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Xian (AVIC) MA700 (Modern Ark 700)

2022 MODERN AIRCRAFT FUTURE FLIGHT

History of Xi'an (AVIC) MA700 (Modern Ark 700)

Xi'an, China (with AVIC as its parent company) is developing a shoulder-wing, turboprop-powered regional airliner, codenamed "MA700" ("Hyundai Ark 700"), for "high temperature and high altitude" remote area flights . Around China. The product is scheduled for its maiden flight in November 2019, with a series launch planned for 2022. Unit cost is $25 million.

The launched airlines were announced as Okay Airways and Joy Air.

While the Chinese MA700 is larger, it will compete in the same class as the French ATR 72, Canadian Bombardier Q-Series and Ilyushin IL-114 turboprop regional jets (all three are detailed elsewhere on this site).

Components for the MA700 project come from typical players in the Chinese aerospace industry - Chengdu, Shaanxi, Shenyang and Xi'an. The final assembly is done in Xi'an. Other global players in the program include Meggitt and Parker Aerospace, Rockwell Collins and Thales.

Product launched in 2007, model made in 2008. The Chinese government approved full development in 2013. Preliminary design took place in early 2017, showing a very conventional aircraft with a short nose cone, shoulder mounted (conical straight) wing main wing and T-shaped multi-hop tail.

The tricycle landing gear is fully retractable, and passenger seating ranges from seventy-five to ninety.

The aircraft will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PW150C Series turboprop engines driving six-blade Dowty R504 propeller units (one engine per wing element) located in underwing nacelles. While the capabilities of these units are not currently available for the MA700, the engine is known to have a power range of up to 5,000 hp and is the same engine that powers the shoulder-foil Bombardier Dash 8 (Q400) turboprop regional jet.

Performance specs currently on sale include a top speed of 400 mph and a cruising speed of nearly 350 mph. The range (ferry) is 1,700 miles, and the aircraft service is capped at 25,000 feet.

Aircraft shown as-is, with a total length of 100 feet, a wingspan of 91.5 feet, and a height of 27 feet. Empty weight is 35,000 pounds and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is approaching 61,000 pounds.

As of this writing (2018), Okay Airways has contracts for 30 units, followed by Joy Air with 30 units of its own. Other Chinese airlines that have adopted this type include China National Bank Leasing, China Merchants Bank Leasing, Chongqing Leasing and Poly Technology.

Bahrain, Cambodia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and South Africa also ordered smaller numbers of aircraft (about ten each). Several British companies have also expressed interest in the aircraft.

An airworthy prototype is planned for mid-2019, with a maiden flight planned by the end of the year. China Type Approval is expected in 2021, while the coveted US and European Type Approvals are also expected in the same year.