The second plane of China’s homegrown large passenger jet C919 completed its maiden test flight in Shanghai on Dec. 17, indicating that China is becoming a global aviation powerhouse, People’s Daily Overseas Edition reported on Dec. 18.

The plane took off from Pudong International Airport in Shanghai on Sunday. The flight, lasting about two hours, tested the performance of the C919’s major systems and equipment, such as taking-off and landing, navigation and communication, and acceleration and deceleration.

According to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the country plans to produce six aircraft for flight testing. More than 1,000 tests will be carried out in terms of performance, structure, electronic equipment, illumination, environmental control, and tolerance to temperatures.

The test flight will be made at the Yanliang Testing Base in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and in Dongying, east China’s Shandong Province.

To ensure aviation safety and safeguard public interest, like other countries, civil aircraft in China must be reviewed and certified before it can enter the market.

The C919 will only enter the Chinese market after it is tested to meet the airworthiness standard. It usually takes six to eight years for a civil aircraft to acquire the airworthiness certificate.

Certainly, problems could occur in the testing process, such as deviations in airworthiness or unknown environmental and flight conditions, but trial flight will help avoid the risks.

More test flights under some special conditions will also be made to understand the plane’s performance limit, so that flight safety can be guaranteed as much as possible.

In addition, to expand the international market, China has applied for the airworthiness certificate by the European Aviation Safety Agency for the C919 passenger jet, and the application has been accepted.