Industry expert says more R&D needed for high-tech plane parts

The government should allocate more support to the research and development of advanced aviation materials and techniques to improve the competitiveness and capabilities of domestically manufactured jetliners, an industry insider said.

Wang Wei, a senior technician working on the domestic jetliner program and a national legislator, told China Daily that Chinese engineers used composite materials to make some parts of the airframe for the two C919 passenger aircraft prototypes that are engaged in flight and ground testing in Shanghai.

"Around 12 percent of these prototypes' structures were made with composite materials. It's my understanding that Commercial Aircraft Corp of China plans to use composite materials to build as much as 40 to 50 percent of the airframe of the C919's later variants," he said on the sidelines of the 13th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, which concluded this week.