The device based on the VK-650V engine with a capacity of 500 kW will be assembled by mid-2023
ST. PETERSBURG, December 15. /tass/. The appearance of a demonstrator of a promising hybrid power plant (HSU) for aircraft has been determined, design documentation is being issued. This was reported to journalists by the deputy director of the advanced engine program "UEC-Klimov" (part of the United Engine Corporation Rostec) Mikhail Shemet.
"In the middle of 2022, we plan to make a 200 kilowatt demonstrator, the VK-100 turbo starter will be used as a drive. Now these works are at the stage of issuing design documentation. We have defined the appearance of the product, defined the concept and are now actively engaged in the production of documentation. Now we are on schedule: mid-2022 - the match should already be made and tests should be carried out by the end of 2022," he said.
According to Shemet, a hybrid powerplant demonstrator based on a 500 kW VK-650V engine will be assembled by mid-2023, and tests are planned to be conducted by early 2024.
Speaking about the platforms on which the GSU can be installed, the representative of UEC-Klimov noted that, according to marketing research, small aircraft, including unmanned aircraft, will be the most marginal market until 2035. The aerology and cargo delivery market promises active growth. In addition, the GSU power unit can be used as an auxiliary power plant on any, including combat, lethal vehicles.
Earlier it was reported that the United Engine Corporation intends to invest up to half a billion rubles in research work on the creation of a hybrid power plant for aircraft.
The hybrid power plant is a symbiosis of a thermal and electric motor. A piston or gas turbine engine is used as a thermal engine. In the aviation HSU, the electrical part is connected during takeoff and landing of the aircraft, while the main part of the flight is due only to the heat engine. GSU is considered one of the most promising areas of development of modern engine building.
