Russian Civil Aviation: News #3

The Baikal airplane to replace the An-2 will be a smaller monoplane (instead of a biplane) powered by the 800 horsepower Russian Vk-800s (instead of the american TPE331 with 1100 hp) and will be produced at Ulan-Ude. Also the propeller and the avionics/navigation system will be Russian.
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The same engine will be also mounted on the twin Let L-410.


https://aviation21.ru/zavershena-razrabotka-obshhego-vida-i-eskizno-texnicheskoj-dokumentacii-samolyota-bajkal/

The light multi-functional Baikal aircraft will replace the An-2. Its prototype is a one-piece development of SibNIA them. Chaplygina TVS-2DTS. According to information from open sources, the Baikal aircraft will be smaller in size, its internal volume will be 10.35 cubic meters. m. against 16.67 cubic meters. m. at TVS-2DTS. It is planned to use a VK-800S engine (TVS-2DTS - Honeywell TPE-331) with a six-bladed screw AB-410 as a power plant. The commercial load of the new aircraft will be 1250 kg (3000 kg.), The maximum take-off weight is 5000 kg (7400 kg.), The flight range is 1500 km (1450 km). Unlike TVS-2DTS, the aircraft is developed according to the scheme of a strut monoplane with an upper wing.

I guess with newer design the Baikal will be aerodynamically more efficient and they opted for all Russian engine and avionics which makes sense.

more details on VK-800S engine

http://www.uwca.ru/en/news/2018/uzga-predstavil-novyy-dvigatel-dlya-regionalnoy-aviatsii-na-vystavke-mfd-2018/

http://www.rusaviainsider.com/l-410-turboprops-get-russian-engine/

Rodion_Romanovic wrote:The Baikal airplane to replace the An-2 will be a smaller monoplane (instead of a biplane) powered by the 800 horsepower Russian Vk-800s (instead of the american TPE331 with 1100 hp) and will be produced at Ulan-Ude. Also the propeller and the avionics/navigation system will be Russian.
.
The same engine will be also mounted on the twin Let L-410.

https://aviation21.ru/zavershena-razrabotka-obshhego-vida-i-eskizno-texnicheskoj-dokumentacii-samolyota-bajkal/

You forgot the best part, image:

TRIPREPORT | Cubana (ECONOMY) | Ilyushin IL-96-300 | Madrid - Havana

It may have an improved follow-on variant later that will closely match or even surpass the An-2's performance. Nothing is forever!

Tsavo Lion wrote:It may have an improved follow-on variant later that will closely match or even surpass the An-2's performance. Nothing is forever!

It's not clear if there will be the need. A bigger airplane will be of a similar payload and size to the Let L-410.
Furthermore to have more than 9 passengers for commercial operations you now need (at least) 2 engines.

There are some limitations nowadays on the use of single engine planes for passenger operations, so it is even possible that a bigger aircraft in this class would not be efficient. I remember having read that some small airlines would have wanted more than 9 passengers, but that is not allowed on single engine planes.

A bigger engine can be used for having a higher cruise speed, though, like the example of the new Cessna Denali, that is powered by a single General Electric Catalyst turboprop with 1,240 hp (920 kW) and whose cruise speed is 528 km/h (285 kn).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Denali

As of 2015, there were thousands of An-2s remaining in operation around the world, including over 1,500 in Russia, 294 in Kazakhstan and 54 in Ukraine. ..Capacity: 12 passengers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2#Civil_aviation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2#Specifications_(An-2)

So, they r now forbidden to carry more than 9 passengers?

Tsavo Lion wrote:As of 2015, there were thousands of An-2s remaining in operation around the world, including over 1,500 in Russia, 294 in Kazakhstan and 54 in Ukraine. ..Capacity: 12 passengers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2#Civil_aviation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-2#Specifications_(An-2)

So, they r now forbidden to carry more than 9 passengers?

newly certified planes for sure. I do not know if the rules are retroactive and can be applied to airplanes certified in the past. Maybe not, but in case of a big enough change in the aircraft they will have to update the certification and in that case probably the new rules will apply. Anyway since the An-2 was a antonov airplane, Russia must start from scratches anyway.

Of course faster speeds and higher payloads mean nothing if you can't land and take off from where you want to go... you need a rugged design with excess lift and engine power...

There r now more better airfields & their # will increase; current/future heavy/high speed helos can/will be able to land & takeoff anywhere else, so the An-2 isn't as indispensable as it was before.

Ansat Aurus - the flying limousine

Bad link!
Outdated “record holder” again lit up in the accident report

Kremlin Considers Launching Start-up Airlines To Fly Superjets

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-02-21/kremlin-considers-launching-start-airlines-fly-superjets


Russian Ansat Gets VIP Interior, China Approval

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2020-02-21/russian-ansat-gets-vip-interior-china-approval

GarryB wrote:

There r now more better airfields & their # will increase; current/future heavy/high speed helos can/will be able to land & takeoff anywhere else, so the An-2 isn't as indispensable as it was before.

Even with lots of new helicopters a fixed wing aircraft is a fraction of the cost of a helicopter for any job... helicopters do have their uses, but cheap light planes also have immense value too with smaller settlements with smaller airlines.

exactly, an helicopter has its own advantages, of course, but it is inherently more expensive to operate and much less safe than an aircraft.

In addition, in an emergency a small plane can anyway land (and later takeoff without damage) practically everywhere where there are roads or even flat fields. So unless you are talking about landing somewhere in the mountains, at the top of a skyscraper or in a oil platform an helicopter is not necessary and instead just reduces safety and increases costs

Austin wrote:Kremlin Considers Launching Start-up Airlines To Fly Superjets

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-02-21/kremlin-considers-launching-start-airlines-fly-superjets ...

How about they properly localize SSJ and sort out maintenance chain first and send them back on the market instead of wasting time and money on start-up bullshittery that never gets​ anywhere anyway?

PapaDragon wrote:

Austin wrote:Kremlin Considers Launching Start-up Airlines To Fly Superjets

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-02-21/kremlin-considers-launching-start-airlines-fly-superjets ...

How about they properly localize SSJ and sort out maintenance chain first and send them back on the market instead of wasting time and money on start-up bullshittery that never gets​ anywhere anyway?

It is not start up bullshittery...
The company Azimuth (founded in 2017) that operates in the south of Russia with a fleet of only SSJ100 (they have 11 of them) is working quite well. They just plan to repeat that experience in the far east.

Maybe basing it on the company Aurora (that aeroflot controls at 50%) or maybe creating a new one from scratch in Khabarovsk

And they need to keep production at the Konsomolks-on Amur plant (where all of the SSJ100 are assembled) while they fix all the issues.

By the way, Khabarovsk is only 400 km from Konsomolk on Amur, it is possible that that would simplify the logistic for maintenance as well.

Of course they are working on improving the logistic and substitute all the foreign components... this is being done, but it takes time.

The prototype of the new engine should be ready by 2023, and certified by 2024. That means that before 2025 is highly unlikely that the SSJ100 will receive a supplment type certificate with the new engine and all new russian components.

Do you believe they should stop completely production, close the plant, lay off the workers and wait 4 or 5 years before producing new ones?

It make sense probably to temporarily decrease the rate of production of new aircrafts for the moment, and maybe start producing in russia replacement parts for the french part of the existing engines, possibly in agreement with Safran. Even if the engine (the SaM146) is not the best available on the market it is the one existing now, and it will remain in service with a few hundreds aircrafts for the next 20 years. New aircrafts starting from 2025 will have the new engines, but the existing ones will need to be supported anyway.

In the meanwhile it is realistic to expect that at least some of the American components will be replaced, to bring their quota to less than 10% (i read somewhere that 10% is the threshold where the american government must approve each foreign sale, but I am not sure about it). This would allow to sell the current version of SSJ100, but with an higher share of russian components (currently around 50%, at the start of the program they were even less and around 40%) to Iran, without needing any permissions from the americans, possibly already by 2022.

Rodion_Romanovic wrote:

PapaDragon wrote:

Austin wrote:Kremlin Considers Launching Start-up Airlines To Fly Superjets

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-02-21/kremlin-considers-launching-start-airlines-fly-superjets ...

How about they properly localize SSJ and sort out maintenance chain first and send them back on the market instead of wasting time and money on start-up bullshittery that never gets​ anywhere anyway?

It is not start up bullshittery...
The company Azimuth (founded in 2017) that operates in the south of Russia with a fleet of only SSJ100 (they have 11 of them) is working quite well. They just plan to repeat that experience in the far east.

Maybe basing it on the company Aurora (that aeroflot controls at 50%) or maybe creating a new one from scratch in Khabarovsk

And they need to keep production at the Konsomolks-on Amur plant (where all of the SSJ100 are assembled) while they fix all the issues.

By the way, Khabarovsk is only 400 km from Konsomolk on Amur, it is possible that that would simplify the logistic for maintenance as well.

Of course they are working on improving the logistic and substitute all the foreign components...  this is being done,  but it takes time.

The prototype of the new engine should be ready by 2023, and certified by 2024. That means that before 2025 is highly unlikely that the SSJ100 will receive a supplment type certificate with the new engine and all new russian components.

Do you believe they should stop completely production,  close the plant, lay off the workers and wait 4 or 5 years before producing new ones?

It make sense probably to temporarily decrease the rate of production  of new aircrafts for the moment, and maybe start producing in russia replacement parts for the french part of the existing engines, possibly in agreement with Safran. Even if the engine (the SaM146) is not the best available on the market it is the one existing now, and it will remain in service with a few hundreds aircrafts for the next 20 years. New aircrafts starting from 2025 will have the new engines, but the existing ones will need to be supported anyway.

In the meanwhile it is realistic to expect that at least some of the American components will be replaced, to bring their quota to less than 10% (i read somewhere that 10% is the threshold where the american government must approve each foreign sale, but I am not sure about it). This would allow to sell the current version of SSJ100, but with an higher share of russian components (currently around 50%, at the start of the program they were  even less and  around 40%) to Iran, without needing any permissions from the americans, possibly already by 2022.

They already said their intent is to improve the logistics and maintenance of the planes. Things arent binary as some members think it is. They are also looking at increasing the numbers purchased, as you said, by new airlines being created for specific needs. Nothing wrong in that.

Russia To Produce 200 Airliners Annually

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-01-10/russia-produce-200-airliners-annually

A Look At Russia’s New Turboprop: The Il-114-300

https://simpleflying.com/il-114-300-new-turboprop/

The first serial civilian helicopter Mi-38 was delivered







https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3944614.html