Graduated from a local university, Zhao Chunling began her career as an air defense systems designer. Now she heads the C929 wide-body aircraft project, a domestically produced Chinese aircraft that is expected to be on par with modern Western long-range aircraft.
According to Scmp , after making important contributions to the domestic aircraft programs C909 and C919, Trieu Xuan Linh was appointed as chief engineer of the C929 project from 2023, when the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) was determined to break the Western monopoly in the wide-body aircraft market.
Zhao Chunling graduated from Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, a school with close ties to the Chinese military. Despite its limited access to American technology, the school has played a key role in developing many advanced weapons, including modern fighter jets.
Zhao Chunling’s career, however, did not begin in the civil aviation sector. After graduating in 1991, she worked at an optoelectronics research institute in Luoyang, Henan , which is a unit of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
During her 18 years here, she contributed to building the institute into a leading research center in defense technology, especially in the fields of engine control and aviation command systems. Trieu Xuan Linh used to hold the position of Deputy Chief Engineer here.
The institute produces electro-optical sensors and display systems for drones and military aircraft, including the heads-up display used on the C919, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Zhao Chunling joined the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China in 2009 - just a year after the group was founded in Shanghai to realise China's aircraft manufacturing ambitions.
According to Xinhua , she participated in the design, flight testing and domestic certification of the C909 and C919 models. Specifically, she was in charge of the avionics system and designed a completely new cockpit control panel for the C909, helping to create a dark and quiet cockpit space, helping pilots to concentrate and react quickly in emergency situations.
With the C919 - an aircraft line that aims to compete directly with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, Trieu Xuan Linh is the head of the design of the display and warning system for the crew, which is considered more modern than the best-selling Western aircraft lines.
During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, she led a team of more than 100 engineers who worked tirelessly to compare the C919's performance with international standards to eliminate design and manufacturing flaws. The C919 made its first commercial flight in May 2023.
Now the chief engineer of the C929, China’s first wide-body aircraft, she and her team have completed the overall design. The C929 will seat up to 440 passengers and have a range of 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles)—roughly the distance from Shanghai to New York. Prototypes are being developed, and domestic suppliers are expected to begin delivering the first major components, including the plane’s mid-body, in 2027.
“The selection of an experienced engineer like Zhao Chunling as the head of the C929 project shows that Comac is making efforts to transfer resources and personnel to speed up the development of a wide-body aircraft to compete with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Experience from previous small aircraft models can be effectively applied to the C929,” said a source close to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.
At a talk with science, technology , engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students at Shanghai Jiaotong University in December, engineer Trieu revealed the highlights of the C929: “The aircraft is designed with optimal aerodynamics, fuel economy, a modern electronic flight control system, can adapt to the most extreme weather conditions, along with a smart cabin that brings a more comfortable experience to passengers.”
“But I also always have to consider commercial feasibility and profitability, because our goal is to successfully commercialize this aircraft in both domestic and international markets,” she said.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-ky-su-dung-sau-tham-vong-thach-thuc-boeing-va-airbus-cua-trung-quoc-2393020.html
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