gearing up for roll-out [p.14] - Take

Transcript

HIGH TECHNOLOGIES SAFEGUARDING
PEACEFUL SKIES
march 2016 • Special edition for FIDAE 2016
PD-14
under flight tests
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[p.10]
"Almaz – Antey" Air and Space Defence Corporation, Joint Stock Company
• Russia’s largest defence holding company
• more than 60 industrial and research organizations
• powerful research and productive potential
• full range of air defence systems and assets
• integrated technological process from development to serial production of weapons and military equipment
• full liability and timely fulfillment of contractual obligations
• our products are successfully operated in 50 countries worldwide
• enterprises Concern employs 125 thousand people
"ALMAZ – ANTEY"
CORP.
41, Vereiskaya str., Moscow 121471, Russia
Tel.: +7 (495) 276-29-65, Fax: +7 (495) 276-29-69
[email protected] www.almaz-antey.ru
MC-21
SSJ100
in Latin American
skies
gearing up
for roll-out
Almaz-Antey
air traffic control
systems
[p.22]
[p.14]
Ilyushin renovates Military Transport aviation fleet [p.18]
[p.28]
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PD-14
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Prospective engine
for short/medium-haul airliners
United Engine Corporation
16, Budyonnogo avenue, Moscow, 105118, Russia
www.uecrus.com
March 2016
Editor-in-Chief
Andrey Fomin
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Editor, avionics and weapons sections
Yevgeny Yerokhin
Columnist
Alexander Velovich
Special correspondents
Alexey Mikheyev, Andrey Bludov,
Victor Drushlyakov, Andrey Zinchuk,
Ruslan Denisov, Alexey Prushinsky,
Sergey Krivchikov, Anton Pavlov,
Alexander Manyakin, Yuri Ponomarev,
Yuri Kabernik, Marina Lystseva,
Sergey Popsuyevich, Piotr Butowski,
Alexander Mladenov, Miroslav Gyurosi
Design and pre-press
Mikhail Fomin
Translation
Yevgeny Ozhogin
Cover picture
Irkut Corp.
Publisher
Director General
Andrey Fomin
Deputy Director General
Nadezhda Kashirina
Marketing Director
George Smirnov
Business Development Director
Mikhail Fomin
News items are prepared by editorial staff based on reports of our
special correspondents as well as press releases of production companies
Items in the magazine placed on this colour background or supplied
with a note “Commercial” are published on a commercial basis.
Editorial staff does not bear responsibility for the contents
of such items.
© Aeromedia, 2016
P.O. Box 7, Moscow, 125475, Russia
Tel. +7 (495) 644-17-33, 798-81-19
Fax +7 (495) 644-17-33
E-mail: [email protected]
www.take-off.ru
Dear reader,
You are holding another issue of Take-off, a special supplement to
Russian aerospace monthly VZLET, timed with the FIDAE 2016 air show
being held in late March 2016 in Chile and considered a major and most
popular event of the kind in Latin America. FIDAE has always been held in
high regard by its Russian participants. This is quite understandable, since
Russian aircraft have been operated in the region for a long time, having
earned well-deserved regard in several Latin American nations.
During the last ten years the cooperation between Russian aircraft
manufacturers and customers in the region has been given several new
impetuses. The Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighters as well as Mil Mi-35M, Mi-26T
and Mi-17-V5 helicopters have entered service with the Venezuelan Air
Force. Brazilian armed forces have taken delivery of Mi-35M helicopters
becoming the first Russian-made combat aircraft in the country while
the Brazilian commercial carriers now fly Mil Mi-171A1 and Kamov
Ka-32A11BC medium multirole transport helicopters. Cubana de Aviacion
airline from Cuba has launched operations of its Tupolev Tu-204-100E (CE)
airliners and freighters as well as Ilyushin Il-96-300 widebody aircraft and
An-158 regional jets delivered by Russian lessor Ilyushin Finance Co. In
2013 Mexico’s carrier Interjet became the first Western operator of Sukhoi
Superjet 100 regional jets and is demonstrating very high results of their
commercial services. Now it has 20 SSJ100s and is waiting for ten more
in the nearest future.
Talks are underway on a number of other potential contracts for delivery
of combat and commercial fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft to some of
the Latin American countries. Today, such modern Russian aircraft, as
the Sukhoi Su-35 fighters, Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainers, helicopters
of the Ka-32A11BC, Ka-62, Mi-17 (Mi-171), Mi-35M, Mi-28NE and Mi-26
families, advanced Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jets and prospective Irkut
MC-21 short/medium-haul airliners, etc., are offered on the Latin American
market.
I hope that this issue will help FIDAE 2016 participants and visitors to
understand better what the Russian aircraft industry is now and what
aircraft it can provide to Latin American customers.
Best regards,
Andrey Fomin,
Take-off Editor-in-Chief
contents
CONTRACTS AND DELIVERIES
March 2016
China orders Su-35 fighters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Yak-130 enters service with Bangladesh Air Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
From MiG-29 to MiG-35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6
Mi-26T2 deliveries began . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
INDUSTRY
Mi-38 receives its type certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
10
High-speed helicopter flying testbed starts tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Two Mi-171A2s in trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
First Arctic Mi-8AMTSh-VA delivered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
14
PD-14 has flown!
Advanced Russian turbofan engine begins flight tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
МС-21 gearing up for roll-out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Nikolai Talikov:
18
Ilyushin to totally renovate Military Transport Aviation fleet . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
COMMERCIAL AVIATION
SSJ100: 30 months in Latin American skies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
22
Almaz-Antey: controlling sky in a new way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
MILITARY AVIATION
28
2
take-off march 2016
558th ARP offers Мi-8, Su-25 and MiG-29 upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
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Best new wings
for your ﬂeet
www.ifc-leasing.com
[email protected]
+7 (495) 710-99-60
Visit us at Dubai Airshow / Chalet C9
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contracts and deliveries | news
Last autumn saw a successful
completion of the protracted talks
on a batch of cutting-edge Sukhoi
Su-35 supermanoeuvrable multirole
fighters to China. Rostec Corporation
Director General Sergei Chemezov
said in November 2015: “The long
talks with China on the Su-35 have
been over; we have signed a contract.” According to media reports,
the deal provides for 24 Su-35s worth
about $2 billion (the value of the
contract includes the associated aircraft equipment, customer personnel training, etc.). The first fighters
may be delivered as soon as 2016,
with the remainder to follow during
2017–2018.
The Su-35 single-seat multirole
supermanoeuvrable fighter is the
summit of the fourth-generation
Su-27 fighter family. It embodies
some of the fifth-generation aircraft
solutions and technologies. The
features setting the Su-35 apart
from the rest of the Su-27 family are its advanced avionics suite
wrapped around a digital information management system and the
advanced Tikhomirov-NIIP Irbis
Alexei Mikheyev
China orders Su-35 fighters
phased-array radar. The latter features a unique aerial target acquisition capability of 400-plus km and
an increased multiple-target simultaneous tracking and engagement
capability. The Su-35’s avionics
suite also includes a latest infrared
search and track (IRST) sensor,
up-to-date navigation and communications aids and a sophisticated
defensive aids suite. The fighter
is powered by a pair of AL-41F1S
engines with the trust enhanced
to 14,500 kgf. The engines have
thrust vector control, which, coupled with the advanced operating
algorithms of the plane’s fly-bywire flight control system, enables
the fighter to use supermanoeuvrability modes in battle.
The first two Su-35 prototypes
built in export version began their
flight tests in 2008. Later on, in
August 2009, Sukhoi and the Russian
Defence Ministry made the first fiveyear governmental contract for 48
Su-35S fighters of the Russian Air
Force, with the deal fulfilled in early
2016. In December last year, the
Russian Air Force placed another
lucrative order for 50 Su-35S aircraft
more to be delivered before 2020.
It was reported last autumn that
the Indonesian Air Force may acquire
Su-35s in the near future too. The
Indonesian office of CNN reported
on 26 November 2015 that Air Chief
Marshal Agus Supriatna, commander
of the Indonesian Air Force, told journalists in Jakarta that the Indonesian
government had given a green light to
the procurement of 12 Su-35s.
Yak-130 enters service with Bangladesh Air Force
Samaul Haque Tasdid
6 December 2015 Bangladesh
Air Force Bangabandhu air base
hosted a ceremony of the service
entry of the first batch of Yakovlev
Yak-130 combat trainers received
last autumn under the 2013 contract between Russian official arms
exporter Rosoboronexport and
the Bangladesh Defence Ministry.
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take-off march 2016
The prime contractor was the Irkut
corporation. The ceremony was
attended by Bangladesh Prime
Minister Shaikh Hasina Wazed,
military commanders as well as
Rosoboronexport and Irkut representatives.
Last September, Rostec Director
General Sergei Chemezov told the
media that the contract stipulated
the delivery of 16 Yak-130 combat trainers to Bangladesh. The
first six aircraft under the contract
were made and tested by Irkut’s
Irkutsk Aviation Plant during April
through August last year, with the
Bangladesh-ordered first Yak-130’s
maiden flight taking place in the city
of Irkutsk on 29 April 2015. At the
same time, Bangladesh Air Force
pilots and maintainers underwent
ground school and practical training in operating a new aircraft type.
They received their ground school
and simulator training at Irkut’s
Air Personnel Training Centre and
their practical training at the Irkutsk
Aviation Plant.
According to Bangladeshi sources, the first six-plane Yak-130 batch
and associated equipment were
delivered in later September 2015
by Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan and
Ilyushin Il-76TD-90VD transport
planes of the Volga-Dnepr air carrier.
The next eight Yak-130s built by
Irkut for the Bangladesh Air Force
were flight-tested in December
2015. They had been delivered
before year-end, and the contract is
to be completed by the delivery of
the remainder in 2016.
www.take-off.ru
contracts and deliveries | news
From MiG-29 to MiG-35
were assembled and flight-tested
in December 2011 (MiG-29M2
two-seater) and February 2012
(MiG-29M single-seater), and the
assembly of production-standard
MiG-29M/M2s has been in full
swing at MiG Corp.’s Production
Facility No. 1 in Lukhovitsy,
Moscow Region, since 2013. Since
a decision was taken to put off
the MiG-29M/M2 delivery to the
launch customer in the Middle East
owing to the complicated political
situation in the country, the aircraft
were offered to other potential customers as well.
The MiG-35 single-seat and
two-seat versions are to signify
a further turn of the evolution of
the MiG-29M/M2. They are to get
an even more advanced avionics
suite, including the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar
being developed by Phazotron-NIIR
corp., a subsidiary of the Radioelectronic Technologies. Russian
Air Force Commander-in-Chief
Victor Bondarev has said recently
that the Russian Defence Ministry
was intent on ordering a batch of
MiG-35 fighters and that the delivery could kick off in 2018. The MiG
Corp. recently began the assembly of the first two MiG-35 prototypes at the Production Facility in
Lukhovitsy.
At the same time, the company is
fulfilling an order from the Defence
Ministry for 16 MiG-29SMT fighters
(including four twin-seaters) placed
in April 2014. These single-seat
aircraft are being made at the corporation’s Production Facility No. 2
in Moscow (twin-seaters – at the
Sokol plant in Nizhny Novgorod),
with the first six MiG-29SMTs and
two twin-seaters have been delivered to RusAF by this spring.
the flying and ground crews of the
customer and then were delivered
in early June 2015. Meanwhile, the
manufacturer in Rostov-on-Don
built two more production-standard
Mi-26T2s during June and July last
year. Their delivery flight to the
customer took place in November
with the next two that have been
built by this spring will follow soon.
According to the Interfax-AVN news
agency, the customer is intent on
buying eight helicopters more, once
he has received the six Mi-26T2s.
Anton Pavlov
Last autumn the MiG Corporation fulfilled the contract for 24 MiG-29K/KUB
multirole carrierborne fighters
ordered by Russian Navy in February
2012. All 20 single-seat MiG-29Ks
and four MiG-29KUB twin-seaters
delivered in 2013–2015 flew to
Yeysk-based Naval Aviation Combat
Training and Conversion Center to
be fielded with a newly established
separate carrierborne regiment of
the Russian Naval Aviation soon.
MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB delivered to Russian and Indian Naval
air arms are the first production
versions of a commonised family
of heavily upgraded MiG-29 derivatives which include also land-based
MiG-29M/M2 and MiG-35 fighters.
The MiG Corporation launched
the active promotion of the
MiG-29M/M2 fighters in 2012. The
two aircraft are much commonised with the carrierborne MiG-29K
single-seater and MiG-29KUB twoseater in terms of design, avionics
and armament. The first two aircraft
Last summer, Russian Helicopters
launched the delivery of advanced
Mil Mi-26T2 heavy-lift helicopters,
which full-scale production was
launched by one of the holding company’s subsidiaries, Rostvertol.
The key feature setting the
Mi-26T2 apart from the productionstandard Mi-26 and Mi-26T/TC is
its advanced digital avionics suite
allowing a crew reduction from four
to two (from five to three in case
the external sling is used), while
increasing reliability, safety, stability, controllability and hover precision that is especially important
when using the external hoist.
The upgraded Mi-26T2’s BREO-26
avionics suite is wrapped around the
NPK-90-2 flight navigation system
comprising the digital display system
that has ousted the legacy ‘clocktype’ instruments. It also includes
control panels, a digital computer, a
satellite navigation system and a digital flight control system. In addition,
the avionics suite includes an up-
www.take-off.ru
to-date integrated communications
system and a flight recorder system.
Like the baseline model, the
Mi-26T2 can haul outsize cargo and
hardware with a total weight of 20 t
in the cabin and under belly. The
military transport version carries
82 troops and the casevac up to 60
casualties. Its can conduct building and assembly work varying in
complexity, suppress fires, quickly
haul fuel and refuel vehicles on the
ground, and do other things.
The advanced solutions introduced
under the Mi-26T2 programme had
been tested on a prototype helicopter
flight-tested since 2011.
According to Rostvertol annual
report, the first export contract for
six Mi-26T2s for a Middle East/
North African nation was signed
in June 2013. Rostvertol made the
first two aircraft under the contract
in late 2014. One of them first
flew in December 2014; the other
in February 2015. Following their
tests, both were used for training
Alexei Mikheyev
Mi-26T2 deliveries began
take-off march 2016
5
industry | news
A ceremony of issuing a type certificate for the advanced Mil Mi-38 medium multirole transport helicopter was
hosted by the Mil Helicopter Plant’s
facility in Tomilino, Moscow Region.
Certificate FAVT-01-Mi-38, confirming the compliance of the helicopter’s
standard design to Russia’s AP-29
aviation regulations harmonised with
the EU’s CS-29 and US’s FAR-29, was
given by Federal Air Transport Agency
chief Alexander Neradko to Russian
Helicopters Director General Alexander
Mikheyev. Mention should be made
that this is the first Russian type certificate issued after the aircraft certification authority was transferred from
the Interstate Aviation Committee’s
Aircraft Registry to the Federal Air
Transport Agency.
The type certificate for the Mi-38-2
model powered by Klimov TV7-117V
turboshaft engines (the engine was
certificated last summer with its initial service life; its Type Certificate
ST355-AD was issued by the IAC
Aircraft registry on 29 July 2015)
so far provides for a number of
restrictions on the helicopter’s flight
Alexei Mikheyev
Mi-38 receives its type certificate
characteristics and operational conditions and allows the operation of its
transport variant only. As the additional phases of the certification programme are cleared, the restrictions
will be lifted one after another and the
aircraft’s other versions, including
the passenger one, will be cleared
for use too.
According to Russian Helicopters,
the Mi-38-2 enters full-rate production
and hits the Russian market in 2016–
2017. Kazan Helicopters manufacturing
plant has assembled the fuselage of the
first production-standard Mi-38-2.
Early this year, Kazan Helicopters
Director General Vadim Ligai said the
construction of the first two produc-
tion Mi-38s has been in progress. The
Mi-38’s delivery may start in 2017
after the restrictions on its operational
conditions have been removed and its
passenger version has received its certificate. According to Vadim Ligai, the
production output will grow as orders
come to account for 20–24 helicopters
a year in the end.
High-speed helicopter flying testbed starts tests
Timofei Nikishin
On 29 December 2015 the flight
test facility of the Mil Helicopter Plant
(a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters)
in Tomilino, Moscow Region, saw
the maiden flight of an experimental
helicopter – the technology demonstrator that is a flying testbed of
the PSV future high-speed helicopter.
Test pilot Vladimir Kutanin was at
the controls on the flying testbed’s
6
take-off march 2016
maiden flight. Test engineer Tatyana
Demyanenko was on board too. The
crew noted the machine’s good stability and controllability, high dynamics and good performance of its systems and equipment.
The LL PSV flying testbed is a
derivative of the production-standard
Mil Mi-24K helicopter, featuring a
heavily modified shape of the fuselage
nose section and cockpit canopy (the
gunner’s front cockpit has been discarded), Klimov VK-2500-01 engines
with the 2,400-hp takeoff power and
an advanced rotor system with composite rotor blades and the latest
aerodynamics, strength and manufacturability advances. At the first
stage of the trials, the LL PSV flying
testbed was stripped of the Mi-24’s
characteristic stub wing. A full-scale
mock-up of the LL PSV flying testbed
was unveiled at the MAKS 2015 air
show in August last year.
According to Russian Helicopters,
the objective of the LL PSV flying
testbed programme is to provide
experimental proof of the 50% speed
increase to 400–450 km/h over the
current production helicopters. The
anticipated speed increase was produced through mathematical modelling and wind-tunnel tests. The
results produced are supposed to be
used in the development of advanced
helicopters and in the upgrade of the
existing ones. For instance, it was
reported at MAKS 2015 that the newgeneration rotor blades being tested
on the LL PSV may offer the Mil
Mi-28N helicopter a 10% maximum
speed increase and a 13% cruising
speed hike. The Mi-35M helicopter’s
speed improvement may total 13%
and 30% respectively.
www.take-off.ru
V.Tikhomirov Scientific-Research Institute of Instrument Design, JSC
3, Gagarina str., Zhukovsky, Moscow region, 140180, Russia
Tel.: +7 (495) 556-23-48 Fax: +7 (495) 721-37-85
E-mail: [email protected] www.niip.ru
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MEANS TO WIN
industry | news
Last autumn, the Russian Helicopters
holding company issued an official
statement about the commencement of
the flight tests of the second prototype
of the heavily upgraded Mil Mi-171A2
medium multirole helicopter at its
subsidiary Mil Helicopter Plant. The
upgraded Mil-171A2 (OP-2) conducted
its first sortie on 12 October 2015.
The powerplant of the upgraded
machine comprises two Klimov
VK-2500PS-03 turboshaft FADEC
engines. The Safir auxiliary power
unit starts the engines at an altitude of
6,000 m. The rotor system has been
upgraded much too: the composite
main rotor blades and the upgraded
swash plate and hub slashed the rotor
system’s overall weight and increased
the main rotor’s thrust by 700 kgf.
In addition, the Mi-171A2 is fitted
with the X-shaped tail rotor with the
composite rotor blades, which has
boosted the machine’s controllability
and reduced its noise level.
The upgrades have raised the
takeoff weight by 1,000 kg and the
underslung cargo weight by 25% to
5,000 kg. In addition, the cruising and
maximum speeds and the range have
Grigory Sh
Two Mi-171A2s in trials
grown too. Compared with the production-standard Mi-8 family helicopters (Mi-17, Mi-171), the Mi-171A2
version features a noticeable increase
in transport effectiveness.
Another significant feature of
the Mi-171A2 is its KBO-17 avionics suite allowing safe flying round
the clock and in any weather. The
KBO-17’s instrument panel is based
on the glass cockpit concept. It
includes five multifunction liquid-
crystal displays. The machine’s
level of automation has allowed a
crew reduction from three to two.
The advanced powerplant, rotor
system and tail rotor have been tested
on the Mi-171LL flying testbed since
autumn 2012. The flying testbed
proved the maximum speed increase
from 250 km/h to 280 km/h, a 20%
cruising speed growth, a main rotor
thrust hike and a vibration level drop.
The Mi-171A2 OP-1 first flying pro-
totype has been in flight trials since
summer 2014. It performed its first
level flight on 14 November 2014.
The second Mi-171A2 prototype
(OP-2) was unveiled at the Russian
Helicopters static display ground during the MAKS 2015 air show last
August.
The certification of the Mi-171A2
and the start of its production by
Russian Helicopters subsidiary UlanUde Aviation Plant are slated for 2016.
First Arctic Mi-8AMTSh-VA delivered
Russian Helicopters
Russian Helicopters holding company on 25 November 2015 issued
an official statement that the Russian
Defence Ministry had received the
first Mil Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopter designed for its Arctic forces.
The machine is a derivative of the
production-standard Mi-8AMTSh-V
specifically modified for operations
at ambient temperature below -40°C
8
take-off march 2016
in the country’s High North, with its
range on extra fuel tanks extended to
1,300 km.
Russian Helicopters and the
Defence Ministry signed a contract for
a batch of Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopters
for the Arctic forces in February 2015.
The contract is being executed by the
Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, a subsidiary
of Russian Helicopters.
The Mi-8AMTSh-VA’s equipment
allows its operation in extremely low
ambient temperature, featureless terrain, polar night, loss of satellite navigation coverage, faulty radio communications, large water areas and long
distance between airfields.
“The scientific and technical High
North operation groundwork laid during the development, production and
testing of the Mi-8AMTSh-VA is to
be used in developing a commercial
variant of the Arctic helicopter,” says
Russian Helicopters Director General
Alexander Mikheyev. “Such a variant is
needed by both Russian provinces for
developing transport infrastructure in
the north and by oil and gas producers
for their offshore programmes.”
The Mi-8AMTSh-VA is powered
by Klimov VK-2500-01 turboshaft
engines, a reinforced power train and
the TA-14 enhanced-power auxiliary
power unit that provides self-con-
tained power supply for power-hungry
gear onboard the machine.
The cockpit and cabin heating system, improved heat insulation, integral
powerplant/transmission heating system and teflon pipes of the hydraulic, oil
and fuel systems enable the aircraft to
fly at ambient temperature below -40°C.
To enhance the effectiveness of
flying and the accuracy of navigation
in featureless terrain and during Arctic
night, the Mi-8AMTSh is fitted with a
digital autopilot, a satnav system and
a digital navigation system with an
integral digital map generator and a
strapdown inertial navigation system
allow gauging the helicopter’s coordinates if the satnav signals are off. The
weather radar is effective in detecting
dangerous weather phenomena and
the coastline.
The Mi-8AMTSh-VA is adapted for
night vision goggles to fly after dark
and in polar night.
www.take-off.ru
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industry | event
Andrey FOMIN
PD-14 HAS FLOWN!
Advanced Russian turbofan engine
begins flight tests
The flight tests of the advanced PD-14 aircraft engine designed to power the future
Irkut MC-21 short/medium-haul airliner have become the most important latest event
of Russia’s aircraft engines industry. They started at the Gromov Flight Research
Institute (LII) last autumn, when the engine was mounted on the wing of the Ilyushin
Il-76LL flying testbed. The PD-14, which is being developed by the United Aircraft
Corporation with Perm-based Aviadvigatel JSC as prime contractor, is the founder of
a whole family of the advanced engines featuring a wide range of thrusts and powers
and designed for various passenger and transport planes and helicopters as well as
for ground-based powerplants. The PD-14’s flight tests launched in November 2015
capped a large series of ground trials of full-size engines and their units, conducted
at the test benches of Aviadvigatel JSC, TsIAM (Central Aircraft Engine Institute) and
TsAGI (Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute) since 2010.
The PD-14 No. 100-07 was submitted for the
Il-76LL flight tests. It is the first engine of the
type, completely made by the manufacturing
plant – the Perm Engine Company (UEC
Perm Motors joint stock company since
February 2016). The preceding PD-14s had
been made by the prototype manufacturing
facility of Aviadvigatel JSC. As is known, the
first burn of the technology demonstrator
(engine No. 100-01) took place in June 2012.
10
take-off march 2016
The second PD-14 (100-03) commenced its
rig tests in January 2014 and the third one
(100-04) in October 2014. December of that
year saw the PD-14 (100-05) mounted on the
test rig, followed in earlier 2015 by the PD-14
(100-06), which core was made by the UEC
Perm Motors manufacturing plant for the
first time.
In September 2015, Aviadvigatel JSC
bench-tested the manufacturer-supplied
PD-14 (100-07) engine and shipped it to
Gromov LII in the town of Zhukovsky for
flight testing.
A decision was taken to use the Il-76LL
(c/n 08-07, side number 76529) aircraft as a
flying testbed. This Il-76 was made in 1977
and exported, but it found itself back in
Russia in the late 1980s, and Gromov LII
converted it to the Il-76LL flying testbed
for testing advanced engines. The 10,900-hp
D-236T propfan engine prototype was tested
on it in 1989, followed by the 14,000-hp D-27
propfan prototype. Then, the plane had been
mothballed at Gromov LII for a long time
before a new job was found for it.
According to Gromov LII’s stand at the
MAKS 2015 air show, the Il-76LL flying testbed
allows a prototype engine’s characteristics to
be gauged in flight, its hydraulic and electrical
loading performed, air bleed conducted and
the telemetry recorded and downlinked to the
ground-based control centre monitoring the
flight experiments. The testbed is capable of
testing engines with a thrust of up to 25,000 kgf
within the 280–600 km/h indicated airspeed
bracket at Mach up to 0.77 and at an altitude
up to 12,000 m. It may fly a test mission for as
long as 6 hours.
The PD-14’s mounting on the Il-76LL
had been preceded by serious preparations
of the aircraft itself, involving personnel
from subsidiaries of UAC and UEC. The
cargo compartment had been furnished with
advanced engineer work stations fitted with
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Alexei Mikheyev
industry | event
www.take-off.ru
emission annular combustor and two-stage
high-pressure compressor. The baseline
PD-14 will be equipped with a 1,900 mm
single-stage fan retaining the diameter of the
fan used in the PS-90A engine, a three-stage
low-pressure compressor and a six-stage lowpressure turbine.
A meeting on the PD-14 engines family
development was held in Perm on 24
November 2015. The meeting was attended by
Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov,
the ministry’s Aircraft Industry Department
Director Sergei Yemelyanov, UEC Director
General Alexander Artyukhov, TsIAM
Director General Vladimir Babkin, VIAM
Director General Yevgeny Kablov, etc. The
attendees were given a familiarisation tour of
the Perm Engines assembly facilities and were
Alexander Inozemtsev,
Designer General, Aviadvigatel JSC,
and Russian Government Vice-Premier
Dmitry Rogozin after the Il-76LL first test
flight with the PD-14 prototype engine
Mikhail Gribovsky
computers and equipment to monitor and
control the prototype engine and the flying
testbed’s experimental systems, and a special
pylon had been made to mount the PD-14 on
the left inboard station.
The installation of the prototype engine
and the set of experimental equipment was
completed in a hangar of Gromov LII in
October 2015. The flying testbed was
rolled out on 24 October and it started its
taxiing and ground runs. Then, a session
of the Experimental Aircraft Methodology
Council’s presidium cleared the Il-76LL for
its first test flight with the PD-14 prototype
engine. The flight took place on 30 October
2015, with the aircraft controlled by the crew
led by Alexander Krutov, Honoured Test Pilot
and Hero of the Russian Federation.
The flight test programme was officially kicked
off by the sortie conducted on 3 November 2015
and attended by Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry
Rogozin. The mission took 40 minutes and went
as planned. The monitoring of all engine units
and systems indicated their smooth operation.
A unique telemetry system, pioneered during
the trials, enabled the test engineers at Gromov
LII’s flight experiment control facility in
Zhukovsky and at the Perm-based Aviadvigatel
JSC to watch the engine’s operating parameters
in real time.
The PD-14 is a two-shaft separate-flow
engine with the gearless fan drive. All engines
of the family have a common core with the
eight-stage high-pressure compressor, low-
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industry | event
Mikhail Gribovsky
shown an advanced oil system test bench, a
static test bench and a strength test laboratory
of Aviadvigatel JSC.
“The PD-14 is the baseline engine for
the MC-21 airliner, but it also is applicable
to other aircraft with their subsequent
re-engining, e.g. the Il-76 transport
aircraft and a number of other promising
applications,” Denis Manturov said. “We
expect the core engine developed under the
programme to be used as part of engines
powering heavy-lift helicopters and other
aircraft to maximise their production output
and switch to domestic suppliers.”
The meeting noted that the PD-14
programme was on track, with the assembly
of the ninth PD-14 (100-09) being in the
final stages and the flight tests of the PD-14
(100-07) on the Il-76LL flying testbed
continuing. “The work is on schedule, but we
should maximise the intensity of the tests both
on the ground and on the flying testbed. The
future of the programme, type certification
in 2017 and flight testing of the MC-21
powered by PD-14s are hinged on this,” the
minister said in Perm. “Since more than 60%
of the MC-21’s parts will be made in Russia,
we must drive the engine’s percentage to
100%. This will increase our technological
independence and, what is more, maximise
the economic effect.”
As is known, the PD-14’s full-rate production,
slated for 2018, will be synchronised with
the launch of the MC-21’s market entry. In
addition to the 14,000 kgf baseline model of the
engine, its 12,540 kgf PD-14A and 15,600 kgf
PD-14M versions are being developed to power
the MC-21’s derivatives, future MTA medium
airlifter, re-engined Il-76, etc. In addition, lesserthrust engines are being derived from the PD-14’s
core engine – the 7,900 kgf PD-7 for the SSJ100,
An-148 and Be-200 aircraft, 10,900 kgf PD-10 to
fit the future regional enhanced seating capacity
aircraft, 18,700 kgf PD-18R geared turbofan for
the possible re-engining of the Tu-204 and Il-96
airliners and 11,500 hp PD-12V turboshaft engine
to re-engine the Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter and
other promising aircraft in its class, including the
AHL heavy helicopter being co-developed with
China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted
the start of the PD-14’s flight tests too. At the
State Council’s 25 November 2015 session on
the progress in industrial import substitution
in Nizhny Tagil, he congratulated Designer
General Alexander Inozemtsev and all other
engine makers in Perm on their success. “I am
glad about our engine makers,” Vladimir Putin
said. “I congratulate Alexander Inozemtsev as
Designer General and all of his colleagues,
the whole team, on their victory. It is the first
achievement of our aircraft engine industry on
such a scale over the past 30 years.”
Concurrently with the first phase of the
PD-14 flight tests on the flying testbed, the
Central Aircraft Engine Institute’s Scientific
Test Centre (TsIAM STC) in Lytkarino,
Moscow Region, had completed the phase
of full-scale testing of the PD-14 (100-08)
on the Ts-1A altitude test bench by early
December 2015. The conditions of flying at
11,000 m at Mach 0.8 were simulated in a
thermal vacuum chamber of TsIAM STC.
The test centre’s unique altitude compressor
PD-14 prototype engine
under the wing of Il-76LL flying testbed
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take-off march 2016
station and cooler-dehumidifier unit supplied
cooled dehumidified air to the thermal
vacuum chamber at a rate of 210 kg/s in
support of the tests.
The engineering tests of the PD-14 on the
Ts-1A altitude test bench were in support of
the PD-14 tests on the Il-76LL by Gromov
LII and also aimed to research into the
engine’s altitude and speed characteristics,
test its start-up performance, check its
controllability and the quality of its automatic
control system’s regulation, assess the thermal
state of the engine parts and the effectiveness
of the cooling system at high altitude, etc.
During the preparations for the PD-14’s
tests, the Ts-1A rig was upgraded to increase
its measurement accuracy and its research
systems’ factual content accuracy by means
of advanced equipment. The trials proved
the effectiveness of the advanced test bench
systems TsIAM had developed for the PD-14
testing. Mention should be made that more
than 900 full-scale turbojet engines had been
tested on TsIAM STC’s altitude test benches
from 1955 to 1991.
Emphasising the importance of the trials,
Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Andrei
Boginsky said: “The testing of the PD-14
on a TsIAM STC bench is a milestone for
the whole of the aircraft engine sector of the
Russian aircraft industry. For the first time in
30 years, we are testing a Russian-developed
new-generation commercial aircraft engine
on a TsIAM STC altitude test bench.”
“Symbolically, the first phase of the PD-14’s
full-scale tests coincided with the 85th
anniversary of the Central Aircraft Engine
Institute, which we celebrated on 3 December
2015,” TsIAM Director General Vladimir
Babkin said. “The tests of the PD-14 have
graphically highlighted the significance of
science in aircraft engine development and
the part being played by the Central Aircraft
Engine Institute: the most complex and powerconsuming types of compulsory aircraft engine
tests, simulating such full-scale operating
conditions as altitude, speed, temperature,
humidity, etc., can be performed in Russia only
using the test benches of TsIAM STC.”
The press office of UEC Perm Motors
said in a news release in February 2006 that
the PD-14 (100-07) engine had passed the
first stage of its flight tests on the Il-76LL.
It had flown 12 test sorties that “proved
the design characteristics and operability
in the expected operating environment.”
The plant made three PD-14 prototypes
(100-07, 100-08 and 100-09) in 2015 and
is to manufacture four more in 2016. “If
all goes to plan, the MC-21 equipped with
PD-14 advanced engines will conduct its
maiden flight in early 2018,” UEC Perm
Motors says in its press release.
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industry | programme
МС-21
GEARING UP
FOR ROLL-OUT
This year’s key events for Russia’s airliner industry are to become the completion
of the first flying prototype of the Irkut MC-21 short/medium-haul airliner and
the start of its flight tests. By early this year, the Irkutsk Aviation Plant had
mated the fuselage sections of the first MC-21-300 prototype. The manufacturer
received both of the prototype’s composite wing panels in January and March
2016 and started joining them with the fuselage. The rollout of the first MC-21 is
scheduled for June this year. The plane is being made by a large pool of the United
Aircraft Corporation’s subsidiaries, with other Russian and foreign subcontractors
participating in earnest. If all goes to plan, the MC-21-300 will go on its maiden
mission late in 2016, with the completion of its certification and the beginning of its
delivery expected in 2018–2019.
Irkut Corp. is the prime contractor under
the future MC-21 new-generation airliner
development and production programme in
line with the Russian President’s executive
order dated 6 June 2010. The Irkut Aviation
Plant, a subsidiary of Irkut Corp., will handle
the construction of prototypes and production
aircraft of the MC-21 family.
The division of labour under the MC-21
programme is as follows. The Irkutsk Aviation
Plant is tasked with fuselage manufacture and
aircraft final assembly. Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk
supplies the metal panels of the F1 through
F5 fuselage sections, tail section and auxiliary
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take-off march 2016
power unit (APU) section as well as the whole
set of doors (11 per plane) to the Irkutsk
Aviation Plant.
Ulyanovsk also is the venue for the
assembly of the empennage, which polymer
composite panels and primary structure are
made by Obninsk-based ORPE Technologiya,
a subsidiary of RT-Chemcomposite holding
company. Centre wing section, spars and integral
wing panels are made of polymer composites
by the new AeroComposit-Ulyanovsk plant
using a cutting-edge infusion technology, while
composite wing leading and trailing edges, wing
high-lift devices and elevators are provided by
Andrey FOMIN
Photos by Irkut Corp.
KAPO-Composit in Kazan (AeroCompositUlyanovsk and KAPO-Composit are the
Ulyanovsk- and Kazan-based venues of
AeroComposit JSC, a UAC subsidiary).
The MC-21 is to become the first Russian
airliner with the all-composite wing. Overall,
the polymer composites account for about
30% of the MC-21. Voronezh-based VASO
plant is participating in the manufacture of the
engine nacelles for the PD-14 engines and is
supplying landing gear doors, wing fairings,
flaps fairings and other fibreglass parts as well
as engine pylons.
Provision has been made for two types
of powerplant for the customer to choose
from – the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G-JM
geared high-bypass ratio turbofan and the
PD-14 turbofan from Russia’s United
Engine Corporation (Aviadvigatel JSC as
prime contractor for development and the
Perm Engines plant as prime contractor for
production). Hydromash JSC in Nizhny
Novgorod makes nose and main gear struts.
UAC – Integration Centre, a UAC division, is
integrating the avionics suite, which includes
both Russian (from Concern Radio-electronic
www.take-off.ru
Technologies enterprises) and imported
systems, and developing software for it.
To build the MC-21, the Irkutsk Aviation
Plant in 2014 assembled the first stage of an
advanced automated machine assembly line
equipped with positioning and laser measuring
systems. The line is used for assembling and
mating fuselage sections and for final assembly
with the use of up-to-date digital technologies.
The plant’s latest equipment and premises
available will allow it to manufacture up to
70 MC-21s a year.
The manufacture of the parts and units for
the first four prototypes (two for flight tests, one
for static trials and one for endurance tests) has
begun. Numerous structurally similar panels,
bays and assemblies have been made for static
and fatigue tests. The first MC-21 fuselage
panels were manufactured in Ulyanovsk and
shipped to Irkutsk in spring 2014. Aviastar-SP
had shipped to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant a full
set of F1 and F2 fuselage section panels for
the first MC-21-300 flying prototype before
the beginning of 2015, a set of panels for the
F3 section in March 2015 and another for
the F4 section in May 2015. The Ulyanovskwww.take-off.ru
take-off march 2016
15
based plant completed the tail section and was
working on the auxiliary power unit bay last
summer. The plant in Irkutsk had assembled
the F1 section with the flight deck and then
the F2 section by early June 2015. It mated
the F1 and F2 in July, which was followed by
the mating of the F3 section and wing centre
section to them late in the month.
The first (starboard) composite wing panel of
the MC-21 was brought to the Irkutsk Aviation
Plant from Ulyanovsk on 19 January 2016. It had
been made by AeroComposit-Ulyanovsk using
the innovative vacuum infusion and automatic
carbon filler layup technologies. The second
(port) wing panel arrived in Irkutsk on 4 March,
and its mating with the fuselage began. A bit less
than a year ago, in April 2015, AeroCompositUlyanovsk shipped to the Irkut Aviation Plant
the composite wing centre section including
elements of the fuselage that have already been
integrated with the first MC-21.
The construction of the AeroCompositUlyanovsk facility on the premises of the
Aviastar-SP plant kicked off in November 2011.
By late 2013, the facility had manufactured
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take-off march 2016
over a dozen structurally similar MC-21 wing
structural members for testing by TsAGI
institute that had since summer 2011 been
testing prototypes of the wing torsion box
of the MC-21’s composite wing, which the
AeroComposit had ordered from Diamond and
FACC AG.
The manufacture of full-scale polymeric
wing torsion box spars and wing centre section
panels began in Ulyanovsk in April 2014.
AeroComposit had assembled the leading-edge
and trailing-edge segments of the composite
wing torsion box by late summer 2015 and
started the wing torsion box panel installation
in autumn.
The manufacture of the composite wing of
the MC-21 features the automated carbon filler
layup process by means of industrial robots,
followed by the vacuum infusion technique.
AeroComposit is the world’s pioneer in using
the technology in the manufacture of wing
primary structural members, e.g. spars, wing
torsion box panels and wing centre section.
The technology allows making large integral
structures (MC-21 wing torsion box panels
measure about 18 m long) acting as integral
structures. Their manufacture requires no
additional fasteners. The vacuum infusion
technique both cuts the weight of the wing and
allows a more sophisticated aerodynamic form
of the high aspect ratio wing.
The manufacture of polymeric elements of
wing high-lift devices, wing leading and trailing
edges, elevators and rudders for the MC-21
relies on autoclaving at AeroComposit’s other
manufacturing facility – KAPO-Composit in
Kazan, which first stage was commissioned in
July 2013.
The delivery of the first MC-21-300
prototype’s empennage (vertical tail with the
rudder, and the stabiliser’s wing panels with the
elevators) to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant is slated
for the second quarter this year, which will allow
the plane to be assembled by June – the time
it is to be rolled out in a ceremony. Then, the
aircraft will start its ground tests and debugging,
after which it will have been ready for its first
flight by year-end.
The maiden flight will be preceded by
the static trials of the second prototype, the
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MS-21-300SI. The airframe designed for static
trials has been in assembly by the Irkutsk Aviation
Plant since last year, the wing centre section
was delivered by AeroComposit-Ulyanovsk in
November 2015, and the composite wing panels
for it are being completed there this spring. The
second flying and endurance prototypes (the
latter dubbed MC-21-300RI) are to be next to
join the trials – in 2017, probably.
The MC-21-300’s baseline model, which
flight trials with the use of PW1400G-JM
turbofan engines are slated for late this year,
is designed to seat up to 211 passengers on
services out to 5,900 km. In the standard
two-class layout, the MC-21-300 will seat
163 passengers (16 in business class and 147
in the economy one). The standard singleclass layout will allow seating 181 passengers
with the 32-inch seat pitch. The design
documentation is to be completed this year
for the MC-21-200 version with the fuselage
shortened by 5.5 m. The variant is designed
to carry up to 176 passengers to a distance
of 6,000 km (135 in the two-class layout,
including 12 in business class, and 153 in the
standard single-class layout with the 32-inch
pitch). The MC-21-300 will have a maximum
takeoff weight of 79,250 kg, while the shortened
MC-21-200’s MTOW will stand at 72,390 kg.
In late August 2015 Pratt & Whitney
announced it had provided Irkut with the first
PW1400G-JM engine for mounting on the
MC-21-300 first flying prototype. The engine was
brought to Irkutsk on 23 August 2015 following
its assembly and testing by the manufacturer’s
facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. The
delivery of the second PW1400G-JM to fit the
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first MC-21-300 took place in October 2015.
According to Pratt & Whitney, the prototypes of
the PW1400G family comprising powerplants
for the Airbus A320neo (PW1100G-JM),
Bombardier CSeries (PW1500G), Mitsubishi
MRJ90 (PW1200G) and Embraer E-Jets-E2
(PW1700G and PW1900G), had logged over
20,000 hours in more than 36,000 cycles,
including about 6,000 hr in flight, by the time
the first PW1400G-JM was delivered to Irkutsk.
The United Engine Corporation for its part
continues to develop and test PD-14 prototypes.
PD-14 prototype No. 100-07 started its flight
trials onboard the Ilyushin Il-76LL flying
testbed last autumn, and the manufacture and
delivery of the first two PD-14s for tests onboard
the MC-21 are scheduled for 2017.
The MC-21-300’s certification and
the launch of its delivery are planned for
2018–2019. Firm orders for the MC-21
have totalled 175, of which 50 aircraft have
been ordered by the Aviacapital-Service
leasing company, a subsidiary of Rostec state
corporation, for Russian flag carrier Aeroflot
and 35 more, powered by PD-14s, for Russian
governmental agencies. The Ilyushin Finance
Co. leasing company has awarded an order
for 50 aircraft, and a 30-unit order has been
placed by VEB-Leasing. In addition to
Aeroflot, another MC-21 launch customer
may be the Red Wings airline planning to get
the airliners ordered by Ilyushin Finance Co.
In addition, Irkut has landed a contract from
the IrAero carrier for 10 aircraft. Negotiations
with many other airlines have been under way,
with tentative agreements signed with some of
them.
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17
industry | interview
The Russian Air Force’s Military Transport Aviation Command (MTAC) received
its first newly-built Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A airlifter in a ceremony at the Aviastar-SP
aircraft plant in Ulyanovsk on 2 December 2015. A symbolic key to the plane
was presented by Aviastar-SP Director General Sergei Dementyev to MTAC
Commander Lt.-Gen. Vladimir Benedictov. On the next day, the Il-76MD-90A
(c/n 0105) named Victor Livanov after a prominent aircraft designer and Ilyushin’s
former Director General was ferried to its home station, MTAC’s 610th Combat
Training and Conversion Centre (CTCC) in the city of Ivanovo. It was followed by
another Il-76MD-90A (c/n 0108) in January 2016. Using the two planes, CTCC has
started converting the personnel of the Military Transport Aviation Command air
regiments earmarked to start receiving the new type in 2017. The branch is to get
a total of 39 brand-new Il-76MD-90A airlifters under a contract awarded by the
government in October 2012. Il-78M-90A tanker planes are next to come into the
inventory. In addition, in-service Il-76MD transports and most of the Il-78 and Il-78M
aerial tankers will be upgraded by request of the Russian Defence Ministry.
Take-off asked Ilyushin Designer General Nikolai Talikov to tell it about Ilyushin’s
work under the Il-76MD-90A programme and its light, medium and heavy-lift
transport aircraft programmes as well.
NIKOLAI TALIKOV:
Ilyushin to totally renovate military transport aviation fleet
Last year, the first Il-76MD-90A was fielded
with the Combat Training and Conversion
Centre of the Military Transport Aviation
Command. What is your vision of the future
of the programme? When will the aircraft pass
its official trials and start fielding with the
command’s combat units?
Indeed, there was the official handover
of the Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A (RF-78653)
aircraft to MTAC in Ulyanovsk on 2 December
2015, the manufacturer presented the plane’s
symbolic key to MTAC Commander Lt.-Gen.
Vladimir Benedictov, and the aircraft headed
for Ivanovo on 3 December. I attended its
ceremonial welcome in Ivanovo and was
amazed at the solemnity of the event and the
enthusiasm of the people attending. Mind
you, it was the first new aircraft that MTAC has
received over 23 years! Previously, the branch
took delivery of its last (Tashkent-made)
Il-76MD as far back as 1992, with no new
planes received until recently. The problem
was remedied only after the decision was
made in 2006 to move the Il-76’s production
from Tashkent to Ulyanovsk. Ulyanovskbased Aviastar-SP productionised a heavilyupgraded version, the Il-76MD-90A,
differing from its predecessor in having an
advanced long-panel wing, an up-to-date
avionics suite, new powerplant, a higher
lifting capacity and a longer range. In the
presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin,
a contract was signed on 4 October 2012
for 39 Il-76MD-90As for RusAF’s Military
Transport Aviation. They are to beef up
MTAC’s in-service aircraft fleet, stabilising its
aircraft strength. For this purpose, the delivery
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take-off march 2016
will be gradual and will have continued until
2021. At the same time, the upgrade of the
in-service Il-76MDs to Il-76MD-M standard
will begin.
The first flying example of the Il-76MD-90A
(c/n 0102) made its maiden flight in Ulyanovsk
on 22 September 2012. It passed the first
phase of its official trials and was sent back
to the manufacturer for getting fitted with
advanced special onboard systems in line with
the requirements specification – a defensive
aids suite, a communications suite, etc. The
job will have been done this spring, and the
prototype will start Phase II of its official
trials. In parallel, the plant in Ulyanovsk
built two more Il-76MD-90A (c/n 0103 and
0104) in 2014 under a separate contract. They
were shipped to Taganrog, where they will
be converted to advanced special-purpose
aircraft. The first of the plane designed for
Military Transport Aviation Command –
c/n 0105 named after late Ilyushin Director
General and Designer General Victor Livanov
(1943–2014) – first flew last August and was
unveiled at the MAKS 2015 air show in the
same month. It is this plane that we delivered
to CTCC in Ivanovo early in December 2015.
The second airlifter of the type (c/n 0108,
RF-78654) was completed and painted for
MTAC in December 2015: the customer
accepted it and the plane went to Ivanovo on
27 January 2016.
The second phase of the official tests using
the Il-76MD-90A c/n 0102, which will start
this spring, will not take long. We expect
it completed as soon as by the autumn, we
will get an official trials report and then
will modify both Il-76MD-90As delivered to
CTCC in Ivanovo to the production standard
refined on aircraft c/n 0102. In 2017, we will
begin to field Il-76MD-90As with MTAC’s
combat units. A delivery schedule has been
agreed. The delivery pace will be increasing
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until it reaches 12 planes per annum in 2020
or 2021. Aviastar-SP is quite capable of doing
so even concurrently with its work on the
Irkut MC-21, Ilyushin Il-112V, Antonov
An-124, Tupolev Tu-204 and other aircraft.
What about the upgrade of the in-service
Il-76MDs?
The Defence Ministry has ordered the
upgrade of the first two aircraft under the
programme dubbed Il-76MD-M. The first
one (RF-76746) modified at our facility in
Zhukovsky first flown on 28 February 2016.
Its flight tests will not take long, because the
upgrade relies on the same equipment we have
tested on the first Il-76MD-90A. According
to the customer’s requirements specification,
the volume of modifications is not as big as
that on the brand-new Il-76MD-90A. Mostly,
we replace the obsolete instruments, avionics
units, and extend the planes’ service life.
The engines remain the same – D-30KP2
turbofans, they will be overhauled ones
with the extended service life. The cockpit
management system remains the same
too. We want to update about 40 in-service
Il-76MDs made in the later ‘80s and early
‘90s to Il-76MD-M standard in 12 years. The
in-service Il-78 and Il-78M tankers will be
upgraded this way too. The upgrade of the first
Il-78 will start soon. To expedite the delivery,
we intend to contract UAC’s plants in Staraya
Russa and Ryazan.
When will the first advanced Il-78M-90A
tanker plane emerge?
The first Il-78M-90A (c/n 0201) is
being built in Ulyanovsk, with its fuselage
assembled and the wing being mated with it.
The aircraft is to be ready for its flight tests
this summer. Since almost all of the Il-78M90A’s equipment is the same as that of the
Il-76MD-90A, the trials of the advanced
tanker are not to be too long. Actually, only the
systems different to those used in the airlifter
will have to be tested – the fuel system, fuel
transfer system, etc. Based on the outcome of
the official tests, we expect an order for fullrate delivery in 2017 or, maybe, even sooner.
The Defence Ministry has released an official
statement that it expects to order about 40
advanced Il-78M-90As.
On 17 November last year, during his visit
to Ulyanovsk, Russian Emergencies Minister
Vladimir Puchkov announced the signature of
an agreement for six advanced Il-76TD-90A
aircraft to be delivered between 2016 and 2022.
What is the status of the development of the
Il-76MD-90A’s commercial version? How will
it be certificated?
The difference between the commercial
and military versions is insignificant.
Essentially, we will strip the Il-76MD-90A of
its military systems, such as defence aids suite,
special communications systems, etc. The
Il-76TD-90A transport will retain the lifting
capacity of the Il-76MD-90A airlifter – 60 t.
This is a 20% increase over the in-service
Il-76TD’s lifting capacity. As for the order
placed by the Russian Emergencies Ministry,
there indeed has been a framework agreement
for six Il-76TD-90As for the ministry. We
have suggested that the version ordered should
retain the cargo air-dropping and air-landing
capabilities featured by the Il-76MD-90A
but lacked by the Il-76TD operated by the
Emergencies Ministry’s air arm. We deem
them important to the ministry owing to the
job it does.
In addition to the Emergencies Ministry,
several other potential customers have
displayed interest in the commercial version,
e.g. Belarusian company Transaviaexport
and several Middle East and other Il-76TD
operators pondering an upgrade of their
aircraft fleets through buying advanced
Il-76TD-90As.
Now, a few words are due about the
certification of the commercial version.
We believe that it is inexpedient to conduct
the full-fledged AP-25 certification of the
Il-76TD-90A. An airworthiness certificate
supplement would do, as is the fact with
the Il-76TD-90VD (five aircraft of the type
are flown by Volga-Dnepr). The baseline
Il-76TD has no type certificate, but has an
airworthiness certificate issued by the Soviet
aircraft industry and civil aviation ministers
Sergey Aleksandrov / Ilyushin
Welcome ceremony of the first Ilyushin
Il-76MD-90A delivery to the Military
Transport Aviation’s 610th Combat
Training and Conversion Centre.
Ivanovo, 3 December 2015
www.take-off.ru
take-off march 2016
19
The first two Il-76MD-90A aircraft for Russia’s Military
Transport Aviation: in the foreground – aircraft 0105 (RF-78653),
which was handed over to the customer on 2 December 2015,
in the background – 0108 (RF-78654), which completed
it’s maiden flight in Ulyanovsk on 15 December 2015
in 1982. The Il-76TD-90VD’s airworthiness
certificate supplement issued by the leaders
of the Federal Industry Agency and Federal
Transport Supervision Service in 2006 and
is sufficient for unrestricted operations of
Volga-Dnepr’s aircraft both in Russia and
all over the world. Therefore, we believe that
this approach will be good enough for the
advanced Il-76TD-90A. The decision was
approved by the Transport Ministry and
Industry and Trade Ministry on 11 December
2015.
Ilyushin’s next advanced aircraft designed
for the Russian military is to be the Il-112V
light airlifter. What is the status of the
programme now?
We are finalising the transfer of its design
documentation to the aircraft manufacturer
in Voronezh. The design documentation has
already been put to use, the VASO plant is
preparing the rigging and other production
tools, and the manufacture of parts and units
for prototype aircraft has begun. The Il-112V
seems to be easy enough to build from the
manufacturing point of view. Therefore, I am
certain that VASO as the manufacturer of the
Il-96 wide-body airliner will productionise
the light transport aircraft in stride.
As is known, under the November 2014
development work contract between the
Defence Ministry and Ilyushin, VASO is to
20
take-off march 2016
manufacture two Il-112V prototypes – one
for static and endurance tests and the other for
flight trials. The static test prototype should
be made and handed over to TsAGI Central
Aerohydrodynamic Institute before year-end.
We expect to have the first flying prototype in
the air by 30 June 2017.
A thorny problem, which even put the
programme on hold some time ago, was
that the United Engine Corporation’s
Klimov TV7-117ST engine was still under
development. The United Engine Corporation
(UEC) has told us that the TV7-117ST will
have been developed by the time the Il-112V
starts its flight tests, i.e. by the summer of
2017. However, even if UEC slips behind
schedule a bit, this will pose no problem,
because the Il-112V can go on its maiden
missions powered by certificated TV7-117SM
engines and later can be equipped with its
organic engine, as the Klimov company
completes its development. Still, it would be
nice for the flying prototype to be powered by
the TV7-117ST on its first sortie.
Then, we want to build another flying
prototype for use as part of the official tests.
I reckon two Il-112Vs will be enough for the
flight test programme. Also, we expect to
make a contract for the full-scale production
of the type in 2016 or 2017, with the delivery
to begin as soon as 2019.
A medium airlifter is next…
Yes, our next aircraft to follow the
Il-112V should be a medium airlifter with a
carrying capacity of 20 t. We call it Il-214. It
is the designation we used in the ‘90s while
developing a similar plane. The programme
had to be shelved due to financing problems.
Later, the Il-214 was used as the foundation of
the Russian-Indian Medium Transport Aircraft
(MTA) programme. The aircraft was supposed
to be produced both in Russia and India and
to enter service with the air forces of both
countries. For a number of reasons, the joint
programme has slowed down, however, while
the Russian Defence Ministry badly needs an
advanced medium airlifter and cannot weight
for the Indian partners to make a decision,
because there are almost no Antonov An-12
aircraft left in the Russian Air Force’s inventory
and it is economically prohibitive for an
Il-76MD to haul 20 t somewhere. Therefore,
Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov signed
a protocol in September 2015, under which we
are to develop the Il-214 medium airlifter with
a lifting capacity of 20 t.
We have started updating the design records
in the interest of the Russian Air Force. The
groundwork India and we laid under the MTA
programme is now used, because the Defence
Ministry’s requirements specification is very
similar to what the Indian military wanted.
www.take-off.ru
Aviastar-SP Director General Sergei
Dementyev presents a symbolic key to
the plane to Russia’s Military Transport Aviation
Commander Lt.-Gen. Vladimir Benediktov.
Ulyanovsk, 2 December 2015
The next production Il-76MD-90A (c/n 0109)
at the assembly line of Aviastar-SP plant
Now, we are at the preliminary design stage
that will be short enough, because the MTA’s
preliminary design was approved before.
Current plans provide for the powerplant to
comprise two PS-90A1 engines with a thrust of
17,400 kgf each (the type powers the Il-96-400
widebody). If the Perm-based designers develop
an 18,000 kgf variant of their advanced PD-14
(PD-18R), we will switch over to it, which will
benefit the medium airlifter. However, we will
use the PS-90A1 for now, all the more so that
Military Transport Aviation Command will be
widely using Il-76MD-90As powered by the
engines of the type by then.
Presumably, the first Il-214 may be built by
the beginning of next decade. Its production
may be launched in Ulyanovsk, and we are
pondering inviting other UAC production
companies to join the programme. Certainly,
when our medium airlifter programme livens
up and transitions to the development phase,
our Indian partners will join it again.
Now, the burning issue – the advanced heavylift aircraft known as Future Military Transport
Aircraft (PAK VTA)…
In addition to the Il-214 medium transport
aircraft development, the aforesaid protocol
signed by the deputy defence minister
in September last year tasked us with
researching into a heavy airlifter with a
carrying capacity of 80 t, i.e. the plane
designed to replace MTAC’s now-scarce
Antonov An-22, while being smaller than the
An-124 super-heavy airlifter. It will be based
on the Il-106 heavy airlifter concept dating
back to the late ‘80s. It is supposed to be a
wide-body high-wing monoplane with the
cargo ramp and a maximum takeoff weight
of about 250 t. Initially, it is supposed to be
powered by four PS-90A1 engines. They are
to be replaced with a new-generation higherthrust turbofans. In the long run, we need
the plane to be powered by a pair of engines
producing 35–40 tonnes of thrust each. The
development of an engine like that in Russia
is relevant not only to military transport
aircraft, but to commercial ones as well,
e.g. future long-range wide-body airliners.
I believe UEC and UAC should pool their
efforts to develop a common powerplant
for future aircraft of this class. Aviadvigatel
JSC in the city of Perm and Samara-based
Kuznetsov JSC have said they are ready to
launch the development of engines with the
thrust like that.
I would like to emphasise that we will be
able to develop a heavy airlifter after the Il-214
(MTA) has been developed, i.e. the first heavylift military transports should not be expected
before the middle of next decade. Still, our
customer is all for it and has assured us that the
plane is in demand and will remain so.
The first Il-78M-90A tanker plane
under assembly at Aviastar-SP plant,
December 2015
www.take-off.ru
take-off march 2016
21
Marina Lystseva
commercial aviation | report
Andrey FOMIN
SSJ100
30 MONTHS IN LATIN
AMERICAN SKIES
March 2016 marked 2.5 years since new Russian regional airliner Sukhoi Superjet
100 started flying services for Mexican airline Interjet. The latter, Mexico’s secondlargest air carrier, became the launch customer for the Superjet in Latin America
and in the West in whole. Twenty aircraft of the type are now in service with Interjet
airline, and the carrier is going to grow its fleet of SSJ100 jets up to 30 aircraft in
a year. The results produced by the Mexican Superjets in the first 30 months of
commercial passenger services have been more than good. Hopefully, the Mexican
experience will pave the way to new customers for the SSJ100 in Latin America and
other regions and serve a good example to follow.
22
take-off march 2016
www.take-off.ru
Marina Lystseva
Interjet airline awarded the contract in
January 2011 for 15 Sukhoi Superjet 100
jets in SSJ100-95B basic version. Some
later the number of planes ordered
increased to 20, with 10 options being
converted into firm order last year. So,
the total Interjet’s order grew up to
30 Superjets to be delivered in 2013–2017.
The aircraft’s supplier is Russo-Italian
joint venture SuperJet International, which
Venice facility is used for installation of
the passenger cabin interior from Italian
design bureau Pininfarina, aircraft painting
as well as airline’s flying and ground crew
training.
The Mexico-operated Superjet’s cabin
seats 93 passengers in economy class, but
has an unusually long pitch – 34 inches
(864 mm) – owing to thinner seats and has
an in-flight entertainment system.
The first two Superjets (MSN 95023 and
95024) were flown to Mexico in summer
2013 and kicked off commercial operations
on 18 September 2013 following the relevant
commissioning procedures. By the end of
2013 the carrier got two more aircraft of
the type with the next eight in 2014 and
seven more in 2015. The 20th Superjet was
delivered to Interjet in early March 2016.
Since the very beginning of the Superjet
operation, Interjet has performed very well
owing to the effective after-sales support
system provided by SuperJet International
and to the wealth of Interjet’s experience in
minimising downtime at airports. Suffice
it to say that during the first four months
of the SSJ100 operations in Mexico,
the monthly flight time per aircraft had
averaged 210 flight hours (6.9 h a day) and
each of the airliners had flown an average
of 194 times a month (6.4 flights a day),
with the average flight duration standing at
about an hour.
The 30 months-long flight operations in
Mexico are a good cause for summing up
some results produced by SSJ100 in service
with Interjet. The 20 planes have logged
over 47,000 passenger flights equalling
almost 53,000 flying hours. The daily flight
time of some of the Superjets exceeded 11 h
at times. As far as uptime is concerned, the
SSJ100 is virtually on a par with the Airbus
A320 medium-haul airliner long used by
Interjet. Superjet’s dispatch reliability is in
the range of 99%.
The route network the SSJ100s operate
on in Mexico comprises several dozen
lines stemming mostly from Mexico City
and Toluca as well as from Monterrey,
Guadalajara and Leon. The Mexican
Superjets fly to airports sitting in
mountainous terrain, including those at
over 2,200 m above sea level. The longest
flight – from Mexico City to Tijuana – takes
3 h 10 min. On 12 September 2014 Interjet’s
SSJ100s started scheduled operations
from Monterrey to San Antonio, Texas
(USA) with some US-bound services – to
Houston, Miami, etc. – have been added
later. Other international destinations now
SSJ100s in service with Interjet airline
(as of March 2016)
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Reg.
number
XA-JLG
XA-IJR
XA-JLV
XA-ABM
XA-NSG
XA-OAA
XA-PBA
XA-JLP
XA-LME
XA-BMO
XA-ALJ
XA-LLV
XA-GCD
XA-OUI
XA-PPY
XA-BVM
XA-NGO
XA-VER
XA-VAS
XA-DAS
MSN
95023
95024
95028
95036
95034
95038
95040
95042
95045
95048
95046
95049
95052
95050
95066
95054
95071
95081
95065
95072
Maiden
flight
12 Sep 2012
16 Dec 2012
24 Mar 2013
19 Jun 2013
28 Aug 2013
06 Oct 2013
02 Nov 2013
12 Nov 2013
22 Dec 2013
30 Dec 2013
28 Dec 2013
19 May 2014
19 Mar 2014
06 Feb 2014
16 Jul 2014
29 Jul 2014
20 Sep 2014
08 Dec 2014
09 Jul 2014
23 Dec 2014
Delivery
EIS
18 Jun 2013
02 Aug 2013
05 Nov 2013
21 Dec 2013
01 Feb 2014
14 Mar 2014
25 Apr 2014
07 Jun 2014
04 Sep 2014
03 Oct 2014
21 Oct 2014
17 Dec 2014
26 Feb 2015
20 Apr 2015
18 May 2015
04 Jul 2015
07 Nov 2015
21 Nov 2015
15 Dec 2015
03 Mar 2016
Sep 2013
Sep 2013
Nov 2013
Jan 2014
Feb 2014
Mar 2014
May 2014
Jun 2014
Sep 2014
Oct 2014
Nov 2014
Dec 2014
Mar 2015
Apr 2015
May 2015
Jul 2015
Nov 2015
Nov 2015
Dec 2015
Mar 2016
Interjet airline now operates 20 Sukhoi Superjet 100s and is
waiting for ten more to be delivered in 2016–2017
www.take-off.ru
take-off march 2016
23
IFC
Marina Lystseva
Ilyushin Finance offers for Latin America
IFC
Ilyushin Finance Co., a Russia’s aviation
dedicated lessor since 1999, is well known in
Latin America countries. Until present IFC has
delivered more than fifty aircraft under lease and
export credit contracts. New orders exceeding
100 aircraft include Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional
jets, Irkut MC-21 short/medium-haul airliners as
well as Bombardier CSeries jets. The company
has well established relations with leaders in the
world of finance and the aviation industry. All this
supports providing the airlines and operators
with exclusive solutions in financial structures,
coupled with comprehensive after-sale support.
IFC has built a fleet of fourteen new Russianmade aircraft for Cuban national carrier
Cubana de Aviacion airline. This includes four
Ilyushin Il-96-300 wide-body airliners, two
Tupolev Tu-204-100 single-aisle medium-range
passenger jets and two Tu-204-100C freighters
as well as six recently delivered Antonov An-158
regional jets. Those deliveries were supported by
providing long-term export credit financing, crew
and engineering personnel training programs,
spares stock and MRO base. All this was
arranged by IFC to provide a turn-key solution
and secure the flawless operation of the aircraft
to a remote overseas customer.
24
take-off march 2016
Soviet passenger and freighter aircraft had
been exported to Latin American countries for
decades. They have proved to be durable and
cost-effective airplanes still being operated
around the region, though require replacement
by new generation aircraft. Unfortunately after
the breakdown of the USSR there had been a
problem in providing such replacements at least
not until IFC had found the possibility to combine
its financing expertise with Russian industry
capabilities.
IFC believes that impressive experience of
Mexico’s Interjet with Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft
is another good example of how the modern
Russian-made aircraft can fit the regional market
and reinstate the good name of Russian aviation
industry. Superjets flying around Mexico and the
region have vividly demonstrated that Russia can
produce a competitive product according to best
global industry standards in cooperation with
world’s leading aviation equipment producers.
Coupled with effective after-sale support this
example may be multiplicated around the other
Latin American carriers searching for a modern,
dependable and comfortable 100-seater jet
backed by integrated solutions on MRO and
financing.
include flights to Guatemala City as well
as scheduled services to Cuba – to Havana
and Varadero.
Carrier’s SSJ100 after-sales support is
organised in line with the best international
standards. Interjet Superjets fleet is
supported by SuperJet International with
a “per-flight-hour” programme, called
SuperCare, a tailored and innovative
after-sales solution. To facilitate the EIS
of the SSJ100 with Interjet, SuperJet
International has set up a new support
warehouse located at Fort Lauderdale,
Florida (USA), which is providing logistic
support to Interjet and will be used in
general for any North and Latin America
customer. SuperJet International dedicated
engineering team is on-site to guarantee
technical support and advisory assistance
while the Customer Care Center based
in Venice (Italy) is operational 24/7 to
provide timely support for spares, tooling
and technical queries. 138 Interjet pilots,
180 technicians and 8 cabin attendants
have been trained by SuperJet International
in Venice by now.
Interjet is the first Western SSJ100
customer to see the contract it had awarded
make it to actual deliveries and commercial
operations. The SSJ100’s prospects on the
Western market depend heavily on the
success of the contract and the results
produced by Superjets in Mexico. The
results produced by the Mexican SSJ100s
in the first 2.5 years of commercial
passenger services have been more than
good. Hopefully, the Mexican experience
will both pave the way to new foreign
customers in the region for the SSJ100
and serve a good example to follow by the
airliner’s users.
The very important news to the Sukhoi
Superjet 100 programme was announced at
www.take-off.ru
Five years in operation in Russia
www.take-off.ru
The first ten SSJ100-95B airliners in so-called
light configuration had been delivered to Aeroflot
between June 2011 and September 2012 under a
lease contract with VEB-Leasing company. Later
on, the earlier-supplied aircraft had been replaced
with airliners in so-called full configuration from
May 2013 to June 2014. The delivery of the
second 10-ship batch of SSJ100s to Aeroflot
took place from November 2014 to May 2015,
with Sberbank Leasing acting as lessor. Six
more planes were put into service with Aeroflot
in October 2015 – January 2016. In all, the
contract with Aeroflot made in December 2005
provided for the delivery of 30 SSJ100-95Bs, but
January 2015 saw the signature of an agreement
on the delivery of 20 aircraft more. Thus, the
Superjet fleet of Aeroflot and its subsidiaries
will have accounted for 50 aircraft of the type.
All of Aeroflot’s Superjets have the two-class
87-seat cabin layout (12 business-class seats
and 75 economy-class ones). Full-configuration
airliners differ from light-configuration ones
in slightly modified avionics and enhanced
passenger comfort. Aeroflot operates its SSJ100s
from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo to several dozen
destinations in Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania,
Romania and Ukraine.
The second Russian carrier to start operating
the SSJ100 was the Yakutia airline that got two
airliners in early 2013. Both aircraft leased from
VEB-Leasing have 93-seat cabins, with eight
seats in business class and 85 in economy class.
Despite a much harsher operating environment,
Yakutia’s SSJ100s demonstrated a high level of
reliability. Thus, the sceptics predicting possible
problems inherent in SSJ100 operations in
harsh Siberian winter proved to be off base. For
instance, ambient temperature in Yakutsk was
-47°C for a month at the time the planes were
being phased into the company’s flight schedule,
and the airliners were not kept in heated hangars.
Aeroflot has got 26 SSJ100s of 30 ordered
plus 20 options by this spring
Alexei Mikheyev
the European Regions Airline Association
General Assembly (ERA 2015) in Berlin
on 13 October 2015. Irish carrier CityJet
announced its choice of the 98-seat
SSJ100 for renovating its aircraft fleet
and expanding its network. The agreement
signed by SCAC, SuperJet International
and CityJet Airlines stipulates 15 firm
orders to be fulfilled during 2016–2017,
with 10 options. The value of the contract,
including the options and services to be
rendered, exceeds $1 billion. At the same
time, CityJet Airlines signed a SuperCare
agreement on the aftersales support
of its SSJ100s for 12 years since their
commissioning. SuperJet International
will fulfill the contract. CityJet aircrews
will start training on SSJ100s using the
full-mission simulator at the SuperJet
International Training Centre in Venice
later this year.
The first four SSJ100s are scheduled for
delivery in 2016, with the remaining 11 to
follow during 2017. CityJet is planning to
use its Superjets instead of its current Avro
RJ85 (BAe-146) four-engine regional jets
operating throughout Europe, including in
London City airport right within the British
capital, which has a runway of only 1,500 m
long. The SSJ100 is said to be able to be
certificated for services to London City
airport by late 2016. Most probably, it will
be the SSJ100-95B-100 (RRJ-95B-100)
variant powered by SaM146-1S18 engines
featuring a 5% increase in thrust (these
engines equip the SSJ100-95LR extendedrange aircraft with an increased MTOW).
The first SSJ100 for CityJet, MSN 95108,
made its maiden flight in Komsomolsk-onAmur on 14 January 2016. This spring it
is undergoing customisation at SuperJet
International facility in Venice prior to its
delivery.
This year Sukhoi Superjet 100 will celebrate
its five-years jubilee in commercial operations
in Russia. The scheduled passenger services of
the advanced Russian-made regional airliner was
launched by the Armavia airline in April 2011,
with Aeroflot’s first airliner of the type starting
commercial services in June of the same year.
SSJ100s now fly to more than 130 destinations
all over the world. The type has demonstrated
high reliability and operational efficiency within
a wide range of climatic conditions with ambient
temperature ranging from -54°C to +45°C in
central and southern Russia, in Siberia, SouthEast Asia and Latin America.
In addition to scheduled passenger services,
the Superjets have been used for chartered and
special flights: three SSJ100s, including a VIP
one, are being operated in this manner with
Russian commercial aviation companies, and
another one by the special air detachment of the
Russian Ministry of the Interior. The presidential
special air detachment, Rossiya, and the air arm
of the Russian Emergencies Ministry have got
two special-version aircraft each. In addition, one
aircraft has been delivered to the Kazakh division
of the Comlux company and will start flying VIP
services, once its passenger cabin has been
converted accordingly in the US.
Last autumn, the presentation of another
production-standard Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner
took place in Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company
(SCAC) Komsomolsk-on-Amur-based primary
production facility. The aircraft had manufacturer
serial number (MSN) 95100, which means it is
the 100th SSJ100 built. The 100th airliner was
completed last summer and conducted its first
flight on 16 September 2015. The aircraft is due to
start flying for the Aeroflot carrier soon, with the
Russian flag carrier already having 26 Superjets
flying scheduled services. By this spring, there are
43 SSJ100s operated by such Russian airlines as
Aeroflot, Yakutia, Gazprom Avia and Red Wings.
take-off march 2016
25
Alexei Mikheyev
Red Wings has received five SSJ100-95Bs from the secondary
market last year and placed an order for newly built SSJ100-95LRs
Eduard Borisenkov
Yakutia airline operates its two Superjets in harsh climate
conditions with winter temperatures down to -54°C
Last year, Yakutia’s SSJ100s flew scheduled
operations from Yakutsk to Blagoveschensk,
Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Novosibirsk, Ulan-Ude and
Vladivostok; from Khabarovsk to Blagoveschensk
and Mirny; and from Novosibirsk to Yekaterinburg
and Neryungri. The Yakutsk–Harbin and UlanUde–Seoul international flights were performed
too. Chartered flights were conducted from
Vladivostok and Khabarovsk to the Japanese
cities of Osaka and Niigata. Given the proven
effectiveness of the Superjet’s operations under
harsh conditions in Yakutia, the carrier bearing the
26
take-off march 2016
same name decided to buy more aircraft of the
type. On 15 June 2015, SCAC and Yakutia signed
a bilateral contract for three new extended-range
SSJ-100-95LRs with a seating capacity of 93
(eight in business class and 85 in economy class)
to be delivered from 2017. A firm order was made
for the first of the three airliners (delivery date –
January 2017), and the other two are options so
far, but can be delivered in autumn 2017 or early
in 2018.
The third Russian user of the SSJ100, the
Gazprom Avia airline, received its first Superjet
in August 2013. Aircraft MSN 95033 (RA-89018)
delivered to the carrier was the first productionstandard SSJ100-95LR extended-range aircraft.
The modified SSJ100LR variant hauls the same
number of passengers out to 4,580 km (the
baseline SSJ100-95B – 3,050 km). The increase
in range is owing to an increase in maximum
takeoff weight from 45,880 kg to 49,450 kg,
achieved through minor structural modifications.
SaM146-1S18 turbofan engines featuring a 5%
thrust increase power the LR version. Gazprom
Avia has received ten Superjets under the August
www.take-off.ru
them to be brand-new ones in the SSJ100-95LR
extended-range version with the 103-seat cabins.
During MAKS 2015 airshow in August 2015 the
State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) awarded
SCAC a firm order for 32 SSJ100s with 28 options
valued at over 130 billion rubles (about $2 billion).
Within the three trade days of the show STLC, in
turn, signed agreements and letters of intent with
air carriers for a total of almost 200 billion rubles
(over $3 billion). The deals clinched included an
Alexei Mikheyev
of which one had been operated by the Moskovia
airline that is out of business now and the two
others had been in service with Aeroflot. All of
them have the 93-seat two-class layout – eight
seats in business class and 85 in economy
class. Later on, Red Wings and SCAC made an
operating lease agreement for two SSJ100-95Bs
more previously used by Aeroflot, they entered
services with Red Wings in the second half of the
last year. As is known, Red Wings’ aircraft fleet
Gazprom avia became the launch customer
of SSJ100-95LR jets with extended range,
getting ten aircraft in 2013–2015
Mikhail Polyakov
Yamal airline is to become a new Russian
operator of Sukhoi Superjet 100 this spring
2011 contract: the final SSJ100-95LR (RA-89054,
MSN 95092) was delivered on 10 July 2015.
Gazprom Avia ordered 90-seat economy-class
airliners, with the first two rows of seats (10)
having a pitch of 34 inches (864 mm) and the
remaining 16 rows (80 seats) separated by a
partition having a tighter pitch of 30 inches
(762 mm). Gazprom Avia commenced its SSJ100
commercial operations on 4 March 2014.
Another Russian carrier, Red Wings, started
SSJ100 commercial operations a year ago, on
6 February 2015. Early last year, it has received
three SSJ100-95Bs manufactured in 2011–2012,
www.take-off.ru
has consisted of eight 210-seat Tu-204 mediumhaul aircraft. Introduction of 93-seat Superjets to
it has made it easier for the carrier to explore new
lines. Red Wings’ Superjets have been flying on
scheduled services from Moscow’s Domodedovo
airport and from Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. Last
year one could fly on a SSJ100 from Moscow
to Grozny, Kazan, Makhachkala, Ulyanovsk
and Anapa as well as from St. Petersburg to
Makhachkala. According to Red Wings Director
General Yevgeny Klyucharyov, plans provide for
beefing up the SSJ100 fleet. The airline expects
to receive five airliners more in 2016, with all of
agreement with the Yamal airline for 25 SSJ100s,
Kazakh air carrier SCAT (15 firm orders and five
options), Orenburzhye airline (eight SSJ100s, with
the first three to arrive in 2016), Buryatia Airlines
(15, including two SSJ100s previously used by
Center-South airline), Tuva Airlines (10), Red
Wings (15 throughout 2017, including those the
carrier leased from SCAC), Yakutia (five, including
the two it has operated since 2013 and three
new SSJ100-95LRs to be delivered in 2017–18),
etc. The first SSJ100-95LR earmarked for Yamal
(RA-89034, MSN 95062) is going to entry service
this spring.
take-off march 2016
27
commercial aviation | air traffic control
Andrey BLUDOV,
George SMIRNOV
ALMAZ-ANTEY:
CONTROLLING SKY IN A NEW WAY
Russia and Latin American nations
continue their active mutually beneficial
cooperation. Their high technology
cooperation is most promising, and Russia
has a lot to offer to its Latin American
partners. Development and upgrade of
air traffic control systems may become
an important aspect of the cooperation.
A most prominent manufacturer of such
systems in the world, the Almaz-Antey
Air and Space Defence Corporation, has
recently commissioned the advanced Flight
Control Centre of the Moscow Automated
Air Traffic Control Centre to a governmental
customer and is willing to offer similar
programmes to foreign partners. Mention
should be made that Almaz-Antey Corp.
is among the major integrated players of
Russia’s defence industry. It comprises
over 60 manufacturing plants, scientific and
production companies, design bureaus
and research institutes employing a total
of 125,000 personnel. The corporation’s
products are in service in over 50 countries.
28
take-off march 2016
In the early 2000s, most of the Russian
airports encountered an urgent problem of
upgrading their air traffic control systems,
increasing the throughput and enhancing
the reliability. The then equipment was
not quite on a par with the ever growing
scale of air passenger operations. In this
connection, the Russian government
issued the resolution on the 2009–2020
Russian Federation United Air Traffic
Control System modernisation federal
programme. The programme provides for
setting up 13 amalgamated united air traffic
control system centres uniting 99 federal,
regional and local centres and for fitting
them with up-to-date automated air traffic
control systems. The resolution gave a
strong impetus to the development of such
equipment in Russia.
Almaz-Antey Corp., which subsidiaries
have a wealth of expertise in developing
radars and control hardware for the
united air traffic control system, became
a developer and manufacturer of the
equipment. The Sintez air traffic control
automation system became the key element
of the equipment used in the Flight
Control Centre of the Moscow Automated
Air Traffic Control Centre. This brand
name dates back more than 15 years,
with its versions being operated by several
amalgamated centres of the Russian United
Air Traffic Control System. The system’s
development had been launched before
the government adopted its programme,
but it served the base for the development
and commissioning of the sophisticated
air traffic control hardware operated now
around the Moscow airline hub that is on
the Top 3 list in Europe. The difficulty in
its operation is due to not only heavy air
traffic, but also the need of operating in
support of several large airports at once.
Under a Presidential executive order,
Almaz-Antey Corp. is the sole end-product
supplier and integrator of the advanced
system, using both its own solutions and
those from its subsidiaries and other
www.take-off.ru
companies. Naturally, it is impossible for
one company to develop the panoply of
systems required for air traffic control,
because they include very complicated
subsystems that are expensive and hightech. For this reason, several companies
are cooperating under the programme. The
best products of Russian manufacturers and
those available on the market were selected
when the system was in development.
The equipment of the amalgamated
united air traffic control system centres
consists of subsystems, e.g. the Moscow
centre includes 10 subsystems, each
handling a function of its own. The principal
subsystem – the Sintez-AR4 automated air
traffic control system – was developed
by Almaz-Antey’s subsidiary VNIIRA in
cooperation with NITA LLC. The VNIIRA
research institute also is responsible for
another subsystem – the Sintez-PIVP
automated airspace employment planning
system, and NITA is responsible for the
Megafon voice communications facility,
www.take-off.ru
etc. Thus, all subsystems are developed
by several companies. As for hardware
components, they are imported from
several best manufacturers.
In line with the customer’s requirements
specification, the development of the
advanced system resulted in 11 extra
functions lacked by its predecessors – all
cutting-edge functions relevant to air traffic
control and aimed, in the first place, at
enhancing flight safety, predicting conflict
situations and forecasting medium-term and
short-term conflicts. Unlike the system that
has been used until recently and required
air traffic controllers to visually monitor
the flight of an aircraft while performing
all relevant calculations, the new system
determines and calculates flight paths for
an aircraft to follow; if the plane deviates
from its flight path, the system takes into
account all possible parameters and offers
further courses of action. Although all
preparations are handled automatically, it
is the air traffic controller who makes
a decision after having assessed all risks
possible.
The latest Sintez-PIVP automated
airspace employment planning system
interacts with the central air traffic control
centres of the airline hubs and districts
and contains the information about all
in-progress and planned flights and about
the activities of other airspace users.
The advanced system is compliant with
all relevant international standards and
embodies all solutions recommended by the
EUROCONTROL (European Organisation
for the Safety of Air Navigation) and needed
by potential customers. This has resulted in
a high-level system literally: there are four
levels of process automation. The Russian
system is compliant with the standards set
by the top – fourth – level. There are only
two centres like that in the world so far.
The system passed all kinds of tests, and
the latest version of the Sintez-AR4 system
and Sintez-PIVP automated airspace
employment planning system completed
take-off march 2016
29
their certification in autumn 2015 and
were issued with their type certificates on
23 November 2015.
The commissioning of the system as part
of the Moscow airline hub has begun and
is expected to be complete in spring 2016.
Almaz-Antey Corp. hopes for its latest
air traffic control systems to be in demand
on the global market, because its previous
systems were exported and the latest variant
is expected to prompt interest of foreign
customers. The devaluation of the ruble
has afforded the manufacturer a certain
pricing advantage and an ability to respond
to customer requests in a flexible fashion.
An important consideration is that
Almaz-Antey Corp. develops not only air
traffic control systems, but surveillance
systems and acquisitions radars as
well. Therefore, customers are offered
integrated solutions, including the full
work cycle from design and the devising of
the documentation to the commissioning
of a product on the premises of the
customers.
The company has maintained long-time
relations with many countries, with over
50 of them operating the corporation’s
products: not only Almaz-Antey’s
trademark air defence systems, but dual-use
products as well, e.g. airspace surveillance
radars and commercial hardware as well.
For instance, Cuba and Venezuela are
the corporation’s long-time partners and
hardware users in Latin America.
At the FIDAE 2016 show in Chile,
Almaz-Antey Corp. will display both its
AD systems well known in Latin America
and proposals for their maintenance
and upgrade, on the one hand, and its
commercial products attractive to a number
of nations in the region, on the other.
“Considering the peculiarities of the
region, the corporation will exhibit both
commercial and military hardware at
FIDAE 2016,” says Alexander Vedrov,
deputy Director General for production
and technological policy, Almaz-Antey
Corp. “In particular, the VNIIRA and
LEMZ joint stock companies will display
their automation systems of the Sintez
family, Vega surveillance and airfield
traffic monitoring system and other
products that have been introduced into
the Flight Control Centre of the Moscow
Automated Air Traffic Control Centre
during its construction. Mention should
be made of the corporation’s unique
expertise in designing airports from
scratch and providing them with turnkey
equipment, which is the advantage we
are ready to share with potential Latin
American customers.”
30
take-off march 2016
Moscow Automated
Air Traffic Control Centre
The Moscow Automated Air Traffic Control
Centre became operational as part of the
Moscow hub on 15 April 1981. Its area
of responsibility measures 720,000 sq. km,
spans 18 regions of Russia and includes over
100 aerodromes, including 10 international
ones. The structure of the Moscow hub’s
airspace contains around 100 air routes
measuring a total of 26,000-plus km long,
including 74 international lines. Over 300
Russian and 800 foreign air carriers operate
in the Moscow hub’s airspace. According
to the centre’s website 17 radar sites,
including primary and secondary radars, 125
radio communication stations, 33 locator
beacons, hundreds of communication and
datalink channels and high-performance
computer systems operate in support of the
Moscow Automated Air Traffic Control Centre.
This allows establishing continuous radar
navigation and communication coverage and
furnishing the air traffic controllers with
adequate information for safe and reliable
air traffic control. The Moscow airline hub’s
radars and telecommunication equipment for
supporting the air traffic are situated on
45 sites in the Moscow, Bryansk, Vladimir,
Vologda, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol,
Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver and Tula regions.
According to Air Traffic Control State
Corporation, the Moscow Automated Air Traffic
Control Centre supported 838,700 flights in
2014. In all, the United Air Traffic Control
System handled 1,462,000 services in Russia’s
airspace, including 842,300 international
flights, of which 267,300 transit ones and
619,800 domestic ones. Thus, the Moscow
Automated Air Traffic Control Centre worked in
support of 57.4% of all flights within Russia’s
airspace.
www.take-off.ru
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industry | news
558th ARP OFFERS Мi-8, Su-25
AND MiG-29 UPGRADE
The 558th Aircraft Repair Plant
(558th ARP) is a major aircraft repair
company specialising in overhaul
and upgrade of advanced aircraft in
service with the air forces of the
Republic of Belarus and many other
states. Dozens of companies from
all over the world are partners of the
558th ARP. The long-time successful
cooperation with them proves the
plant’s reliability and competence.
These factors allow it to confidently
conquer new markets.
The company places the emphasis
on overhauling the Su-22, Su-25,
Su-27, Su-30, MiG-29 and An-2
planes as well as Mi-8 (Мi-17) and
Мi-24 (Мi-35) helicopters. 558th ARP
provides complete-cycle overhaul of
airframes and their components,
implements complex modifications to
the aircraft along with additional preventive operations to improve aircraft
reliability. In addition to overhaul,
the plant upgrades Мi-8 helicopters
as well as MiG-29, Su-27 and Su-25
combat aircraft.
The objective of the Мi-8 helicopter upgrade is to enable the transport/combat helicopter to operate
round the clock.
Upgraded aircraft are equipped
with a gyro-stabilized surveillance
and sighting system, an up-to-date
navigation and electronic display
system, a set of night vision equipment and a sophisticated flight data
32
take-off march 2016
recording system. Cutting-edge airlaunched guided weapons have been
included into their weapons suite.
The helicopter’s gyro-stabilized
surveillance and sighting system
ensures 24-hour surveillance and
sighting with thermal imagery shown
on the displays. It also provides
wide-band control of the line of sight
and target ranging with the use of a
laser rangefinder with an accuracy
of ±5 m at 10 km. The navigation
and electronic display system is
designed for the positioning of the
helicopter (latitude, longitude, altitude), velocity vector and the current
time by the signals of the GLONASS
and NAVSTAR/GPS satellite naviga-
tion systems anytime and anywhere
irrespective of the weather conditions. The BUR flight data recording system, which allows recording
the flight data with an increased
accuracy and performing automated
data processing, is an important
feature of the Mi-8 upgrade. It saves
considerable time for data decoding
and processing, ensures complete
data safety in case of grave flight
accidents; it also allows connecting
additional sensors and annunciators
to receive more reliable information
about the status of the systems
and equipment in flight to maintain
the airworthiness of the helicopter.
The night vision equipment enables
the crew to observe the external
environment at night with a maximal
vision range of 2–4 km necessary for
takeoff, hovering, piloting with visual
monitoring of the ground, approaching to and landing in unequipped and
unlit areas.
The upgraded MiG-29BM fighters acquire advanced properties and
combat capabilities, e.g. an improved
cockpit control/navigation instrumentation complemented with advanced
multifunctional
colour
LCDs,
an enhanced fire control radar, a
sophisticated navigation system and
extended-range weapons including
cutting-edge air-to-air missiles and
guided bombs.
commercial
The main objectives of the
Su-25UB aircraft upgrade are an
increase in the combat effectiveness
against ground and aerial targets,
a boost to their combat capabilities
by provision of day/night and allweather operating capabilities, an
increased number of missions owing
to up-to-date satellite navigation
aids, advanced navigation modes
and state-of-the-art software of the
sighting and navigation systems.
An increase in the combat capabilities of the upgraded Su-25UB attack
aircraft is achieved by upgrading their
sighting, computer and fire control
systems, widening of applied gun
sight types, installing the Satellite
electronic countermeasures equipment, upgrading the cockpit management system and introducing the
latest flight data control, registration,
recording and processing systems.
The effectiveness of the modifications performed on the combat aircraft and helicopters has been proven
by flight tests and operation.
558 Aircraft Repair Plant JSC
Bldg. 7, 50 let VLKSM, Baranovichi,
Brest region, 225320, Republic of Belarus
Tel.: +375 (163) 42-99-54
Fax: +375 (163) 42-91-64
www.take-off.ru
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PD-14
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Prospective engine
for short/medium-haul airliners
United Engine Corporation
16, Budyonnogo avenue, Moscow, 105118, Russia
www.uecrus.com
HIGH TECHNOLOGIES SAFEGUARDING
PEACEFUL SKIES
march 2016 • Special edition for FIDAE 2016
PD-14
under flight tests
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[p.10]
"Almaz – Antey" Air and Space Defence Corporation, Joint Stock Company
• Russia’s largest defence holding company
• more than 60 industrial and research organizations
• powerful research and productive potential
• full range of air defence systems and assets
• integrated technological process from development to serial production of weapons and military equipment
• full liability and timely fulfillment of contractual obligations
• our products are successfully operated in 50 countries worldwide
• enterprises Concern employs 125 thousand people
"ALMAZ – ANTEY"
CORP.
41, Vereiskaya str., Moscow 121471, Russia
Tel.: +7 (495) 276-29-65, Fax: +7 (495) 276-29-69
[email protected] www.almaz-antey.ru
MC-21
SSJ100
in Latin American
skies
gearing up
for roll-out
Almaz-Antey
air traffic control
systems
[p.22]
[p.14]
Ilyushin renovates Military Transport aviation fleet [p.18]
[p.28]

gearing up for roll-out [p.14] - Take

Transcript

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