Liebherr-Aerospace recently delivered the first bleed air system for the C919 narrowbody to Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac, the Toulouse, France-based aerosystems supplier announced on Tuesday. Comac chose Liebherr-Aerospace to develop, manufacture, qualify and certify the C919’s integrated air management sytem in 2010.
The system, which consists of bleed valves, a pre-cooler, a heat exchanger, high-pressure ducting and corresponding pressure and temperature sensors connected with a bleed monitoring controller, will serve in test-driven development of the CFM LEAP-1C engine.
Engineers have fitted measuring equipment on the parts to provide Comac and Liebherr-Aerospace with information on the behavior of the bleed air system during the engine tests.
Liebherr-Aerospace next plans to deliver additional components for the engine ground and vibration test benches to prepare the for the C919’s flight test campaign.
It remains unclear whether Comac will be able to meet its latest goal of achieving a first flight for the C919 in 2015, with certification to follow by the end of 2016. The Chinese manufacturer has declined to respond to questions about possible further delays for a program that is already running late. At the Singapore Airshow earlier this month, Comac deputy general manager Dang Tiehong told Bloomberg that the company expects to sell at least 30 more of the new narrowbody during 2014, but exact status of the program's current sales backlog is also uncertain.