There has been lots of controversy over whether China could conduct the first flight of the C919 -- China's homebred large aircraft -- in 2014. On Mar. 28, Honeywell, a main provider of spare parts for the C919, relieved the worries with disclosure that the C919 will be launched as scheduled, while the first prototype aircraft will be made this year and the first flight will be conducted in Shanghai in the middle of 2014.

Honeywell provides the C919 large aircraft with four main spare parts and electronic equipments such as auxiliary power unit, fly-by-wire flight control system, etc. On Mar. 28, president of Honeywell Asia Pacific Gao Bo'an told reporters in Shanghai when participating in the ABACE 2012 (Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition 2012), according to the plan of COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), the plane maker will start constructing the prototype aircraft of the C919 this year, and the first components have been in production as well. Moreover, the aircraft is planned to make maiden flight in the middle of 2014. "Until now, COMAC makes no change to the plan", Gao said.

According to the public documents of "The Environmental Impact Report on the Fourth and Fifth Runway of Pudong International Airport", homebred ARJ21 aircraft will conduct its test flight on the fourth runway of Pudong International Airport, while its pre-delivery test flight will be finished in the beginning of 2013. The C919 is expected to make test flight at Pudong International Airport in the middle of 2014.