Air International 2016-08
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P.Butowski - Throwing Down the Gauntlet /Commercial/
The Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev presents the initial MC-21-300, the first large airliner in Russia for a quarter of a century, with which the Russians want to compete with the popular Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
The Irkutsk plant finishes fuselage assembly of the second MC-21-300SI (Staticheskiye Ispytaniya), intended for static tests which will begin this autumn with the TsAGI in Zhukovsky.
The whole production tooling for the MC-21 was purchased in the West. The side panels of the F1 (front) fuselage section here are being made by Broetje-Automation machines.
The most important innovation in the MC-21 is its long composite wing. This is the also greatest technical risk of the entire programme, as nobody before has produced such large load-bearing elements using vacuum infusion
The MC-21 main undercarriage leg has two wheels as standard; however, it is possible to order four-wheel boogies to enable operation from poor-quality runways.
The optional Russian engine for the MC-21 is the Aviadvigatel PD-14 (the ninth prototype engine is on the picture). The first MC-21 with PD-14 engines is scheduled to fly in June 2018.
The PD-14 is a conventional, non-geared twin-spool bypass turbofan.
The production and assembly line of the IAZ plant at Irkutsk (its layout seen in the illustration) has been developed and delivered by German Durr Systems GmBH.
A mock-up of the future passenger cabin of the MC-21. In typical configuration, the MC-21-300 will take 163 (16 business and 147 economy class), and a maximum 211 passengers.
The MC-21 avionics (the cockpit mock-up is pictured here) has been integrated by the UAC Integration Centre with participation of other Russian companies; foreign participants deliver only separate components.