Honeywell Celebrates Delivery of First ARJ21 Aircraft to Chengdu Airlines

Honeywell Aerospace celebrates with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.(COMAC) today on the delivery of the first ARJ21-700 aircraft to Chengdu Airlines. The ARJ21 is China's first civil, turbofan regional jet manufactured by COMAC and capable of flying internationally, marking an important milestone for China's aviation manufacturing industry.

Honeywell is a major international supplier for Chengdu Airlines and COMAC and was chosen to jointly develop, produce and support the primary flight control system for the ARJ21 airliner.

Jeff Rollins, Vice President Original Equipment Manufacturers, Air Transport and Regional, was among several members of the Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific team who attended the formal delivery ceremony. Miao Wei, minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Yang Xiong, mayor of Shanghai, Li Jian, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Jin Zhuanglong, chairman and CPC secretary of COMAC, and thousands of guests and media participated in the ceremony.

The ARJ21 was indigenously designed and manufactured in China mainly to serve hub-spoke routes, such as from central cities to neighboring medium and small cities. Chengdu Airlines plans to put the ARJ21-700 into commercial operation in early 2016 to fly popular routes from Chengdu to Beijing and Shanghai. COMAC has already received over 300 orders for the ARJ21, primarily from Chinese airlines.

The Honeywell primary flight control system will help reduce pilot workload and maintain flight safety. It acts as the pilot's primary interface for flight operation, with an advanced architecture and capabilities. The system features three-axis fly-by-wire controls for ailerons, spoilers, elevators and rudder. It requires no mechanical backup system, resulting in reduced operating costs from decreased overall aircraft weight and less scheduled and unscheduled maintenance downtime.

Honeywell has worked closely with COMAC on the ARJ21 since program launch and will support COMAC to fulfill all certification and delivery dates. The ARJ21-700 advanced regional jet received its type certification from the CAAC on Dec. 30, 2014.

Honeywell and COMAC are also collaborating on their larger C919 airliner, in which Honeywell will provide four major systems. Honeywell has a long term commitment to working with COMAC and its other Chinese partners to advance China's aerospace industry.