The Russian MS-21 aircraft made its first flight with domestic PD-14 engines. This is a great victory for the Russian aviation industry, which allows Russia to return to the world elite of civil aviation. And although the Russian engine is slightly inferior to the American one in terms of efficiency, it also has a number of undeniable advantages over its overseas competitor.
On December 15, 2020, the first flight of the MS-21-310 aircraft equipped with new Russian PD-14 engines took place at the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. The flight lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes, took place at altitudes up to 3500 m and speeds up to 450 km / h.
"The flight task has been completed completely. The engines turned out to be decent. In the first flight, they proved to be excellent, " said test pilot Vasily Sevastyanov after the flight.
The flight task included assessing the stability and controllability of the aircraft and checking the operation of the systems and power plant at various altitudes and flight speeds. Also in accordance with the mission accomplished passes over the runway in a variety of configurations of the wing high-lift devices.
"The first flight is always a bright sight and an exciting event. It is the key moment of the birth of a new aircraft, " says Oleg Panteleev, Editor-in-chief of Aviaport.
Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov believes that Russia has created a new generation of airliner, which returns our country to the top league of world aviation. "There are only a few countries in this top league, and we are not just going back there, we are making a very serious statement. To date, the MS-21 is the most modern mainline aircraft of all existing ones. Now we can feel much more confident thanks to the capabilities, technologies and prospects of our aviation. We have been going to this for more than a decade and continue to go, " says the editor-in-chief of the portal "Avia.<url> " Roman Gusarov.
And a special pride and victory is the domestic PD-14 engine. MS-21 in a configuration with foreign-made engines-American PW1400G-JM of Pratt & Whitney-has been flying for a long time, since May 2017. This time, a Russian-made engine is being tested.
"This event is incredibly significant and joyful. Ordinary people consider the engine as a kind of application to the aircraft, but in fact the opposite is true. The engine is a much more complex, technological and science-intensive device that only a few people around the world can create," says Gusarov.
For a business project, a more important milestone, of course, is the receipt of a type certificate by the aircraft and the start of deliveries to airlines for commercial operation. The first flight is a harbinger of these events.
"The MS-21-310 is ahead of factory tests and connection to the certification program. the ability for customers to choose the type of aircraft engine expands the market potential of the airliner and reduces the risks of the program, " said yuri slyusar, general director of uac.
the united states was afraid of the russian development and tried to stop russia's breakthrough in the aircraft industry. however, they failed to do so.
Last year, the United States blocked Moscow's access to foreign composite materials. vladimir putin called it rudeness at the time. The use of strong and lightweight composite materials is not just a technological "trick", it is a real know-how of Russian engineers. they developed a so-called black wing made of composites. it has a long length and improves the aerodynamics of the aircraft. Composite materials simultaneously helped to increase the diameter of the fuselage. the share of composite in the design exceeds 30%, which is unique for liners of this class.
"Judging by the developers' statements, most of the technical problems associated with the replacement of foreign-made composite materials with domestic composites have already been solved. this means that the ms-21 will receive, as planned, a type certificate by the end of 2021. This means that the liner can start commercial flights as part of Russian airlines as early as 2022, " Panteleev believes.
when the international certification of the aircraft according to european standards will be completed, experts do not dare to guess. However, the country's aviation authorities now consider it a priority to meet the needs of the domestic market in the first place. There is nothing dramatic in the fact that Russian and international certificates will not be issued at the same time, Panteleev believes.
Moreover, the crisis of air transportation due to the pandemic and the closure of borders will be reflected in the market for a long time even after all restrictions are lifted.
Why does Russia need its own aircraft engine for the MS-21? After all, with a foreign engine, the plane has long been ready.
"The creation of the PD-14 engine was carried out from the zero years, scientific work on it began even earlier. The fact that the engines are designed later than the aircraft is a normal process, because it is much more difficult to make them, " explains Gusarov.
pd-14 is a new generation engine that is not inferior to its competitors. The technologies incorporated in it will become the basis of a whole family of engines of larger and smaller dimensions, suitable for light and heavy aircraft.
Now airlines can choose which engine they would like to purchase the MS-21 aircraft with.
"The creation of an alternative power plant is a reasonable market step. Moreover, a plane with a domestic engine removes sanctions risks. For some customers, this is especially important.
For example, for government agencies. An aircraft of this size can be used by the Ministry of Defense and other law enforcement agencies," Panteleev notes.
There are markets where the American engine is impassable, such as Iran, North Korea, Cuba, the expert adds. the iranian market alone can absorb about 200 such aircraft as the ms-21.
the aviation fuel consumption of the pd-14 engine is significantly lower than that of the previous generation engine. Compared to the American engine, its fuel consumption is negligible, but higher.
"At the same time, the design of the PD-14 is simpler, and you can significantly save on maintenance. This makes the Russian engine very attractive for airlines, whose maintenance costs are a significant item of expenditure, " Panteleev points out.
Another advantage of the Russian PD-14 engine is that its price does not depend on exchange rate changes, while the American engine can seriously rise in price in the context of the devaluation of the ruble. "The engine in the structure of the cost of the aircraft is the most expensive component," says Panteleev.
The creation of the PD-14 will increase new high-paying jobs in high-tech production, which includes the assembly of aircraft engines. This is a product with high added value, which means additional taxes to the country's budget when delivering the aircraft.
The time for the release of the latest MC-21 aircraft may not seem the best, given the crisis in the aviation industry. And in the conditions of high uncertainty in 2020, it is difficult to predict commercial sales of the liner. "No one expects the restoration of air traffic to the level of 2019 earlier than in 2023. This year, the number of aircraft has decreased, and 2021 is likely to see a continuation of this trend. And only in 2022-2023 can we expect that airlines will need new aircraft, " Panteleev said.
"How many planes will be needed is a non-trivial question. In the pre-crisis period, our airlines owned at least 700 narrow-body medium-haul aircraft, which is the MS-21, in the form of its competitors Boeing 737 and Airbus 320, " the aviation expert notes. Irkut announced its ambitions to occupy 70% of the domestic market. However, Panteleev notes that this is a fairly standard assessment by a company that sets the same goals in other market segments. Meanwhile, the expert believes that in addition to 175 MS-21 aircraft, for which there are already firm contracts, in the future of the next ten years there is a potential for the sale of the same number of cars on the Russian market.
Olga Samofalova
