By soucre CNBC The maiden test flight of the C919 airliner made a successful takeoff from Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Friday, according to a livestream via Twitter carried on China‘s official news agency Xinhua.

The plane’s flight path and flying time are not yet known, but a large crowd has gathered at the airport waiting for the landing. The C919 has more than 150 seats and a range of 4,075 kilometers (2,532 miles), and is meant to compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, among the most popular commercial planes flying in the skies. Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, the state-owned company behind the plane, said 21 customers had placed orders for more than 500 planes by the end of 2016, and it expected sales to exceed 2,000, state media said

China is making a big push to become a global aviation player, looking to compete with the likes of Airbus and Boeing. Establishing itself in this industry has been hailed a “strategic move” by President Xi Jinping, according to written remarks published by state media outlets. Beijing has also identified domestic development and production of engines and planes as a major goal.

Friday’s maiden flight will be a key milestone for the C919, which has been plagued by delays. Final ground tests only concluded a few weeks ago, much later than the original schedule of a first flight in 2014, and aircraft delivery in 2016.

C919 Program
“C919″is the short form of trunk liner code for “COMAC919”. COMAC is the acronym of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. The letter “C” is the first letter of both “COMAC” and “China”. It indicates that this trunk liner program is the will of China and her people. It is a short-medium range commercial trunk liner that can claim indigenous intellectual property. Its all-economy class layout entails 168 seats, and the hybrid class layout 156 seats. The basic version is designed to cover a range of 4,075 km, while the enhanced version can stretch to 5,555 km. Such designs may satisfy the operating demands for different routes. Its economic life is designed to be 90,000 flying hours/30 calendar years.

Main features of C919

Safety:

The design, development, and airworthiness examination of the airplane are completely based on international civil aviation rules and regulations and airworthiness standards.
Economics:

Fuel consumption and direct operating cost per seat per kilometer are lower than those of similar existing airplanes.
Comfort:

Broader cabins and wider seats plus advanced system technology to improve comfort.
Environmentally friendly:

New engine to meet noise and pollutant discharge requirements.
Product family:

Covering basic version, extended version, shortened version, cargo version, special version and corporate version