Photo: United Aircraft Corporation
It hasn’t reached the finish line yet, as this was just a flight test. There’s still a long way to go before airliners that are Russian from head to toe can enter service. However, it seems that the MC-21 and its PD-14 engine are on the right track.
Both Russia and China are trying to say goodbye to Western aviation manufacturers and suppliers for good. In Russia’s case, they said it first, as soon as the international sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine were announced. But the country was already on its way to making that happen, and it’s certainly much further along than China, which only has the aircraft itself to show for. The MC-21, on the other hand, is also powered by domestically-made engines.
The MC-21-300, boasted as the country’s first modern airliner produced using only Russian components and technology, first flew in 2017. But back then, it was still powered by Pratt & Whitney’s PW1400G engines. Five years later, it took to the sky in a new configuration, Air Data News reports.
This is the MC-21-310 variant, although it sports the same livery as the original aircraft. The prototype took to the sky from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, equipped with the PD-14 turbofans made by Aviadvigatel. Next, the MC-21 will reportedly move to Zhukovsky for the certification program. The manufacturers are hoping to get the engine certified by the end of this year, which would get the airliner on track to enter service by 2024.
Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier, is already waiting. More than 200 of the new aircraft were ordered recently, as industry representatives were boasting about an entirely Russian fleet ready to start operating soon.
The MC-21-300 will be able to carry between 163 and 211 passengers. A larger version, the MC-21-400, and a smaller one, the MC-21-200, are also being developed.
The MC-21-300, boasted as the country’s first modern airliner produced using only Russian components and technology, first flew in 2017. But back then, it was still powered by Pratt & Whitney’s PW1400G engines. Five years later, it took to the sky in a new configuration, Air Data News reports.
This is the MC-21-310 variant, although it sports the same livery as the original aircraft. The prototype took to the sky from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, equipped with the PD-14 turbofans made by Aviadvigatel. Next, the MC-21 will reportedly move to Zhukovsky for the certification program. The manufacturers are hoping to get the engine certified by the end of this year, which would get the airliner on track to enter service by 2024.
Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier, is already waiting. More than 200 of the new aircraft were ordered recently, as industry representatives were boasting about an entirely Russian fleet ready to start operating soon.
The MC-21-300 will be able to carry between 163 and 211 passengers. A larger version, the MC-21-400, and a smaller one, the MC-21-200, are also being developed.
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