China to focus on large aircraft

An official at China Aviation Industry Corp (CAIC) said that he expected China's first large aircraft to be in the air by 2018. Large aircraft are planes with a loading capacity in excess of 100 tons. Liu Gaozhuo, CAIC president, said that there were �massive� market needs for large planes to service China's military and commercial sectors. Large planes are typically used to transport military personnel, military equipment, and cargo. They also serve as passenger planes, with around 200 seats. China estimates that its civil aviation fleet will have to add 1,400 large aircraft by 2022.