Why the Mitsubishi SpaceJet Failed
The Mitsubishi SpaceJet, designated in Japanese as 三菱スペースジェット, and originally christened the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, stood as an ambitious regional jet initiative helmed by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (MAC), a subsidiary nestled under the broad umbrella of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). MHI unveiled the concept with much fanfare in June 2007, casting its sights on achieving certification by the year 2012. This move marked a significant milestone as it represented the first foray into the world of airliners by a Japanese company since the inception of the 1962 NAMC YS-11. However, the journey from concept to reality proved to be a labyrinth of challenges and delays.
The development trajectory of the MRJ90, the maiden aircraft under this venture, was anything but smooth, culminating in its inaugural flight on the 11th of November, 2015. Fast forward to June 2019, and Mitsubishi took the strategic decision to rebrand the entire Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) program, giving birth to the Mitsubishi SpaceJet, a name that promised innovation and a new horizon in aviation. This program, delivered in Japanese as 三菱リージョナルジェット, witnessed extensive flight testing phases that stretched longer than initially anticipated. As a result, the timeline for its entry into commercial service witnessed numerous delays, leading to a temporary pause in development in October 2020, before the unfortunate and ultimate cancellation of the project in February 2023.
In terms of its structural composition, the Mitsubishi SpaceJet boasted an airframe predominantly crafted from aluminium, complemented by a tail section-an empennage-fashioned from carbon fibre composite materials. The aircraft featured a low-wing design, and its propulsion was entrusted to the Pratt & Whitney PW1000Gs engines, mounted gracefully under its wings. Notably, the SpaceJet program was the pioneer in selecting the geared turbofan for its power needs.
The seating configuration of the M90 model, initially known as the MRJ90, was designed to comfortably accommodate between 86 to 96 passengers. In contrast, its smaller counterpart, the MRJ70, was intended to seat between 70 to 80 travelers. However, in a strategic pivot, the MRJ70 was superseded by the SpaceJet M100-a design stretched by 1.1 meters (or 3 feet 7 inches)-in a move tailored to better align with the U.S. scope clauses, allowing for 76 seats with the inclusion of premium seating options.
In the competitive landscape of regional aviation, the Mitsubishi SpaceJet positioned itself as a formidable contender, holding its ground against established players such as the Embraer E-Jet E2 family, showcasing Mitsubishi's audacious vision for the future of aviation.
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With the composite production lessons learned from the 787 and A350 is it feasible for a single aisle composite aircraft? Or does the production efficiencies of the 737 and A320 make this concept unlikely?
new clean sheet designs will come around in a few years and eat the market
Hondajet, C Series (a220) are two? Its more can the GKNs and Spirit Aerosystem have the capacity
@@kenwilson9372 A220 is not purely composite per say. Wing and a lot of things are but the fuselage is Aluminium-Lithium alloy
No production advantage. Increase cost with nothing gained.
P7
Prototypes are easy, production is hard
...not to mention the selling
3:42 it had the engine layout of the E-Jet with the luggage storage of the CRJ. What a sad irony - Mitsubishi was developing this rival to the CRJ, and it would have had a cabin wider than even the E-Jet. Now all they have is the narrow CRJ 😐 4:50 if the SpaceJet succeeded, it would most likely face issues with its Geared Turbofans, but the airframe would probably have been awesome! If the SpaceJet rises again, hopefully Mitsubishi will ditch the GTF and choose GE.
It was interesting seeing this aircraft fly out of Grant County airport, where they did a lot of their FAA certification testing. (see the parts of the video in the 7:30 range, for a few examples of seeing the area from the sky). It seems that COVID and it's delays was the final blow to the program.
Too bad. But Mitsubishi had issues with their MU 2 and YS11 aircraft
Where are the sources of your words.!!?
Why? go big or go home,
The truth is FAA does not want any rival with Boeing. That is why they killed the Mitsubishi space jet.
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
If anything like Mitsubishi's cars, bad quality would've killed it anyways.
Mitsubishis are very reliable. Especially the Pajeros, tritons etc.
With Boeing's screwups seems liks Mitsubishi is looking projects to go after Boeing, when a MAX crashes in Japan. South Korea on the other hand will be similar like the Daewoo story as Daewoo became acquired by GM and became GM Korea and KAI becomes Airbus Korea and South Korea competes against Boeing's 737 MAX with the A320 Neo.