Mitsubishi Aircraft plans to undergo organizational changes that will see MRJ program director Alex Bellamy run what the company calls its new program management division starting January 1, Mitsubishi announced Wednesday. Established to "reinforce the development and management of the MRJ program," the division encompasses the newly established integrated product team (IPT) execution department, the governance management office, and the product strategy office.
Mitsubishi has also decided to restructure its engineering division from four departments (aircraft integration, mechanical system design, electrical system design, and airframe design) and the office dedicated to MRJ70 development into five departments encompassing aircraft integration, mechanical system design, electrical system design, airframe design, and avionics, fly-by-wire, and software design, along with three offices dedicated to interiors, test rig integration, and electrical wiring interconnect design. Mitsubishi said it expects the reorganization to achieve "more efficient communications and quicker decision-making."
In a recent interview with AIN, Bellamy reported that program teams had flown four flight-test airplanes a total of some 1,500 hours, while production crews had attached wings and begun painting the fifth flight-test airplane…
