MRJ's FTA-2 completes first flight

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) today conducted the first flight of the second flight test aircraft (FTA-2) of the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet), their next-generation regional jet.

FTA-2 took off from Nagoya Airport and confirmed its basic characteristics and functionality in airspace off the Pacific coast. FTA-2 will carry out flight tests primarily to confirm MRJ's performances in the future.

"As with the first flight conducted with MRJ's FTA-1 in November of last year, we had a quiet, smooth first flight with FTA-2," said Hiromichi Morimoto, President, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. "After this, we will move ahead smoothly with development of the subsequent flight test aircraft, and make our utmost efforts towards type certificate acquisition and the first delivery.”

Mitsubishi Aircraft and MHI are scheduled to establish their main base for flight testing this summer at Grant County International Airport at Moses Lake in Washington State. They are committed to accelerating the development of the MRJ toward the first delivery in mid-2018.