ARJ21, the "Chinese" Jetliner

Much has been made about China's foray into building commercial jetliners. Today the domestic market, tomorrow the world, so watch out Boeing and Airbus. China Daily notes that an ARJ21 has reached the stage of final assembly and that it should be ready for test flights this same time next year. AVIC Commercial Aircraft Company (ACAC), the developer of the jet, is a consortium of six Chinese companies together with various aerospace institutes charged with ARJ21's R&D. While building such a jet would represent no mean feat, its engines, avionics, and other components are still mostly sourced from western firms. In fact, it will be built using tooling originally meant for licensed production of the McDonnell Douglas MD-90. Color me unimpressed as of now; the ARJ21 is a "me-too" design with western hand-me-downs. But, this effort may be the start of grander efforts. After all, these are the folks who have missiles that can knock down satellites.