MRJ Testing Moves Along

摘要

Mitsubishi Aircraft plans to begin flight testing of its MRJ in the United States this summer. The announcement follows what the company describes as further "steady progress" in developing the new regional jet, which included the first flight of the second MRJ flight test aircraft (FTA 2), JA22MJ (c 10002), from Nagoya on May 31. The first MRJ flight test aircraft (FTA 1), JA21MJ (c 10001), which is testing the flight envelope, is set to move from Mitsubishi's Nagoya centre on Honshu to Grant County International Airport at Moses Lake in Washington. Mitsubishi said in a programme update: "We continue to conduct tests in Japan to get the aircraft ready to leave for Washington State in the US at end-July at earliest, where full-scale flight tests are scheduled to take place." It is from Moses Lake that Mitsubishi will undertake the majority of the MRJ's flight testing, basing out of a purpose-built 65,000ft~2 (6,038m~2) facility. JA22MJ, which is being used for performance testing, will follow at a later date.