ARJ21 AC103 completed a maximum take-off/landing height expansion flight test at Daocheng Yading Airport (4,411 meters above sea level), the highest-altitude civil airport, and returned to Shanghai on July 30, 2020. After two weeks of flight testing, the take-off and landing capabilities of the ARJ21 aircraft in the environment of a high-plateau airport were fully verified, which marks that the operating range of ARJ21 aircraft can cover all high-plateau airports, laying a solid foundation for the opening of plateau routes in the future.
Plateau airports refers to those airports with an elevation of greater than 1,500 meters above sea level. Those with an elevation of 1,500-2,438 meters are classed as general-plateau airports, and those with an elevation of 2,438 meters and above are high-plateau airports. Plateau airports have thin air, complex terrain and changeable weather, which place higher requirements on aircraft performance and operation supporting capability.
With the special flight test at Daocheng Yading Airport, the maximum take-off/landing height has been further expanded, and the reliability and plateau performance of ARJ21 aircraft have been verified.
