Mitsubishi Regional Jet

Mitsubishi Regional Jet
MRJ70/MRJ90
First MRJ prototype at Nagoya Airport
Role Twin-engine Regional jet
National origin Japan
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Designer Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation
First flight 11 November 2015
Introduction Mid-2018[1]
Status Under development
Number built 4 MRJ90 test aircraft[2]
Program cost US$1.5 billion (180 billion yen)[3]
Unit cost
MRJ70: US$45.8 Million[4]
MRJ90: US$47.3 Million[5]

The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (Japanese: 三菱リージョナルジェット), or MRJ for short, is a twin-engine regional jet aircraft seating 70–90 passengers manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, a partnership between majority owner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota Motor Corporation[6] with design assistance from Toyota affiliate Fuji Heavy Industries, already a manufacturer of aircraft. It will be the first airliner designed and produced in Japan since the NAMC YS-11 of the 1960s, which was produced at a loss.[7][8] Its first flight was in November 2015, with deliveries scheduled for 2018.[9]

Development

MITSUBISHI REGIONAL JET FRONT SIDE VIEW
MRJ prototype

A cabin mockup and a scale model were presented at the 47th Paris Air Show in June 2007.[10] Production was planned to begin in 2012.[11]

Construction

The aircraft was initially expected to be the first regional jet aircraft to adopt carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials for its airframe on a significant scale.[10] However, in a design turn-around in September 2009, Mitsubishi announced that it would use aluminium for its wingbox instead of composite material.[12]

Carbon composite parts will now make up only 10-15% of the aircraft, primarily around the tail section. The cabin height was increased by 3.8 cm (1 1⁄2 in) to 204 cm (80 1⁄2 in) and the fuselage height increased to 296 cm (116 1⁄2 in). This gave the MRJ a rounder cabin, which is wider and higher than competing aircraft manufactured by Bombardier and Embraer.[13]

MHI employs new production methods such as integral wing stringers, unusually tight tolerances, shot peening of curved surfaces, and A-Vartm. These methods are intended to increase quality and thus reduce expensive fault correction to keep price competitive.[14]

Production

On 15 September 2010, the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation announced that it had entered the production drawing phase and was proceeding with the manufacturing process.[15] Assembly of the first aircraft began in April 2011 with construction of the emergency escape for the cockpit.[16]

A new production facility for the aircraft will be built at Komaki Airport in Nagoya, Japan, on land purchased from the government at a total cost of 60 billion yen. Production at this plant is expected to commence in fiscal year 2016, with the new plant producing 10 aircraft per month and employing 2,000 workers.[17] Mitsubishi announced in June 2013 that it would establish a quality control facility in Illinois for the sourcing of MRJ components from the United States.[18]

Flight Testing

The first flight, scheduled after the design was finalized, was to take place in the second quarter of 2012, but was delayed to 2013,[19] and then further delayed to spring 2014 due to delays in the procurement of engines.[20] Likewise the first delivery was planned to take place in the first quarter of 2014,[21] but was delayed to mid to late 2016.[20] In August 2013, Mitsubishi announced a third major delay to the program, and that the first flight would take place by summer 2015 while the first delivery would take place by summer 2017. Delays in the procurement of the Pratt & Whitney engines and other components were cited as the cause of this delay.[22]

In September 2013, after announcing the third delay to the MRJ program, Mitsubishi publicly displayed a prototype MRJ fuselage, including cockpit enclosure, and announced that it would hire foreign pilots and technicians to serve as consultants as the program progressed to safety testing and regulatory approvals.[23] Pictures of the first fully assembled MRJ90 were available on 26 June 2014,[24] and an official rollout occurred on 18 October 2014.[25]

The maiden flight of the MRJ90 took place on 11 November 2015.[26][27] On 24 December 2015, Mitsubishi announced a one-year delay for the first delivery of the MRJ, to mid-2018.[3] The delay was attributed to insufficient wing strength and the redesign of the landing gear for better safety.[28]

Static strength test were completed on November 1, 2016 and confirmed that the airframe could withstand 1.5 times the maximum load.[29]

Stretch

A 100-seat stretched MRJ100 was studied in March 2011.[30] As of June 2015 it was still under evaluation.[31]

Specifications

Two different fuselage lengths are planned using three weight variants each :

MRJ Specifications[32]
MRJ70 MRJ90
Passengers 69 (9J + 60Y) to 80 81 (9J + 72Y) to 92
Seat pitch 74–79 cm (29–31 in) in Y, 91 cm (36 in) in J
Length 33.4m / 109 ft 8in 35.8m / 117 ft 5in
Wing span 29.2m / 95 ft 10in
Tail height 10.4m / 34 ft 2in
Max takeoff weight STD : 36,850 kg (81,240 lb)
ER : 38,995 kg (85,969 lb)
LR : 40,200 kg (88,626 lb)		 STD : 39,600 kg (87,303 lb)
ER : 40,995 kg (90,378 lb)
LR : 42,800 kg (94,358 lb)
Max landing weight 36,200 kg (79,807 lb) 38,000 kg (83,776 lb)
Max zero fuel weight 34,000 kg (74,957 lb) 36,150 kg (79,697 lb)
Operating empty weight - 26,000 kg (57,320 lb)[33]
Range (1-class) STD : 1,880 km (1,020 nmi)
ER : 3,090 km (1,670 nmi)
LR : 3,740 km (2,020 nmi)		 STD : 2,120 km (1,150 nmi)
ER : 2,870 km (1,550 nmi)
LR : 3,770 km (2,040 nmi)
Typical cruise speed Mach 0.78 (447 knots (828 km/h))
Operating ceiling 11,900 m (39,000 ft)
Takeoff field length (MTOW,SL,ISA) STD : 1,450 m (4,760 ft)
ER : 1,620 m (5,320 ft)
LR : 1,720 m (5,650 ft)		 STD : 1,490 m (4,890 ft)
ER :1,600 m (5,250 ft)
LR : 1,740 m (5,710 ft)
Landing field length (MLW,Dry) 1,430 m (4,700 ft) 1,480 m (4,860 ft)
Cabin Height 2.03 m / 6 ft 8in
Cabin Width 2.76 m / 9 ft 1in
Powerplants (2x) Pratt & Whitney PW1215G Pratt & Whitney PW1217G
Fan diameter 56 in (142 cm)[34]
Engine thrust (2x) 69.3 kN (15,600 lbf) 78.2 kN (17,600 lbf)

Customers

Orders

All Nippon Airways was the first customer, with an order for 15 MRJ 90s and an option for 10 more.[35]

In March 2008, and again in October 2008, Sankei Shimbun and Fuji Sankei Business I reported that the government of Japan would buy ten MRJs to serve as short-haul and small-field VIP transports, supplementing the existing Japanese Air Force One Boeing 747 aircraft.[36][37] The government was still considering this option as of July 2013, with MRJs possibly supplementing new Boeing 777 long-haul VIP transports, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.[38]

In 2008, Mitsubishi estimated that 300-400 MRJs would be necessary to recover the $1.9-billion programme cost.[8]

At the July 2012 Farnborough Airshow, SkyWest agreed to buy 100 MRJ90s, to be delivered between 2017 and 2020. The deal is worth $4.2bn at list prices. During the 2013 Regional Airlines Association conference, held in Montreal, Canada, Mitsubishi announced that ANI Group Holdings, which firmed a MoU for 5 MRJ aircraft in June 2011, cancelled the deal, without giving further details.[39]

Order date Airline / Purchaser EIS Type Remarks
MRJ70 MRJ90 Options
27 March 2008 Japan All Nippon Airways[35] 2018[40] — 15 10 to be operated by ANA Wings
2 October 2009 United States Trans States Holdings[41] 2018 — 50 50
11 July 2012 United States SkyWest[42][43] 2018 — 100 100
14 July 2014 United States Eastern Air Lines[44] 2019 — 20 20* *Purchase rights (MoU)
14 July 2014 Myanmar Air Mandalay[45] 2018 — 6 4
28 January 2015 Japan Japan Airlines[46][47] 2021 — 32 —
16 February 2016 United States AeroLease Aviation, LLC[48] 2018 10 10
11 July 2016 Sweden Rockton AB[49] 2020 10 10
Total — 243 204

Cancelled orders

Order date Airline / Purchaser Type Remarks
MRJ70 MRJ90 Options
16 June 2011 Hong Kong ANI Group Holdings[50] (Lessor) 5 — MoU cancelled in 2013[39]

Potential orders

In 20 July 2016, one of the officials at Iran's ministry of transportation announced Iran is buying 25 ART airplanes for Iran Aseman Airlines and for further purchases Mitsubishi has showed interest in offering 20 MRJ planes.[51]

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

  1. ↑ Kaminski-Morrow, David (24 December 2015). "Mitsubishi delays MRJ deliveries by a year". Flightglobal. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Mitsubishi MRJ Production List". 9 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 González, Ángel (24 December 2015). "MRJ airliner delay won't disrupt jobs here, says local partner". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. ↑ http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2015/06/15/mitsubishi-regional-jet-looks-for-love-in-paris/
  5. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-11/japan-s-passenger-jet-takes-to-the-skies-for-first-flight
  6. ↑ "Toyota to sink $67.2 mln in Mitsubishi passenger jet". China Economic Net. Xinhua News Agency. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  7. ↑ Anselmo, Joe (24 October 2014). "Milestone for the Mitsubishi MRJ". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  8. 1 2 Mecham, Michael; Anselmo, Joe (17 March 2008). "Mitsubishi Leads Japanese Aircraft Resurgence" (PDF). Aviation Week & Space Technology. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Kageyama, Yuri (16 October 2014). "Mitsubishi Unveils First Japanese Built Passenger Jet In 40 Years". AviationPros. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  10. 1 2 "First Regional Jet to Adopt Composites for Airframe on Significant Scale". CompositesWeek News Board. E-Composites, Inc. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  11. ↑ "Boeing to team up with Mitsubishi for Japanese jetliner". Tokyo: USA Today. Reuters. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  12. ↑ Polek, Gregory (9 September 2009). "Mitsubishi To Delay MRJ First Flight". AINonline. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  13. ↑ Govindasamy, Siva (9 September 2009). "Mitsubishi unveils major changes to MRJ programme". Hong Kong: Flightglobal. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  14. ↑ Perrett, Bradley (Oct 27, 2014). "MRJ Test Program Laid Out As Prototype Revealed". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014. (subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ "Mitsubishi Aircraft Proceeds With MRJ Manufacturing Phase" (Press release). Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  16. ↑ Cohen, Aubrey (5 April 2011). "Mitsubishi Regional Jet starts assembly". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  17. ↑ "三菱重工、ＭＲＪ新工場に600億円　月産10機目標". 日本経済新聞. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "ＭＲＪ、米に品質管理拠点　15年納入へ開発急ぐ". 日本経済新聞. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Mitsubishi Regional Jet Schedule Update" (Press release). Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  20. 1 2 "ＭＲＪ初飛行また延期　三菱重、受注に影響も". 日本経済新聞. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "Mitsubishi Aircraft Announces Final MRJ Configuration" (Press release). Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  22. ↑ "国産小型旅客機「ＭＲＪ」、３度目の納入延期 三菱航空機、17年夏前に". 日本経済新聞. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "三菱航空機、ＭＲＪの機体一部を初公開". 日本経済新聞. 7 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  24. ↑ Toh, Mavis (26 June 2014). "Mitsubishi mounts engines on first MRJ flight test aircraft". Singapore: Flightglobal. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  25. ↑ "MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft Host MRJ Rollout Ceremony" (Press release). Nagoya: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  26. ↑ Harding, Robin (11 November 2015). "Test flight triumph for Mitsubishi regional jet". Financial Times. Tokyo: The Nikkei. Retrieved 11 November 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  27. ↑ "MRJ Completes First Flight" (Press release). Nagoya: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  28. ↑ "Delivery delayed further by weak wing". Nikkei Asian Review. Tokyo: The Nikkei. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  29. ↑ "MRJ Newsletter" (PDF). Mitsubishi. November 2016.
  30. ↑ Govindasamy, Siva (9 March 2011). "Mitsubishi MRJ 100-seater to wait". Singapore: Flightglobal. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  31. ↑ Flottau, Jens (17 June 2015). "Mitsubishi Evaluates Further MRJ Stretch". Aviation Week. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  32. ↑ "MRJ Brochure" (PDF). Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  33. ↑ "Mitsubishi Regional Jet, MRJ, compared with second generation regional jets". Leeham News. 4 Aug 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  34. ↑ "Powering the Mitsubishi Regional Jet—PurePower PW1200G Engine" (PDF). Pratt & Whitney. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  35. 1 2 "ANA Selects Mitsubishi Regional Jet—firm order for 15 aircraft with 10 options" (Press release). Tokyo: ANA. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  36. ↑ ガンバレ、国産ジェット旅客機･MRJ! 政府専用機で10機購入へ [Hang in there, domestic jetliner—MRJ! Government to puchase 10 aircraft]. Coracora column (Blog) (in Japanese). 17 October 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  37. ↑ 国産ジェット旅客機「MRJ」、政府が１０機調達へ [The government to procure 10 domestic jetliner "MRJ"]. Flight Blogger Nippon (Blog) (in Japanese). 19 October 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  38. ↑ "政府専用機「777」軸に後継検討　燃費の良さ重視". 日本経済新聞. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  39. 1 2 Russell, Edward (7 May 2013). "Mitsubishi and ANI cancel MOU for MRJs". Montreal: Flightglobal. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  40. ↑ Goold, Ian (15 February 2016). "Mitsubishi Details Delays to MRJ". AINonline. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  41. ↑ Reals, Kerry (1 February 2011). "Trans States firms up order for up to 100 MRJs". London: Flightglobal. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  42. ↑ Catts, Tim; Tomesco, Frederic (12 July 2012). "Mitsubishi Wins SkyWest Jet Sale in Blow to Bombardier". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  43. ↑ Toh, Mavis (13 December 2012). "SkyWest firms deal for 100 MRJ90s". Singapore: Flightglobal. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  44. ↑ Toh, Mavis (14 July 2014). "Eastern Air Lines signs for 20 MRJ90s". Farnborough, Hampshire: Flightglobal. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  45. ↑ "Air Mandalay Signs Definitive Agreement for Purchase of up to Ten MRJ Aircraft—MRJ value recognized in growing Asian market" (Press release). Farnborough, Hampshire: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  46. ↑ Chong, Aaron (28 January 2015). "JAL firms up order for 32 MRJ aircraft". Singapore: Flightglobal. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  47. ↑ Matsuda, Kiyotaka (28 August 2014). "JAL Said to Plan Order for 32 Mitsubishi Regional Jets". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  48. ↑ "Aerolease Aviation signs LOI with Mitsubishi Aircraft for purchase of up to 20 MRJ—Launch lessor in MRJ program" (Press release). Singapore: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  49. ↑ "Rockton signs LOI with Mitsubishi Aircraft for purchase of up to 20 MRJ—First European company and second lessor in MRJ program to select the MRJ" (Press release). Farnborough, Hampshire: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  50. ↑ Polek, Gregory (19 June 2011). "Mitsubishi Lands Third Customer for MRJ". Paris: AINonline. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  51. ↑ "Iran plans to buy 20 regional jets from Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy". Reuters.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
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