Mitsubishi to test demand for new jet
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will move closer to its goal of launching the first passenger jet built in Japan when it shows off a replica of the cabin at the Paris Air Show next week.
By Agencies |
TOKYO: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will move closer to its goal of launching the first passenger jet built in Japan when it shows off a replica of the cabin at the Paris Air Show next week.
The full-size mock-up will be used to assess demand for the small-size passenger aircraft before the Japanese industrial giant decides whether to turn the project into a full commercial venture, a company official said Wednesday.
The jet, which would seat 70 to 90 people, is being developed under a project of the government's New Energy and Industrial Development Organization. "The Mitsubishi Regional Jet would be the first Japanese jet," the official said.
Japan has in the past developed a turboprop plane, the YS-11, the only Japanese airliner built since World War II. Production ceased in 1974. The Mitsubishi plane would consume 20 per cent less fuel than existing jets of similar size, the official said.
If the project goes ahead, Mitsubishi plans to procure engines from either General Electric, Rolls Royce, or Pratt and Whitney, he said. The aircraft will be 35.8 meters (117.5 feet) long, 10.0 meters (32.8 feet) high and with a wingspan of 30.9 meters (101.4 feet).
Mitsubishi aims to reduce the plane's negative environmental impacts and increase seating comfort by using new design methods and materials, while also using technologies to reduce fuel consumption and operating costs. The company will spend another year to decide whether to commercialise the plane.
If it decides to proceed, the airliner might fly commercially by 2012, the official said. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries already has some experience in the aerospace industry, manufacturing wings for Boeing's next-generation 7E7 Dreamliner jet as well as its involvement in satellite launch vehicles and rocket engines.
Honda Motor is also developing a light business jet and aims to begin production somewhere in the United States in 2010 through a joint venture with US-based Piper Aircraft.
The full-size mock-up will be used to assess demand for the small-size passenger aircraft before the Japanese industrial giant decides whether to turn the project into a full commercial venture, a company official said Wednesday.
The jet, which would seat 70 to 90 people, is being developed under a project of the government's New Energy and Industrial Development Organization. "The Mitsubishi Regional Jet would be the first Japanese jet," the official said.
Japan has in the past developed a turboprop plane, the YS-11, the only Japanese airliner built since World War II. Production ceased in 1974. The Mitsubishi plane would consume 20 per cent less fuel than existing jets of similar size, the official said.
If the project goes ahead, Mitsubishi plans to procure engines from either General Electric, Rolls Royce, or Pratt and Whitney, he said. The aircraft will be 35.8 meters (117.5 feet) long, 10.0 meters (32.8 feet) high and with a wingspan of 30.9 meters (101.4 feet).
Mitsubishi aims to reduce the plane's negative environmental impacts and increase seating comfort by using new design methods and materials, while also using technologies to reduce fuel consumption and operating costs. The company will spend another year to decide whether to commercialise the plane.
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If it decides to proceed, the airliner might fly commercially by 2012, the official said. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries already has some experience in the aerospace industry, manufacturing wings for Boeing's next-generation 7E7 Dreamliner jet as well as its involvement in satellite launch vehicles and rocket engines.
Honda Motor is also developing a light business jet and aims to begin production somewhere in the United States in 2010 through a joint venture with US-based Piper Aircraft.
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