MRJ-90 takes demo flight

MOSES LAKE — The biannual Farnborough International Airshow is a big deal in the aviation world, the kind of event where manufacturers show off their new wares and major deals are announced. The Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation will be taking its proposed regional passenger jets – currently undergoing testing and development in Moses Lake – to the show, and gave aviation media and Japanese media a preview Wednesday and Thursday.

The MRJ-90 performed a flyby for participants Wednesday afternoon, and provided a tour of the company’s Moses Lake facility. Prior to that company officials gave an update on the development program of the MRJ-90 and MRJ-70.

Occasionally it’s been a bumpy ride. Each country in the world has a set of standards it uses to determine which aircraft it will allow to fly in its airspace, a process called certification. United States airline pilots also have a set of standards.

The MRJ-90 originally was designed with the expectation that some of the pilot standards would be changed, but they weren’t. As a result the MRJ-90 became a difficult – in fact, impossible – sale to U.S. customers. The MRJ-70 was designed in response. But during the press conference, senior officials said currently there are no orders for MRJ-70.

Of course, both the MRJ-90 and MRJ-70 are still in development; testing is underway at the Grant County International Airport. The testing facility currently is home to two MRJ-90s, with two more to follow and two MRJ-70s to follow that.

Hitoshi Iwasa, head of the Moses Lake facility, said he anticipates the company will be using the testing facility for five more years at least. Chief development officer Alexander Bellamy estimated planes will be ready for delivery by 2020.

Grant County International Airport doesn’t close for a demonstration flight, and the MRJ shared the airspace with C-17s and commercial jets practicing approaches and takeoffs, a practice called touch-and-go. Mitsubishi has competitors in the regional jet market, Boeing among them, and a Boeing 737 just happened to be practicing in the vicinity.

Bellamy talked about the MRJ’s engines during his presentation, saying they’re quieter than other commercial jets, and in his opinion one of the plane’s strengths. The plane proved Bellamy was right about its quiet engines on its takeoff roll, and during the loops and quarter-rolls it flew around the airfield.

Cameras, phones, movie cameras followed it carefully. It flew a tight course within sight of the assembled media. It was, company officials said, similar to the demonstration flight it will perform at Farnborough.

But a trio of F-18s almost stole the show. They flew in a few minutes before the MRJ took the runway, approaching in formation. They broke formation over the runway and the assembled media, flew a loop around the airfield and landed, one at a time. They taxied back down the runway in line.

After they had cleared the area the MRJ took off. After its flight it landed and taxied by, and a C-17 approached for a touch-and-go on a nearby runway. Stephen Trimble, a managing editor for Flight Global, watched the activity as the media returned to the bus.

“Can we just stay here for a while?” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.