The Russian medium-range passenger aircraft MS-21 with domestic PD-14 engines will be mass-produced in 2025. This was announced by Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on the broadcast of the Russian 24 TV channel.
“From 2025, we will mass-produce this aircraft and supply it to consumers,” the minister said.
The day before December 29, Manturov said that the Federal Air Transport Agency had approved the engine and wing for the MS-21.
“Each stage of the expansion of the type certificate gives the possibility of using the aircraft, namely: there is a Russian wing, a Russian engine, there is an expansion of resources for each unit. That is, when it enters the highway, the aircraft must receive the most comprehensive certification, that is, I am talking about already unhindered opportunities for both maintenance and operation, ”the Deputy Prime Minister said in an interview with RBC.
According to the minister, work on the MS-21’s own wing and engine was very intense. Manturov noted that in the process of creating the wing, experts from Rosatom in Yelabuga were involved. Thanks to joint efforts, Russian engineers managed to replace imported equipment for the manufacture of this aircraft element.
“Our Novocherkassk Polytechnic Institute, in partnership with other industrial colleagues, provided both the development and production of this demanded equipment,” said Manturov.
Later, the Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed to Irkut Corporation, part of Rostec, that they had given their approval for major changes to the standard design of the MS-21 aircraft regarding the installation of the Russian PD-14 engine. The wing is made of locally produced composite materials.
In addition, on December 28, the aircraft received a certificate of operation at low negative temperatures.
At the end of December 2022, Irkut, together with the airline Rossiya, organized visits to various parts of the country, in particular to Kaliningrad and Nizhny Novgorod, by Father Frost and Snow Maiden on the new MS-21 aircraft. The Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, Anton Alikhanov, noted that the region, which does not have a land border with the main part of Russia, expects the MS-21 to be put into service more than others.
Since 2008, Irkut Corporation has been developing the Russian medium-range aircraft MS-21. The liner can accommodate from 163 to 211 passengers and is a deep modernization of the Yak-42, it should occupy the same commercial niche as the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo. A distinctive feature of the MS-21 is its wide fuselage for this class of aircraft – 4.06 meters. This allows it to provide comfort comparable to wide-body liners of the latest generations.
Initially, mass production of the MS-21 was planned for 2017, it was supposed to enter the market in 2020. But in May 2017, the plane only made its maiden flight. Deadlines have changed: the flight certification program was supposed to be completed in December 2021. MS-21 made its first long flight from Irkutsk to Moscow in October 2022.
Now three copies of the MS-21 have been made. In March 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced that plans for mass production of the cruise liner will be delayed for one to two years due to the sanctions imposed by Western countries after the start of a special operation in Ukraine. In addition to the engine, Russian engineers will have to replace about 80 units and systems on the aircraft.
Source: Gazeta
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