Jetrader - Winter 2017 - 32

TesT in the WesT
An on-the-ground look at MRJ's recent test flights

Words and Photos by Bert van Leeuwen, Managing Director, DVB Bank SE

The FTV3 is prepared for another test flight.

"We're not just building a new aircraft; we
are building a new industry." With these
words, the head of the Moses Lake Flight
Test Center described the monumental task
that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) took
upon itself when it launched the Mitsubishi
Regional Jet (MRJ) Program on 28 March,
2008 - with an order for 15 + 10 aircraft
from All Nippon Airways. Jetrader recently
visited the MRJ test center in Moses Lake
to see what is going on at the little-known
desert airport and check in on the status
of the MRJ program.
Moses Lake is a city in Grant County,
Washington, USA, with a population of
approximately 23,000. The city is about a
three-hour drive west from Seattle on the
way to Spokane, and the Flight Test Centre
is based at Grant County International
Airport. With 4,650 acres (1,880 ha) and
a runway length of 13,500 feet (4,100 m)
this is one of the largest airports in the
United States. Located in the semi-arid
desert of central Washington, Moses Lake
is known for its favorable weather - ideal
for test flying new aircraft. The airport
was an alternate landing site for the Space
Shuttle and was used for the FAA certification testing of the Concorde in 1974.

A state-of-the-art flight deck with traditional yokes.

Despite the favorable flying conditions,
Grant County airport currently has no commercial air services. The flight test center
employs in total roughly 400 Japanese and
American engineers.
We asked Hitoshi "Hank" Iwasa, our
friendly host and the head of the Moses
Lake Flight Test Centre (MFC), why the MRJ
flight tests take place in the Western U.S.
and not near Nagoya in Japan, where the
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation's HQ and
factory are located. Apart from the much
better flying weather compared to Japan,
the airspace around the densely populated
city of Nagoya is very congested, significantly reducing the available time for test
flights. Mitsubishi Aircraft also selected
Moses Lake because the airport is well
known in Japan as it was used for heavy
jet training by Japan Airlines for more
than 40 years. The Moses Lake population consequently is familiar with large
groups of Japanese visitors and enjoys the
interaction. As a good neighbor, MFC from
time to time organizes events in which
the local population can participate,
such as a mochi-making party or, more
seriously, in partnership with Big Bend
Community College hosting and sponsoring

32 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

"Reach for the Stars" - a STEM event
to inspire Moses Lake freshmen. STEM
events are aimed at educating students
in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics in an interdisciplinary and
applied approach.
Back to the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. In
2003, the Japanese government started
a five-year research program to study an
indigenous commercial jet aircraft. This
marked the revival of the Japanese aerospace industry offering a commercial aircraft of its own. Apart from the MH2000
helicopter and the MU-300 Diamond business jet (subsequently re-designated as
Beechjet 400), the last modestly successful commercial aircraft developed
entirely in Japan was the Nihon Aircraft
Manufacturing Corporation's YS-11. The
YS-11 made its first flight 1962, but production ceased in 1974 after completion
of 182 aircraft. For many decades, however, MHI has been a crucial partner in the
design and manufacturing of many nonJapanese aircraft. The McDonnell Douglas
DC-10, MD11, the Airbus A380 as well as
the Boeing 737, 747 and 757 all use parts
produced by Mitsubishi. Going a step further, MHI has been building wings for the

Jetrader - Winter 2017

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