Wang Daheng believes that building jumbo jets will not only meet commercial market demands but also the demand of national security. Liu said the three key conditions for building jumbo jets include experience accumulation, economic clout and technical know-how and China has met all of the three conditions.

“More importantly, China has trained a lot of technicians in developing Y-10 and in the Sino-U.S. joint aircraft designing program in the 1990s,” said Wang Chaoping.

Preparation work

According to Xu Guanhua, former Minister of Science and Technology, the project has established a permanent office. The State Council has enacted the guideline of developing civil and military models at the same time. To be exact, jumbo air freighters and airliners will be developed to meet China’s demand for large military air freighters, civil air freighters and civil airliners. The guideline also mentions the need to affiliate industries to meet the multi-dimensional requirements of jumbo aircraft development.

According to a report in Caijing, a Beijing-based business magazine, the starting research capital for the jumbo aircraft project falls between 50 billion to 60 billion yuan, which will be guaranteed by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Cheng Bushi was the deputy chief designer of Y-10, China’s first attempt to build a jumbo jet. He believes the main problem in reviving the jumbo aircraft program is how to adapt to the new market landscape and environment.

Wang Chaoping believes the development of a jumbo airliner must closely follow market trends and a company of diversified ownership must be established to complete the project.

“The driving force must come from the market, which could generate support for research and development,” added Mei Yonghong, a senior official from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Liu believes that the engine is the heart of an aircraft, so China’s jumbo airplane must have a Chinese heart, which will rely on self-centered studies and international cooperation of all forms. He also thinks that legislation is needed to assure the success of China’s jumbo aircraft program. He suggests that the State Council should immediately draft a regulation on the development of civil jumbo airplanes.

A common concern about the project from the Chinese media is whether Chinese airline companies will choose to purchase the final product. Some start-up airlines in China have expressed reluctance to do so. Hu Wenbin is the public relations manager of Sichuan-based private airline United Eagle Airlines. He said the company’s major concerns about future China-made jumbo aircraft would be safety and fuel efficiency.

Cui Degang, a senior official with the research and development department of China Aviation Industry Corp. II, is also pessimistic about China’s jumbo aircraft project. His reasoning is that the homegrown aviation industry has remained small and weak, lagging far behind the international level. In order to produce an internationally competitive jet, China still has to overcome a series of difficulties including breakthroughs in key technology and finding enough talent.