Russia’s Irkut MC-21 makes successful maiden flight

In an attempt to reinstate Russia as a major player in the commercial aviation industry in the post-Soviet era, Irkut, a subsidiary of the state-owned aerospace conglomerate United Aircraft Corporation, has announced the successful maiden flight of its MC-21, which is intended to challenge the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Though the flight lasted only 30 minutes and reached an altitude of only 1,000 meters, the flight’s lead test pilot Oleg Kononenko reported that all went as normal.
The MC-21 is designed to seat 163 passengers in two classes and Irkut has indicated that it should be between 12 and 15 percent more economical to run than its Western competitors. So far there are 175 orders for the plane, which has a range of approximately 3,500 nautical miles, or 6,400 kilometers. Aeroflot is to be the launch airline.
While the C-21 is still heavily dependent on Western aerospace suppliers, such as Pratt & Whitney which is supplying the two geared turbofan engines and which have also been used by Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, it is also using several advanced technologies, including flight controls, that are yet to be seen on Boeing and Airbus planes. Russia is also presently developing its own new engine for the MC-21.
Just a few weeks after China’s Comac C919 took its maiden flight, unlike the Chinese who are showing little interest in generating overseas sales, the MC-21 is being pushed by Russia to increase its non-military aerospace exports. However, there has been no confirmation as yet whether the aircraft will be ready to make its international debut at the Paris Air Show, which begins on June 18. It is expected that the MC-21 will be ready for commercial service in 2019.