The feeling of déjà vu was strong as I was illustrating these blank side view templates of the Comac C909. Not only does it look very similar to the Boeing 717, it’s got some distinctive CRJ-200 and old-school MD-80 elements to it as well.
It’s almost as if the C909 was the result of a late night (drunken) bet between two hard-headed engineers:
Drunken Engineer 1: “You’re an idiot! There’s no way you could take an MD-80, put CRJ wings and a 717 vertical stabilizer on it, and expect it to fly!”
Even drunker Engineer 2: “Eat sh*t MF’r! Watch this…”
Side view templates of the Comac C909 regional jet
The Comac C909 is a relatively simple aircraft. There’s nothing groundbreaking about its design, and at first glance, it doesn’t seem all that remarkable.
Hot take: There’s nothing remarkable about the design after a second glance either. It’s a good looking aircraft of course, but there’s no mistaking it for a standard issue regional jet from pretty much any angle IMHO.
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Overview
“ARJ21 Xiangfeng” was the original name of this aircraft when development started back in 2002. That development took five years, and its first flight was on November 28, 2008.
It took another eight years before it was certified for commercial flight however. Perhaps drunken Engineer 1 was right about the complexities of it all? Sort of.
- The name was changed to “C909” in late 2024.
- 176 airframes have been produced as of April 2025. In comparison, only 28 of it’s more modern and larger sibling (the Comac C919) have been built to date.
- Production is ongoing. Can’t stop won’t stop!
Design details
The most interesting thing about the design of the Comac 909 is that there’s nothing uniquely “Comac” about it. At least visually.
I am willing to give Comac a pass on this considering that there was no effort put into establishing a corporate design language until development started for the C919. Everything before then was a visual free-for-all.
- The C909 features the same horizontal creaseline down the length of the fuselage that the Douglas DC-8 had. This is sometimes referred to as a “double bubble” fuselage type in the aviation community.
- The flat screwdriver-like tailcone is somewhat reminiscent of the MD-80.
- I can’t look at the vertical stabilizer of the C909 without being reminded of the vertical stabilizer on the Boeing 717. I just can’t. Who copied who here?
- The horizontal space between the forward boarding door and the first passenger window is quite large (and not so common on smaller aircraft types).
- The lack of overwing emergency exits is interesting. And kinda scary.
I have been waiting for this forever!
thank you!
You’re very welcome Joseph. Enjoy!
Can you do the -747 200 combi -747 400 combi -comac c929 -comac c939 -comac c949 -comac c959
-md12 -BAe 146 100 -BAe 146 300? PLEASE (i would prefer the 747 400 combi please)
Never realized how big the engines on the C909 are haha
Wow, it’s cool.
Will you ever make the sud aviation caravelle?
Possibly! I’ve got two others that I’m working on at the moment (and I already know what I’m doing after I complete those), so it probably won’t happen anytime soon.
Hey Scott! Just wondering if you could make a Antonov AN-22 template please?
lol. I love the DC-717-200-80 name lol. I’d say the tail is more MD-80 than 717 (the MD-80’s tail has more of a curve, while the 717’s is squared-off at the top and parallel to the horizontal stabilizers). But otherwise, it’s got the shape of the 717 (or DC-9), the CRJ-200’s winglets & engine shape, and the MD-80’s vertical stabilizer. No wonder it doesn’t look groundbreaking!
Still though, I think it looks pretty good. T-tails are my favorite aircraft design due to how sleek they look. I’d go as far as to say that the CRJ & ERJ (and the 717 of course) are the best-looking aircraft in service today!
Also, interesting story regarding it & the MD-80: In the 90’s, McDonnell Douglas built several MD-80’s in Shanghai with a company that’s now part of Comac, and after the last one was built, another state-owned company kept the tooling. The C909 has a similar cross-section & a 2-3 configuration, so it’s at least inspired by the Mad Dog.
I don’t know how that first “lol” got in there. Sorry about that!
I think you spelled “inspired” wrong. It’s spelled c o p y. 🙂 in all seriousness, I think the design of the C909 is brilliant actually. No need to reinvent the wheel if it isn’t necessary.
And I kind of agree with you about how good the CRJ looks. But the ERJ? Meh.
Norebbo, make Saab 2000 pls
When will a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar aircraft template be available
I knocked that one out many years ago:
https://www.norebbo.com/lockheed-l-1011-500-blank-illustration-templates/
https://www.norebbo.com/lockheed-l-1011-1-blank-illustration-templates/