The newest MS-21-300 airliner with a wing made of polymer composites of Russian production proved to be worthy. This was stated by the head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov on Saturday, December 25.
"The flight was successful. The car proved to be very worthy. This is another victory for the domestic aircraft industry, including a victory over sanctions, with the help of which our competitors tried to slow down the production of a new modern MC-21 aircraft," he told reporters.
He also noted that in the fall of 2018, foreign partners stopped supplying the necessary components needed for the production of a composite wing. In this regard, it was decided to switch to domestic analogues, which were created, tested and put into mass production as soon as possible, Chemezov added.
"The MS-21 is the world's first medium-haul aircraft to be fitted with a composite wing. And the share of composites in its design is about 40%, this is a record figure in the aircraft industry," explained the head of Rostec.
In addition, he explained that the MS-21 is focused on the most massive segment of the passenger transportation market.
"Its main competitors are Airbus of the A320 family and Boeing of the 737 family," Chemezov concluded.
Earlier in the day, the MS-21-300 aircraft with a wing made of Russian composites made its first flight. The airliner took off from the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a branch of the Irkut Company (part of the Rostec State Corporation UAC).
Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, noted that the first flight of an aircraft with a wing made of Russian composites proves that the MS-21 program is "consistently and steadily moving forward, despite sanctions and unfair competition."
On December 16, the MS-21-300 performed its first training flight. The airliner took off from Zhukovsky airport and, having covered more than 4 thousand km, landed in Irkutsk. The crew tested the reliability of the engines, functional systems and equipment of the standard design airliner in the conditions of further operation.
MS-21-300/310 — a medium-haul aircraft of a new generation with a capacity from 163 to 211 passengers. Its key feature is a wing made of composite materials.
The certification of the MS-21-300 aircraft is currently being completed, and it is planned to start its deliveries to the airline in 2022. At the same time, the MS-21-310 aircraft with the new Russian PD-14 engine is undergoing flight tests.
