China's MA700 regional plane to highlight performance in short, medium haul

BEIJING -- China's MA700 regional turboprop aircraft will highlight the performance in the short- and medium-haul market, with an aim to serve the country's booming air traffic demand, according to its developer Tuesday.

The MA700 aircraft will provide optimized solutions for airline operators in markets with various and complicated operating environments, said the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

The MA700 project has entered the final assembly phase. Assembly work for both the maiden flight and static tests are underway.

The first MA700 aircraft is scheduled to roll off the production line in mid-2020, and the maiden flight is expected to take place within the year.

The 70-seat new turboprop aircraft model adopts an efficient aerodynamic design. It will be installed with the PW150C turboprop engine, integrated avionics system and fly-by-wire flight control system.

The efficient aerodynamic design and new propulsion system enable the MA700 aircraft to balance between speed and efficiency, according to the AVIC.

The MA700 is the third member of China's domestically-developed "Modern Ark" regional turboprop airplane family, which is developed by AVIC XAC Commercial Aircraft Co Ltd in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The "Modern Ark" family now has two members of the MA60 and MA600. To date, a total of 109 MA60 and MA600 airplanes have been delivered to customers.