, scientific research and development, and material and parts manufacturing, further consolidating the important position of dongying airport as a flight test base.
secondly, from a geographical point of view, dongying is located in the east china region, only about 2 hours away from jinan and qingdao, 3.5 hours and 2.5 hours away from beijing and tianjin respectively, and 120 nautical miles away from dalian by sea. it has convenient transportation, which is conducive to the flow of personnel and materials and more convenient for logistics work.
thirdly, from the perspective of meteorological conditions, dongying's weather is relatively stable, with inclement weather not occurring frequently. its flying days exceed 300 days a year, making it suitable for test flight arrangements, which is difficult to match with airports in the south and northwest.
finally, from the perspective of airspace conditions, dongying airport is located in the alluvial plain area at the mouth of the yellow river delta. it is flat and vast, far away from the city, surrounded by large swamps and saline-alkali land, lacks tall trees with deep roots, and has a wide field of vision. in addition, dongying airport is not a hub airport, and the surrounding airspace conditions are good. the test flight will not affect the normal operation of civil aviation flights on a large scale.
it is also reported that in order to meet the test flight needs of the c919 aircraft, comac proposed a "1+m+n" multi-airport, multi-regional coordinated flight test model. the dongying flight test base, as an important member of the "m" in the flight test airport group, is second only to the shanghai flight test main base and is also the second free flight test base of comac.
as a result, dongying airport has forged a deep "sky relationship" with domestic large aircraft, and has become one of the bases of the commercial aircraft corporation of china's civil aircraft test flight center, and it is also the first professional base in my country dedicated to civil aircraft test flight. the base is mainly responsible for the test flight missions of the "three musketeers" of china commercial aircraft corporation's civil aircraft - the regional jet arj21, the single-aisle mainline aircraft c919, and the future twin-aisle intercontinental wide-body aircraft c929, as well as the training of test pilots and test engineers, the maintenance of flight training technology, and subsequent daily maintenance flight work. among them, the test flight of the c919 aircraft includes not only the basic performance test of the aircraft, but also flight tests under various extreme conditions to ensure that the aircraft can fly safely and stably after it is put into operation.
source: xinhuanet, dongying daily, the paper, etc.
(mass news reporter wu zongyi)
