Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp confirmed that its MRJ regional jet's maiden flight will be delayed to the third quarter of 2015 from secon...
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp confirmed that its MRJ regional jet's maiden flight will be delayed to the third quarter of 2015 from second quarter.
The company says to fully incorporate the verification results of the various ground tests and related feedback into the first flight test aircraft, the first flight has to be scheduled for September or October.
The engine runs of the first prototype has begun in last January. Presently static strength testing and manufacture of the second and subsequent flight test aircraft are all proceeding smoothly.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp jointly released their latest status report on Friday, concerning progress in developing the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet).
Effective from April 1 MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft launched a new management structure to facilitate transition of the MRJ project from the development stage to the manufacturing phase, and under the new framework initiatives are moving forward towards more unified operations. Prior to inauguration of the new structure, in January Mitsubishi Aircraft relocated its complete Head Office functions to the Nagoya Airport Terminal Building (Toyoyama-cho, Aichi Prefecture) next to where the MRJ’s final assembly, ground testing and flight test are performed.
MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft will implement intensive flight test after the first flight and accelerate manufacture of the aircraft towards first delivery, as scheduled, during the second quarter of 2017.
MHI's Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works will integrally produce parts for wings, which will be brought to the Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works' Tobishima Plant (Ama District, Aichi Prefecture) for fabrication on dedicated assembly lines being newly constructed.
In tandem with these initiatives, a production collaboration association to produce aircraft parts will be established, and a cluster is in the process of being formed at the Matsusaka Plant in Mie Prefecture, to undertake integrated production of parts for commercial aircraft in a collaborative manner.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines, Ltd. in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, a group company of MHI, will perform final assembly of the MRJ's Pratt and Whitney PurePower PW1200 Geared Turbofan engines.
To control and manage the physical distribution of the vast number of items involved, a real-time network linking all production facilities in Japan and worldwide suppliers will be established.
The MRJ is a family of 70- to 90-seat next-generation regional jets which has won orders for 407 units, including 223 firm. The MRJ's rollout ceremony was held last October.
Earlier MRJ's maiden flight was first scheduled for 2013 third quarter and first delivery this year.
