Russian Civil Aviation: News #3

Austin wrote:Alejandra Pilots the Superjet into Mexico

GunshipDemocracy wrote:

Austin wrote:Alejandra Pilots the Superjet into Mexico

wow really cute girl ;-)

Sukhoi is offering cabin densification as well as fuel-saving winglets for Interjet's Superjet 100s, in ongoing efforts to persuade the Mexican airline to retain the fleet after it faced well-documented operational issues with the type.


"The modifications are on the table, we are committed to doing that with Interjet," SuperJet International (SJI) senior vice-president of commercial Stewart Cordner tells FlightGlobal in an interview. SJI, which is majority-owned by Sukhoi, is responsible for marketing the Superjet to Western customers.

A proposed seat densification will grow the number of seats on Interjet's SSJ100s to as many as 108, from 93 seats currently, says Cordner.

The manufacturer is also offering to retrofit winglets – branded "saberlets" on Interjet's fleet – to improve take-off and landing performance. He expects the saberlets to be certified by June 2019, with the additional seating modifications to follow in the months afterwards.

"It will certainly be in 2019 for sure," says Cordner.

Interjet said in September it will phase out "some" of the SSJ100s without specifying the number of aircraft affected, after denying a FlightGlobal report that it was in talks with Sukhoi to sell the SSJ100 fleet. It declines to comment when asked by FlightGlobal how many aircraft it plans to phase out, saying that it was being finalised.

The carrier currently operates 21 SSJ100s, with one aircraft in storage. It is not clear if all the aircraft will receive the additional seats. Interjet declines to comment, saying that "nothing has been discussed" regarding seat configuration.

The move by Interjet to ditch some of its Superjets follow a history of mechanical issues with the aircraft since it began operating the type in 2013. In early 2017, the airline was forced to ground half of its fleet, for repairs to defects on the stabiliser nodes. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that the airline was forced to take four SSJ100s out of service and was cannibalising them for parts to keep the remaining fleet operational.

Sources familiar with the situation say Interjet could reduce its SSJ100 fleet to as few as seven aircraft - or about a third of its Superjet fleet today. (...)

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that the airline was forced to take four SSJ100s out of service and was cannibalising them for parts to keep the remaining fleet operational.
Sources familiar with the situation say Interjet could reduce its SSJ100 fleet to as few as seven aircraft - or about a third of its Superjet fleet today.

Hole wrote:The company is broke and can´t pay for maintenance/spare parts but claims it is all Sukhois fault.

Austin wrote:IL-96 400M the future Russian flagship

GarryB wrote:If you look around the world a lot of good planes were saved simply because the military bought them and paid for production facilities and upgrades when needed... it would be useful for Russian civilian aircraft companies if the Russian military started using some of their aircraft too as this would also promote Russian components to be used more extensively than they are currently...

Foreign customers of course might prefer foreign components in some areas but they can pay for that and sort out issues and problems therein created...

Twin engined Il-96s would be awesome...

Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya has issued type certification for an indigenous engine alternative for the Irkut MC-21 narrowbody known as the PD-14, the country’s Ministry for Industry and Trade announced Thursday. A pair of MC-21 prototypes powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1431G geared turbofans now engage in flight testing, but PD-14 certification marks an important advance for the Kremlin-ordered Import Substitution program, aimed at achieving Russian independence in the commercial aviation domain.

“In fact, the PD-14 winning the type certificate means that this engine is ready for delivery and commercial operation,” said minister for industry and trade Denis Manturov in a statement. “This enables us to assert that the first turbofan engine for commercial jets in the history of modern Russia has successfully been created.”

Next, schedules call for the PD-14 program to gain validation with the European Air Safety Agency next year. Manturov expressed a hope that the MC-21 will soon commence testing with the indigenous powerplant following the planned shipment of three operable engines by the end of this year. The minister insisted that the PD-14 and MC-21 schedules “had been synchronized.”

Compared with previous-generation Russian commercial turbofans, the PD-14 offers a fuel burn decrease at typical cruise of 15 percent, while featuring a bypass ratio of 8.5:1 as opposed to more commonly achieved ratios of 5:1 or 6:1. Its specifications call for fuel consumption comparable to that of the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G series and CFM International’s Leap family. Given that, the PD-14 claims its place as the world’s third engine purposely designed and certified for use on next-generation narrowbody jets.

Preliminary studies into a next-generation turbofan began in Russia at the turn of the century. In 2008 Vladimir Putin made the decision to provide state funding for the project. Bench testing began in 2012 and flight trials in 2015 on an Il-76 testbed. Developed under the framework of the federal program dubbed “Development of Russian Aviation Industry 2025,” the PD-14 program started with a budget of 80 billion roubles ($1.22 billion) covering development and production setup. Perm-based ODK-Aviadvigatel leads the development effort while ODK-Perm Motors performs final assembly line in the city of Perm.

The PD-14 marks the first commercial engine project executed under the umbrella of the United Engine Corporation (Russian acronym ODK), a government-controlled organization formed by the merger of Russian companies involved in powerplants, gearboxes, and other subsystems for applications in commercial and military aviation.

As a result, the government distributed work packages to ODK members to cut development and production preparation cycles. In terms of technology as well, the PD-14 represents a drastic departure from the previous generation PS-90A. Using hollow wide-chord blades for the fan and blisks in the compressor, the newer engine weighs about three tons and develops 14 tons of thrust at takeoff. Engineers designed the baseline engine specifically for the 180-seat MC-21-300, but its derivatives can power both larger and smaller airplanes. The developer announced three versions of the PD-14—the PD-14A, PD-14, and PD-14M--featuring the same 1900 millimeter fan diameter. Intended for the 150-seat MC-21-200 “shrink” variant, the PD-14A produces 11 percent less thrust and resembles the baseline model but with a compressor pressure ratio of 38:1 rather than 41:1 for higher thermal margins. The PD-14M for the Il-96-400M and MC-21-400 develops 12 percent more maximum thrust. It features an additional stage in the compressor, resulting in an increase in pressure ratio to 46:1 and a drop in bypass ratio from 8.5:1 to 7.2:1. The developer also plans a higher-thrust derivative, known as the PD-18, incorporating a geared fan for maximum thrust of 18- to 20 tons; smaller versions designated PD-7 and PD-10 feature a reduced fan diameter for various Sukhoi Superjet variants. Meanwhile, plans call for use of the PD-14’s core in the PD-12 turboshaft, and for a larger PD-35 intended to power the Sino-Russian CR929 widebody.

dino00 wrote:Slovenia's Adria Airways To Buy 15 Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 Aircraft - Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2018) Russia's Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company and Slovenia's Adria Airways have signed a contract for the supplies of 15 Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Monday.
"Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company and Adria Airways have signed a Letter of Intent for 15 SSJ100. The deliveries will start in the beginning of 2019.

The aircraft will be delivered under a long-term lease," the ministry said in a statement.

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft President Alexander Rubtsov said that a special maintenance center for the jets would be created.

"Together with the ADRIA Airways we will create a joint maintenance and repair organization for SSJ100 at the Ljubljana Airport. That service platform will secure the operational reliability of SSJ100 aircraft in Europe," he said, as quoted on the company's official website.

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/slovenias-adria-airways-to-buy-15-russian-su-489579.html