China's first fully homegrown commercial aircraft, the ARJ-21, rolled off the production line Friday, marking a major step in the country's aviation program. In a nationally televised ceremony, the Xiangfeng, or «Flying Phoenix,» was towed into a hangar at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory. «Today, China's aviation industry has turned over a new leaf,» Lin Zuoming, general manager of China Aviation Industry Corp. I, or AVIC I, said in comments carried on the news channel of China Central Television. The rollout ceremony was closed to most media, apart from state-run CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency. AVIC I plans to begin mass production of the 85-seat regional passenger jet in 2009. It is scheduled to make its maiden flight in March.
