Russian Civil Aviation: News #4

It sounds like they finished the ground tests for PD-8 ahead of schedule. I think they were supposed to continue until mid summer. Goods news since it means they did not experience that many hiccups. Now the Il-76 air test platform was supposed to start flying with the engine next year. So let us wait for that.

This engine will likely be torn apart and its components examined. At least if you follow the traditional development process.

I would think that whole process will go faster, because PD-8 is, basically, scaled down PD-14. There's a degree of commonality and tech is same. Whatever problems they had, they were worked out while testing PD-14.

From what I understand the PD-8 is the cold section of the SaM146 engine with a scaled down hot section based on the one of the PD-14.

It makes sense, since hot section was provided by France and they had a lot of complaints about its longevity. That would make certification and testing process even faster, as even less is changed in the design.

There's a big lesson to be learnt here, and I am sure many have taken notice.

Contractual obligations mean zilch once Washington changes its tune, as it often does on a whim.

The latter enjoys the benefit of the bully for now, but for how long?

That is OK because those companies screwing Russia will in turn be screwed because Russia will soon have in production engines that do the same job their engines do and probably better and more reliable and for sale to the rest of the world.

Instead of making some money supplying engines to Russian customers they will miss out on earning that money and create a capable competitor for their products... because Russia stood up for itself.

From what I understand the PD-8 is the cold section of the SaM146 engine with a scaled down hot section based on the one of the PD-14.

What is so amazing about the SaM146 engines cold section that they would copy it rather than just scale the PD-14 as it is?

Standardising the design and then scaling it to required power ranges does not eliminate problems or the need for testing but it should minimise the potential problems the different engines might have... making them more reliable and safe while meeting a high standard of performance with the suitable design and materials.

GarryB wrote:That is OK because those companies screwing Russia will in turn be screwed because Russia will soon have in production engines that do the same job their engines do and probably better and more reliable and for sale to the rest of the world.

Instead of making some money supplying engines to Russian customers they will miss out on earning that money and create a capable competitor for their products... because Russia stood up for itself.

From what I understand the PD-8 is the cold section of the SaM146 engine with a scaled down hot section based on the one of the PD-14.

What is so amazing about the SaM146 engines cold section that they would copy it rather than just scale the PD-14 as it is?

Standardising the design and then scaling it to required power ranges does not eliminate problems or the need for testing but it should minimise the potential problems the different engines might have... making them more reliable and safe while meeting a high standard of performance with the suitable design and materials.

Cold section was Russian, while hot section was provided by French. This is why PD-8 will have a hot section as, basically, scaled down hot section of PD-14. No reason to change cold section.

Not really Russian Civil Aviation but report from start of week from Lockheed Martin CEO saying in effect, following no delivery on 70 Pratt and Whitney (they own) engines, that they can't make them without Russian titanium castings. If nothing else, an indication that J-I-T even applied to Russian sourced products, meaning they never had enough time to build stocks.

So not only are Boeing and Airbus pleading for exemptions but the engine manufacturers could be too. Them there Ruskie parts get everywhere

Russian not the only one with problems to overcome.

Exactly, no need to reinvent the wheel now.
Expecially since they are already busy with PD16/PD18R, with PD35 and possibly also with PD24. They have already a lot in their hands.

Of course no need to reinvent the wheel but I am wondering if taking the existing cold section and attaching (adapting?) it to a different new Russian hot section that is based on a bigger more powerful engine is quicker and easier than just scaling down the whole engine which was the whole point of a scalable design in the first place.

I would have thought that scaling was part of the design so working on any kinks now would help in later scaling because they might end up with PD-8, PD-14, PD-18, PD-24, and PD-35 and perhaps even PD-50 engines moving forward... making quick and dirty models based on existing production ones to then have to remake later with better matched cold sections just sounds like extra work that in the end wont save a huge amount of time, but will ensure the engines don't reach peak performance any time soon.

I appreciate that the French engine was good enough and this is about making an all Russian aircraft engine, but is the hot section and cold section actually that far removed from each other that you can switch and swap different cold sections with different hot sections without too much work?

Or was the hot section of the new PD engine designed with the existing cold section in mind as an all Russian replacement for the whole French engine?

My understanding was that the basic design of the PDs was original and state of the art and scalable... and potentially convertable to turboprops and propfans where needed as well.

I appreciate my understanding is limited and might very well be wrong.

Well I am not 100% sure about the cold section either. But I remember reading that in initial reports.

The PD-8 is basically supposed to replace the SaM146 Russo-French and D-436 Ukrainian engines.

It should be used in the SSJ-New. I think there were also plans to make more versions of the engine for longer and shorter versions of the Superjet. But given the current economic situation and lack of resources to several projects in general they might try to cut the amount of SSJ models down to increase production rate in the line. At least initially. I also remember reading plans about using composite fan blades in future versions using the same composite blade technology being developed for PD-35. This would be used in versions of the PD-8 and PD-14 with larger bypass. However it is way too early to consider that.

The PD-8 is also supposed to be used to replace the D-436 in the Be-200 airplane. And given that the D-436 is a cousin of the helicopter turboshaft engine used in the Mi-26, I also expect the core to be used in the future heavy helicopter and maybe some kind of large turboprop plane eventually.

D. Manturov: certification of the PD-8 engine and the SSJ-New aircraft will go in parallel
05/18/2022

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation expects to receive a type certificate for an imported version of the SSJ100 aircraft at the end of 2023. Currently, the first prototype SSJ-New is being prepared for flight tests in Zhukovsky, and bench tests of the PD-8 engine, which will replace foreign power plants on SSJ100 and Be-200 aircraft, have been completed at the Rybinsk UEC-Saturn. Certification of both the aircraft and the engine will go in parallel.

Work on the creation of a domestic engine with a thrust of 8 tons has been underway since 2019 and has been intensified taking into account the introduction by unfriendly countries of new sanctions restrictions against Russian civil aviation. Following the completion of bench tests of PD-8, Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, visited the ODK-Saturn plant during a working trip to the Yaroslavl region.

“Now we are moving in accordance with the updated, “forced” work plan for the engine, we expect that its intensive tests will begin in the first half of next year as part of an imported version of the SSJ100 aircraft, this will allow us to obtain a type certificate for the aircraft at the end of next year. Taking into account the tasks that we face, the processes of certification of the engine and the aircraft will go in parallel, ”the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade quotes the minister as saying.

SSJ-New is a version of the SSJ100 aircraft, in which it is planned to replace the vast majority of foreign components with Russian ones, including the Russian-French SaM146 engine will be replaced by PD-8.

In early May, the UEC reported that the program of bench tests of the first prototype of the PD-8 engine had been completed. The head of the UAC, Yuri Slyusar, in turn, said that the first flight of the imported version of the SSJ100 aircraft with the PD-8 engine is planned to take place in early 2023. In 2022, the engine will undergo flight tests as part of the Il-76LL flying laboratory.

https://aviation21.ru/d-manturov-sertifikaciya-dvigatelya-pd-8-i-samolyota-ssj-new-budut-idti-parallelno/


The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has prepared a FAP for the certification of non-original spare parts for aircraft
05/17/2022

The Russian liberal party, in anticipation of the collapse of the domestic economy by the winter of this year, compares our country with a ship that has received huge holes and will inevitably sink.

“... the ship will sink. He may sink tomorrow, he may sink in three days, but he will sink for sure. This image comes to my mind in connection with the sanctions. They have sunk the Russian economy. Yes - she did not fall apart and is still afloat. But it won't be long," declared in mid-March to Novaya Gazeta, economist Vladislav Inozemtsev.

He is not the pioneer of such claims. Our economy has already been called a "gas station", "torn to shreds" and claimed that the dollar is worth 200 rubles. There is no doubt that anti-Russian sanctions are unpleasant, illegal, because they were taken bypassing the UN, and will have a negative impact on the development of Russia. Civil aviation was particularly hard hit. Overnight, the former Western partners forbade their businesses to continue any interaction with Russia, which made the issue of maintaining airworthiness and providing spare parts for foreign aircraft acute.

What to do in a situation where the supply of original components is prohibited, impossible, or it is simply very expensive to use them? The answer to this question back in 1947 was given by the United States of America. Then one of the first approvals for the production of RMA spare parts was received in the USA. PMA - Parts Manufacturer Approval - approved parts manufacturer. Manufacturer approval is handled by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and no OEM can prevent airlines from using PMA parts.

The practice of using non-original spare parts approved by the national aviation authorities for foreign aircraft exists in China, where for many years local enterprises have been producing PMA components for Boeing and Airbus of Chinese airlines. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation followed the same path and even came up with a similar abbreviation - RMA, but only in Cyrillic - the Russian material analogue.

how informs Telegram channel "Aviatorschina", the Ministry of Transport has already prepared new Federal Aviation Rules "Certification of analogues of foreign components produced by Russian manufacturers. Part of the RMA. The document regulates the procedure for filing applications for the approval of Russian analogues of original foreign components. The rules also establish requirements for manufacturers of RMA components, the procedure for obtaining confirmation of their compliance with the requirements of the FAR, and regulate the interaction of participants in the process of mandatory certification of RMA components.

PMA manufacturers can be enterprises that are not the original manufacturers or developers of the spare part or holders of the certificate of validity of the component product or other approval document.

The authors of "Aviatorschina" argue that the official process of introducing new FAPs is very long, so the certification system for non-original spare parts for aircraft in the Russian Federation can be introduced through another government decree.

https://aviation21.ru/mintrans-rf-podgotovil-fap-sertifikacii-neoriginalnyx-zapchastej-dlya-samolyotov/

PD-8

https://rostec.ru/news/kret-pokazal-kontsept-perspektivnogo-vertoletnogo-kollimatornogo-indikatora/

KRET showed the concept of a promising helicopter collimator display

As part of HeliRussia-2022, the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern of the Rostec State Corporation presented the concept of a promising helicopter collimator indicator. The product provides high quality projection of complex information about the flight onto the windshield, surpasses functional counterparts in image clarity and data readability. Thus, the new development will increase the convenience of aircraft control, which, in turn, will reduce the workload on the crew.

The perspective helicopter collimator display provides projection of flight, tactical and navigation information on the windshield of the helicopter. It was possible to significantly improve the quality of projections thanks to the use of a digital liquid crystal imager with a resolution of at least 1280 by 1024 pixels.

“The new development plays a critical role, as it provides a significant improvement in the quality of the display of flight information, simplifying the control of the helicopter. For the first time, when creating a domestic helicopter collimator indicator, it was possible to successfully replace the cathode ray tube with a modern liquid crystal shaper, and to carry out all the necessary tests. Moreover, the equipment developed on the basis of the concept has already become part of the complexes for modernized and promising helicopters,” the press service of the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern emphasized.

Thanks to the features of the electronic component base, the development is versatile and retains its effectiveness at any time of the day. When using a new HUD, image clarity is maintained even against a background with a brightness of 30,000 cd/m 2 . In other words, in clear weather, even when direct sunlight hits the windshield, pilots will be able to read all flight information from it without hindrance. In addition, the equipment is adapted for the use of new generation night vision goggles.

A new collimator indicator is the development of the Ramenskoye instrument-making design bureau. The company is celebrating its anniversary this year. As noted in the press service of the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern, RPKB has been consistently one of the leading enterprises in the aviation industry for 75 years. Today, its products are part of the avionics equipment of the vast majority of Russian helicopters and aircraft, so it can be said without exaggeration that the company's advanced developments play a crucial role in the development of domestic aviation.

The Ministry of Finance will allocate millions for the production of aircraft in Yekaterinburg - April 7

The Russian government will direct funds for the construction of a new building of the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) in Yekaterinburg, where passenger aircraft will be produced. This was URA.RU told by a source familiar with the negotiations.

"We will build. The total cost of the project is 2 billion rubles, "the insider said.

According to him, the production will be deployed at the Uktus site of the Titanium Valley special economic zone. Passenger TVRS-44 "Ladoga", designed for 40-50 seats, and light-engine multi-purpose aircraft LMS-901 "Baikal" will be assembled here.

The amount that will be allocated from the federal budget for this project, the insider did not name. He only clarified that this is hundreds of millions of rubles.

The decision was made following a meeting held in March in titanium valley. The government of the Sverdlovsk region asked to allocate funds from the federal budget to transfer it to the management company "Titanium Valley", which would build a workshop and lease it to UZGA.
The costs in this case are recouped by rent. The region also proposed a mechanism provided for by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1704. In this case, the region will cover part of the costs for the construction of a new building from the funds that should be used to repay budget loans.

Negotiations on the construction of a new building of the UWCA were conducted for more than two years. In 2020, it was reported that the management of UWCA intends to open a new production facility in Ulyanovsk, if it cannot agree on budget financing of this project in the Titanium Valley.
Meanwhile, the government of the Sverdlovsk region denied this information.

"Plans for the construction of infrastructure for the production of Baikal and Ladoga aircraft at the Titanium Valley site have not been revised. All agreements are in force, "Dmitry Ionin, deputy governor of the Sverdlovsk region, explained to the URA.RU correspondent.

UWCA is the anchor resident of the Uktus site of titanium Valley. Here, the company assembles L-410 aircraft."


that Ulyanovsk facility they mentioned
as far as I remember was to produce composite components not to assemble aircraft
as there is growing expertise in composites in that region

Uktus is an old airfield now a SEZ
they opened a new production site for the L-410 there back in 2018-19 ? think it was

2bil rubles .... what's that $20-30mil USD ?
sounds a decent size building

( I had read elsewhere they were going to build the Baikal-9 over near the SSJ-100 in Komsom-whatever
but that sounded pretty ridiculous ... this makes more sense )

.... they sure are constructing a hell of a lot of buildings for a "gas station" "crippled" by sanctions ..... that's for sure

I think the Russian government should also fund KB-SAT to make a single engine trainer based on the SR-10 and one of their small commercial business jet projects the BJ-6. But the Russian government does not like to fund private business. I think this is a mistake.

For example they could give them a minimum amount of money to make a SR-10 prototype and give them a couple AL-55 engines. It wouldn't cost much to the state and they might actually get a trainer aircraft out of it to replace the Czech L-39.

Give them a small amount of money so they can build a prototype for each and if they pull it off then buy a license from them and produce it in one of the available factories.

The factory which is building the MiG-35 or Yak-130 could build the SR-10.

I think the Russian government should also fund KB-SAT to make a single engine trainer based on the SR-10 and one of their small commercial business jet projects the BJ-6. But the Russian government does not like to fund private business. I think this is a mistake.

The alternative was the MiG-AT which was cheaper to buy and cheaper to operate than the Yak, but also not so practical as a weapon of war... it is more of a trainer... which is what they really wanted.

The Yak-130 would be a good step before an Su-30/35 as I believe the avionics and systems are unified and similar to reduce the difference between operating the two and allowing the Yak to simulate operational aircraft better for conversion training, but the MiG-AT was a jet trainer... something that would be rather good to replace the L39s.

It can use weapons too, I have seen them with 122mm unguided rocket pods.

A cheap light single engined trainer should not be that hard to develop... and more importantly could be the ideal basis for a light fighter drone if one is being considered.

They might only want a few hundred trainer aircraft but a light drone might be made in enormous numbers and become rather profitable.

what is really interesting is how that UWCA outfit is doing all the small commercial aircraft
L-410 and the Ladoga-44 and the Baikal-9

they also do those Diamond light aircraft/trainers from Austria - all composites apparently
and they are proposing that UTS-800 trainer with the VK-800 turboprop engine

they also do they UAVs
Forpost and the Altius
also full of composites ....

it isn't such a huge leap from doing that sort of stuff
to doing a light jet trainer like you guys are saying will be needed eventually ...

SRT-10 looks to be full of lightweight composite materials too .....
maybe they are the guys to do it ...

especially if they land the UTS-800 trainer deal - which they seem to be favoured to get over the Yak ?
use the same cockpit layout for both ?

this is interesting

Belavia Airline has 10-12 jets 737s and Embraers
so MC-21 and SSJ-100 are perfect substitutes

Belavia in the context of Mother Russia is really a regional airline ....
so running big transport jets is something new - the Il-96-400T is a big fn plane
no doubt to shuttle plane parts around
and why not get some manufacturing action from buying Russian jets ?
and no doubt setup a maintenance operation ....


May 24, 2022, AviaStat.ru - Belarus is working on the possibility of using Russian aircraft by its airlines, as well as mastering the import-substituting production of components for SuperJet 100 and MS-21 aircraft in the country, the press service of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic reported. Prime writes about it.
"The issue of operating Russian-made aircraft is being worked out," the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
According to him, in particular, in the field of cargo aviation, the possibility of operating the Russian IL-96-400T aircraft is being studied.

As for the aircraft repair enterprises of Belarus, then, according to the report, the issue of "development in the territory of Belarus of import-substituting production of components for SuperJet 100, MS-21 aircraft and their maintenance" is being worked out.

pretty solid order
over 4x years ..... 5 pa
1/2 offshore variants .... re Sakhalin etc
made in Ulan Ude over in the East(-ish)

( I assume the oil and gas companies will continue to use their own choppers to go to offshore platforms ?
think they were going to order the new Kamov Ka-62 ?
they seem to prefer fast choppers for that .... so replace the Italian ones )

May 24, 2022, AviaStat.ru – Aurora Airlines and Russian Helicopters have signed an agreement of intent for the supply of ten Mi-171A2 helicopters and eleven Mi-171A3 helicopters, the airline's press service reports.
The agreement was signed during the XV International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia 2022, held on May 19-21, 2022 in Moscow. This document was concluded as part of the efforts of the two companies to make a joint contribution to the replenishment of the fleet of domestically produced aircraft in the Far Eastern Federal District.

Helicopters of these types will be operated by a single Far Eastern airline to carry out socially significant transportation in the Far East. The schedule provides for the delivery of Mi-171A2 /A3 helicopters to the customer in the period from 2023 to 2026.

thing is with all this stuff (across multiple categories)
are technologies converging or diverging ?
and are they plateauing ?

and this is Rogozin's point ..... Roscosmos tech is becoming identical to the aircraft industry
he thinks it is converging .... and plateauing

I think he is dead right ......
and that is to Russia's favour - no question

#ЦИТАТА Today, the head of the Roscosmos State Corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, touched upon the topic of assistance to aircraft engine building enterprises.

«When we felt that our civil aviation in the conditions of dominance of foreign aircraft, which were under sanctions, had big problems, then we agreed with the Ministry of Industry and Trade that we would lend them a shoulder, "said Dmitry Rogozin.

Roscosmos takes over the production of leading aircraft engines, and at the Yaroslavl Radio Plant, which recently became part of the State Corporation, we are starting to make aircraft instruments.

ROGOZIN
Forwarded from
TASS
The Yaroslavl Radio Plant, as part of the support of industry, begins to produce devices necessary for aviation, said Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin.