Originally Posted by
Skittles9E
Any of our brethren over at Skywest or Trans States have any idea or speculation as to what's going to go down with the MRJ orders. It's highly doubtful that mainline pilots will relax scope and the deliveries are set to start in the next couple of years. I think personally they should be flown by mainline, the less jumbo RJ's the better. Thoughts?
Will scope clause issue muddle Mitsubishi Regional Jet?s service entry? | AirKarp
The short answer is they are waiting patiently.
SkyWest, Trans States continue waiting out MRJ delays | Airframes content from ATWOnline
Mitsubishi effed up. They built the plane, THEN worried about the scope clauses. I guess they figured that problem would be solved by the time they got the plane finished.
Mitsubishi Aircraft CEO Hopes Airlines Will Relax Some Restrictions | MRO content from Aviation Week
SkyWest has 100 orders plus 100 options, so it seems to me this is their CRJ replacement. The planes are approaching 20 years, I read somewhere. So it's time. Trans has 50 on order.
I've followed the MRJ with interest because a) I'm a sucker for an underdog and b) I'm also a Japanophile and it's great to see them making planes. Japanese quality is rarely ever questioned, even if Mitsubishi is learning as it goes since it never built a plane.
It's a major parts supplier to Boeing, however, and has said it will not build bigger planes so as not to compete with Boeing. Boeing is returning the favor by helping with testing. Some time this year, 4 MRJ prototypes will somehow make their way to Moses Lake, WA, where Boeing will assist Mitsubishi with the plane's 2500 hours of testing. They got a challenge getting a 1700 nm range plane from Japan to Washington.
I've watched several test flights of the MRJ on YouTube and a few things stick out: 1) she's real quiet, 2) that plane just glides into the air, 3) the pilot windows are YUGE, as Trump would say, and 4) they never reverse thrust on landing. The telltale sign of engine cowlings sliding open doesn't happen, they just use brakes. Here's a recent video of a test flight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcS2II3Md_E
I really hope they can get a plane to Farnborough because they need the positive press. In the mean time, Japan has to work out travel through Russian airspace to get the MRJs to Washington, and apparently Japan and Russia aren't getting along right now.
Mitsubishi?s head-scratcher in quest to get jet to the U.S.?The Asahi Shimbun
Hope this helps.