China’s C929 widebody lands partner to power next-gen flight mind

The maker of China’s expanding family of civilian aircraft has announced new orders for a regional jet and secured a crucial “brain” for its ambitious C929 widebody jet, coinciding with the Singapore Airshow.The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) said on Tuesday that it signed a letter of intent for cooperation with Aviage Systems for the C929’s core avionics processing system, according to a Yicai news report.Avionics refer to an aircraft’s electronic systems, including communications, navigation, flight control and monitoring – considered the brains of an aircraft.Aviage Systems is a 50-50 joint venture between GE Aerospace and the Beijing-based Aviation Industry Corporation of China conglomerate. Aviage already supplies avionics systems to Comac’s flagship C919 jets – a model expected to perform a flight demonstration later in the show, which started on Tuesday and runs through Sunday.China has accelerated development of the C929, a widebody jet comparable to the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. The C929 could eventually fly up to 440 people over a maximum range of 12,000km (7,456 miles), about the distance from Shanghai to New York.Such advancements aim to help the Shanghai-based Comac compete within and outside Chinese airspace against the established Airbus-Boeing duopoly, as the two manufacturers have long had near-exclusive control over the global market for large commercial aircraft.On Tuesday, Comac said it had “further deepened” exchanges with clients at the air show, which is held every two years.