Expert: It is unrealistic for every screw of C919 to be domestically produced
Release time：
2023-08-04
On November 2, the first domestically-made C919 large passenger aircraft developed by COMAC finally rolled off the production line. This is undoubtedly an exciting thing, but besides the excitement, we also heard various "different" voices, including voices of doubt, voices of dissatisfaction, and voices of worry.
On November 2, the first domestically-made C919 large passenger aircraft developed by COMAC finally rolled off the production line. This is undoubtedly an exciting thing, but besides the excitement, we also heard various "different" voices, including voices of doubt, voices of dissatisfaction, and voices of worry.
Question "domestic"? ——It is unrealistic for every screw to be made in China
The most typical voice of "doubt" is the question of the word "domestic" in the so-called domestic large aircraft. Some people say that the C919 is actually a product of international cooperation. Many of its core parts, including its engines, are products of cooperation with foreign countries. So can such a large aircraft be called domestically produced?
For doubts about the "domestic" of C919, we might as well compare it with the examples around us. For example, our chef has made a popular new dish, but not all the processes of this dish are completed by the chef. During its processing, there are those who are responsible for cutting and washing vegetables. And what the chef has to do is to cook a popular dish according to his method. Can it be said that this dish is not cooked by the chef?
In fact, the current R&D and production methods for commercial airliners all over the world are based on international cooperation. For projects such as commercial aircraft, international cooperation is like a chef cooking a famous dish. The core thing is the overall design. Whoever masters the overall design will master the final intellectual property rights of the aircraft and the entire core technology. In fact, there is no single type of large commercial aircraft, and every screw is produced by a country. For China, a country that has just embarked on this road of commercial aircraft research and development, it is obviously unrealistic to require every screw to be produced domestically. At the same time, this is not in line with the laws of business, because cooperation can minimize the technical risks and costs of the development of large passenger aircraft and optimize its performance.
The C919 research and development plan shows that as the aircraft continues to mature, its localization level will continue to increase, especially the engine. In fact, we also have a parallel R&D plan for the Yangtze River-1000 high-performance engine in China. Localization is a process, and this process may be relatively long.
So how to make our large aircraft be developed and produced as soon as possible, and go to the market to be accepted by more users? Obviously, cooperation is a convenient path and a shortcut.
Not satisfied with the "model"? ——"Children" can stand and walk before they can run
In addition to questioning, another different voice is a voice of "dissatisfaction". Some netizens said that the C919 can only be regarded as a medium-sized mainline airliner, and there is still a gap compared with large commercial airliners. For example, compared with the Boeing 787, it is obviously not in the same order of magnitude.
Just as localization is a process, it is also a process for us to embark on the road of research and development of large commercial airliners. Just like children, they can only stand and walk before they can run. It should be said that it is quite appropriate for the C919 to choose such a model, because the C919 has the widest range of users for mainline airliners. We have seen that the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 are the main commercial competitors of the C919. These two models can be said to be the two best-selling models in the world. In the domestic aviation market, models of this magnitude are also the models with the largest demand, so it should be more appropriate to choose the C919 as the breakthrough point for domestic aircraft R&D and production.
Worried about "in vain"? ——Facing up to difficulties, R&D and production at a high starting point
There is also a voice that is "worried". Some people worry that such a large aircraft requires a lot of investment in research and development, and there are also great risks. In particular, it will encounter many difficulties in obtaining international airworthiness permits in the future. Many difficulties have been encountered, so will such a large investment be in vain? Will such a large commercial aircraft development plan like ours lose market recognition and eventually become a commercial failure?
This kind of worry may exist in all aspects, but this kind of worry is unnecessary. In the process of China becoming a major aviation country, investment and risks must be faced. In fact, the investment of C919 is much smaller than that of other commercial aircraft research and development giants in the world. According to the German "Daily Mirror", the current investment of C919 is 8.3 billion U.S. dollars, while the Boeing 787 is 32 billion U.S. dollars, so so The big difference in investment shows that our C919 also maintains the consistent Chinese tradition - to get the maximum benefit with limited input. And this kind of investment control is the most conducive to cost control, and it also lays a low-cost foundation for its future success in the market.
At the same time, C919 also has advantages over its competitors in terms of technology. In the words of relevant experts, of course, this requires the support of some machine numbers. At the beginning, it was based on a higher technical starting point. So there can be "worry", but we can't stop taking the road of research and development of domestic commercial aircraft because of worry.
The future of C919: more applause for this newly born child
We can make a very direct comparison. For our fourth-generation fighter J-20, there are probably very few voices of doubt and worry, because everyone knows that the security of our country needs fourth-generation fighters like the J-20 to guarantee it. The future of the country not only requires national defense security, but also the development of the country's economy and technology. From this perspective, the significance of C919 is no less than that of J-20. It will bring us technological growth and gradually produce More high value-added products provide vitality for future economic development. It not only breaks the monopoly of foreign aviation in the market, but also provides its own products for the huge civil aviation market in the future, without being controlled by others. In addition, the military potential of commercial airliners is beyond doubt. In this sense, if we want the J-20, we also want the C919!
In addition, it has to be said that the significance of C919 to the world cannot be underestimated. If COMAC can rank alongside Boeing and Airbus in the future, then the competition in this market will be more intense. This kind of competition is a good thing for both airlines and passengers. After all, competition brings high benefits and low cost. Everyone gave a round of applause to the J-20, so we should give the same or even more applause to the C919 rolling off the assembly line. Because it is just a child that has just come out, it still has a long way to go in the future, but it has already come out after all, and we have already embarked on the road to become an aviation power!
