China-Russia aircraft project begins joint concept definition of body, tail

A China-Russia wide-body aircraft development project has kicked off the joint concept definition phase for the body and tail of the plane.

A team of Chinese and Russian engineers is currently drafting the general technical proposal for the CR929, a 280-seat jet with a range of 12,000 kilometers, said Guo Bozhi, general manager of China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Co Ltd.

"The CR929 will make extensive use of composites in its structure," said Guo, who is also the deputy general manager of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.

Shanghai-based CRAIC is a joint venture of COMAC and its Russian partner United Aircraft Corp.

It was set up in May 2017 to jointly develop the CR929.