Along with plans to put a man on the moon and develop its own aircraft carrier, China’s sky-high ambition now includes building its own Made-in-China jumbo jet, to one day compete with Boeing and Airbus for a share of the lucrative commercial aviation marketplace.

The project, still in the early development stages, calls for the first Chinese jumbo jet, dubbed the C919, to make its maiden flight in 2014, with the first commercial delivery two years after that. The jet is being produced by the Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), which is manufacturing smaller regional jets due to hit the market next year.

China’s reasons for wanting to enter the large jet market are clear; Chinese airlines are set to buy more than 2,000 big jets by 2025, making it one of the world’s largest markets. Asia’s airlines in total are expected to place orders for about 10,000 jets in that same period. But China’s move into the large jet business represents a bold leap — some say too bold—with any chance of a payoff many years off. The technology is rapidly evolving, Boeing and Airbus have long-established track records and safety-minded consumers may be wary to switch to a jet made in China. “I tend to be a little bit skeptical that this can happen a decade or decades away,” said Nicholas R. Lardy, a China expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Still, Chinese officials think that they have found a niche to compete with aviation’s two big players. The C919 will be a single-aisle jet with 150 to 190 seats, while the other plane makers are concentrating on wide-body jumbo jets. Their jet will be cheaper, they say, and also more environmentally friendly. Premier Wen Jiabao laid out China’s jet vision in a May speech titled “Let The Large Aircraft of China Fly in the Blue Sky.” He said, “We must succeed in doing this, and the dream of many generations will come true.” China’s start-up work is well underway. In April, just before Wen’s speech, COMAC recruited 200 graduates from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, boosting the firm’s workforce to 5,000; the plan is for a workforce of 20,000.

After 90 months of research and production, the first prototype of domestically built C919 airliner rolled off the assembly line on Nov 2, 2015. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) also contributed to China’s first large passenger aircraft. Since 2008, NUAA has conducted over 140 projects for the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). A number of technical innovations were applied to the research and development of C919. The latest news is that C919 will use the “superfine aircraft-grade glass wool” material invented by NUAA.

The research team led by Chen Zhaofeng, a professor at the School of Material Science and Technology of NUAA, spent four years and made ten technological breakthroughs and finally managed to develop the material. Such aircraft-grade glass wool will be posted in the cabin for sound insulation and thermal insulation. The sound insulation will help reduce the noise and excellent thermal insulation can reduce energy consumption and fuel consumption and improve aircraft’s economic performance and international competitiveness.

And last month, a car-size mockup of the C919 was on display at the Hong Kong air show, putting China’s aviation ambition on full display in a prominent position next to Boeing and Airbus at Asia’s largest and most prestigious aviation exhibition. Even the jet’s name seems to signal China’s intention to force its way into the top ranks. Wu Guanghi, the jumbo jet’s chief designer, told the Xinhua New Agency that the “C” in C919 is the first letter of China. But it will also form an ABC pattern with A for Airbus, B for Boeing, and C for COMAC.

In some ways, Chinese officials hope the jumbo jet project will follow the path of appliances, electronics and automobiles. First, foreign companies came here to assemble their products. Then the Chinese learned the technology and began producing their own versions. And now cheaper Chinese brands are competing with their foreign counterparts, largely for domestic consumers and increasingly around the world.

It took about 10 years for people to accept ‘Made in China’ household appliances,’’ said one senior COMAC official, who explained the strategy but spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. “It took about 20 years for acceptance of vehicles made in China. Right now, almost all the vehicle brands have factories in China.” He added, “compared to cars and appliances, people have high safety expectations” for jets. “I think 30 years will be enough for people to accept ‘Made in China’ aircraft.”

For the moment, Boeing and Airbus are not openly expressing worries about the new entry to the market, since the first C919 is still years away. “It took Airbus more than 25 years to be a real challenger in the marketplace, and we started in 70,” said Jean-Luc Charles, the general manager of a new Airbus factory in the Chinese city of Tianjin, a landmark in China’s effort to gain status as an aircraft manufacturer. “It takes a long time in this industry. It takes credibility in the marketplace. This is the challenge for countries like China, even if they plan to build their own airplane.” The COMAC senior official agreed. “COMAC right now is only the little brother to Boeing and Airbus,” he said. “We won’t threaten Boeing and Airbus because the production capacity isn’t enough. In the next 10 to 20 years, Boeing and Airbus will dominate the Chinese market.” He added, “We just hope we can offer more choices to the market.”