Russian Civil Aviation: News #3

Final assembly nears for initial MiG-built Il-114-300

United Aircraft is preparing to transfer primary structures for an initial Ilyushin Il-114-300 to the final assembly line at RSK MiG’s Lukhovistsky plant near Moscow.

The manufacturer is describing the initial aircraft as a ”prototype” being built using serial-production technologies.

Three fuselage sections for this aircraft have been completed at the Sokol manufacturing plant in Nizhny Novgorod, where MiG fighter components are produced. They will be transferred to Lukhovitsky by the end of May.

MiG general director Ilya Tarasenko says the company invested Rb400 million ($5.6 million) last year to prepare for Il-114 production and diversify its activities, with automated docking facilities among the new installations.

The -300 is a 68-seat modernised variant of the Il-114 twin-turboprop. Production is being restarted to address demand for regional domestic transport, particularly in remote areas, and replace older Antonov types used on these routes.

Fuselage panels, doors and hatches are being produced at the Aviastar plant in Ulyanovsk while the VASO plant in Voronezh is manufacturing wing and tail sections.

VASO will build about 40% of the airframe components, says acting managing director Alexander Yarchevsky. Work is under way to produce the fin, rudder, stabiliser and elevator. Wing sections will have multiple mechanical and electrical systems fitted.

“Preparations are underway for the production of engine nacelles of the new aircraft,” he adds. “Their assembly is scheduled to begin in June.”

United Aircraft director of aviation programmes Sergei Kamensky says the Il-114-300 will be built “entirely from domestic components” with leading Russian manufacturers supplying systems and equipment.

Tarasenko points out that the project is utilising digital technology to enable Ilyushin’s design bureau and production sites to operate from a “single information space”.

Potential operators of the Il-114-300 will include not only airlines but cargo and combi carriers, as well as special-purpose companies. The type could be fitted with ski-wheels and the Il-114 will also be capable of serving airports with unpaved runways.

Mass production of PD-35 engines, intended for CR929 and IL-96-400M, will begin in 2028

MOSCOW, May 22. / TASS /. The serial production of the PD-35 thrust aircraft engine should begin in 2028, according to the materials of the press service of the Governor’s Administration and the Government of the Perm Territory (in the territory of the Territory there is the ODK-Perm Motors plant, the leading engine manufacturer).

"Serial production of the engine should begin in 2028," - noted in the materials.

In the future, on the basis of a universal gas generator, it is planned to create a family of gas turbine engines of various aviation and ground applications with a thrust of up to 50 tons.

PD-35 (a promising engine with a thrust of 35 tons) is a project of a Russian double-circuit turbofan engine with extra-large thrust (with a takeoff thrust from 33 to 40 tons). The total investment in the PD-35 project amounted to 180 billion rubles. The head developer is UEC Aviadvigatel, the head manufacturer is UEC Perm Motors JSC. It is assumed that the engine will be installed on the Russian-Chinese aircraft CR929 and on the IL-96-400M.

CR929 faces delays amid Beijing, Moscow differences

Russia has disclosed that the Sino-Russian CR929 widebody programme will make its first delivery in 2028-2029, in what appears to be another round of delays in the programme’s production timeline.

Russian media reports cite Irkut chief Ravil Khakimov as saying that the delivery timeline will move to the right, amid “difficulties” in working with Chinese counterparts.

Irkut is a unit of Russian airframer United Aircraft (UAC), which is co-developing the CR929 with Chinese counterpart Comac. The type’s first flight is planned around 2025, though Russia disclosed that it was to have taken place in 2023.

Among issues between both parties include the splitting of responsibilities: Comac wants exclusive rights to sell the CR929 to the Chinese market, a larger, faster-growing market than Russia. Neither party has commented on the matter.

The latest update comes as the Russian government calls for “compromise” over the CR929 programme.

Russian trade and industry minister Denis Manturov says that Moscow will continue to finance the CR929 programme, despite the problems cited. Manturov was responding to a question from a Russian senator about the prospects for the country’s aviation industry.

The minister was quoted in the Russian Federal Assembly’s official newsletter as saying that Russia is “constantly in a position to find a compromise,” given that its role in the programme is to secure orders from foreign carriers, while China will target its own domestic market.

Khakimov, who was speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Economic Policy Committee of the Federation Council, says the CR929 programme is now at the stage of analysing proposals from suppliers to determine the widebody’s final configuration.

FlightGlobal has previously reported that both Comac and UAC were working to secure launch customers for the widebody.

Laminar-flow nacelle being explored for PD-35 engine

Russian researchers are exploring the use of laminar flow to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of nacelles for the planned Aviadvigatel PD-35 engine.

The PD-35 is a higher-thrust evolution of the PD-14 – the powerplant for the Irkut MC-21 – and intended for the proposed Russian-Chinese long-haul CRAIC CR929 twinjet.

Aviadvigatel is jointly working with Moscow’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, and other organisations, to design a laminar engine nacelle demonstrator for flight tests.

The project aims to optimise the nacelle contours and the interface with the pylon for various operational areas of the flight envelope, including cruise, crosswind, and high angles of attack.

“It takes into account all the significant factors influencing the position of the laminar-turbulent boundary-layer transition on the nacelle, as well as the effect of the airframe and engine,” the institute says.

Researchers at the institute are analysing the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft and the laminar nacelle with specially-developed software.

The institute says the nacelle is predicted to reduce air resistance by around 2%, with a corresponding reduction in fuel consumption.

“[This will be] a significant advantage in the development of an aircraft in the long-haul category,” says the institute’s head of powerplant aerodynamics Alexander Lysenkov.

First installation of PD-14 engines on MS-21-310 aircraft

UEC has developed a composite blade for the PD-35 aircraft engine

As part of the project to create an aircraft engine PD-35, the United Engine Corporation of the State Corporation Rostec has developed a necessary element of PD-35 - a composite blade, said UEC Deputy General Director Valery Geykin, who heads the engine technology business.

UEC is developing a technology for the production of composite fan blades as part of a program to create a family of high-thrust engines. According to Valery Geikin, achieving the specified parameters of the PD-35 engine requires the development of about 18 critical technologies, among which one of the key technologies is a fan blade made of composites. At the same time, the general designer of the UEC-Aviadvigatel enterprise, Alexander Inozemtsev, specified that the transition from a solid titanium to a hollow titanium blade made it possible to reduce the mass of the unit by 30%, and the use of a composite blade would save another 30% in weight.

“Together with the institutes, we created the design and technology of such a blade and manufactured the first experimental kits, carried out the required volume of tests, which allowed us to assemble the engine with these blades and start bench tests,” TASS agency quoted Alexander Inozemtsev as saying.

Serial production of blades will be launched at the UEC-Saturn plant.

Let us remind you that the PD-35 ultra-high-thrust by-pass turbojet engine is intended for installation on promising wide-body aircraft. In particular, it is planned to equip them with the Chinese-Russian wide-body long-range aircraft CR929 and Il-96-400M.

Firebird wrote:Does anyone know how big the MS-21 might end up?
I've read about an MS-21X and an MS21-800 and MS21-700.

This would suggest Yakovlev might be planning to challenge Ilyushin or even the CR929 in the wide body sector.

Surely there is only so far a medium size plane like the MS-21 can grow?
And surely the Il-96 or CR929 would form the basis for any new All Russian wide body ie Ilyushin?
But who knows?

Rodion_Romanovic wrote:Not only... before all their issues with the 737Max Boeing was working on a new category (an
Airplane or a size between a 737 and a 787, probably a longer narrow body). That size category would be perfect for the MC-21-500  and 600... about the bigger variants I don't know...maybe they are ideas to move into the widebody market...

Rodion_Romanovic wrote:

kvs wrote:

Rodion_Romanovic wrote:Not only... before all their issues with the 737Max Boeing was working on a new category (an
Airplane or a size between a 737 and a 787, probably a longer narrow body). That size category would be perfect for the MC-21-500  and 600... about the bigger variants I don't know...maybe they are ideas to move into the widebody market...

The IL-96 with two PD-35s would be a competitive large civilian class jet.  

Yes, I know, it needs anyway a new wing.