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Moses Lake Selected As Test Flight Center For Japanese Regional Jet

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.
Japan-based Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has announced plans to test its new regional jet in Moses Lake, Washington.

A Japanese airplane maker will test its new regional jet in Moses Lake, Washington. Mitsubishi Aircraft Company made that announcement Monday at the Farnborough Air Show in England. 

Gov. Jay Inslee is attending the air show with a delegation. He told reporters in a conference call that Mitsubishi’s investment could put central Washington on the global map for flight tests.

"We’re establishing the infrastructure in Moses Lake that will be able to service other companies from around the world beyond this contract," Inslee said.

Boeing has long used Moses Lake as a proving ground for its jetliners. The Grant County airport boasts long runways, great flying weather and uncrowded airspace. The new facility is expected to bring about 100 jobs to the area. Test flights of the regional passenger jet are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2015.

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.