Russian Civil Aviation: News #5

sepheronx wrote:I'm not gonna lie, I am mostly confused with all these civil airplanes and to me they always seemed to overlap each other.

I mean, why SSJ when MS-21 is gonna exist too?

lancelot wrote:There were plans to make a version of the Superjet with a composite wing. The Superjet 130. This was supposed to be a competitor to the Airbus A220.
This would slot in between the current Superjet 95 and the MC-21-300. So it would overlap with the MC-21-200 but be more fuel efficient.

A pilot gains altitude or how to master a budget of 7000 meters
03/02/2024, 16:17

Well, has everyone already calmed down from the hype of one popular publication with a solid sign in the title? How true are the facts presented there? Did anything bother anyone? Let’s figure out how much truth there is and how much else there is, and first we’ll go through the timing, and then on some technical details there will be comments from the source of the “Russian Aviation” website in Zhukovsky.

Yes, the deadlines are moving. Yes this is bad. Yes, the officials convinced us that the deadlines would be met. They couldn't stand it. And the main reason for this is that suppliers who create components for civil aircraft also work with state defense orders, which have grown significantly since 2022, when the Russian government was drawing up plans until 2030.

Numbers incomprehensive program, adopted in 2022 and adjusted in 2023, raised doubts among both ordinary people and specialists. “We’ll make it,” they retorted in the offices. But the state defense order is a priority, that’s why we didn’t have time. It’s not for nothing that Manturov recently said that the same people work on both civilian and military topics. It’s good that this has now been recognized and said.

Let's look at the types of aircraft we have and how things are going.

MS-21 - this year, two experimental aircraft that are currently at IAZ - 73055 and 73057 - should fly in an import-substituted version. 73055 – will be partially Russified, the wing of this aircraft is made of imported composites. 73057 - the wing is completely Russian, perhaps it will have some imported components left, but this will be a very small amount. A shift in certification is expected by approximately one year: instead of December 2024, it will be in December 2025. You should not count on the start of deliveries to airlines before the spring of 2026.

SJ-100 – shift for two years. First of all, due to the unavailability of the PD-8 engine. The UEC commented to our website that the plane with these engines will not take off this year. Although the UAC claimed the opposite , ministers and the head of the state corporation confirmed several times in 2023 that certification of the PD-8 engine for the SJ-100 aircraft should take place in the near future, and tests of the power plant are being completed. But it was objectively impossible to meet the deadlines that were announced, and Viktor Stepanovich’s catchphrase worked: “we wanted the best, it turned out as always.” But everything is in place and in action...

IL-114-300 – everything is simple here. In May 2023, the second prototype aircraft, serial number 0110, was rolled out. Several sources in the aviation industry report that its first flight could take place in the summer. In October last year, the Ministry of Transport proposed to postpone deliveries of the Il-114-300 to 2026. This was explained by the presence of force majeure circumstances and the impossibility of continuing development work and certification of the Il-114-300. Ilyushin simply has no time for it now; they are required to comply with the terms of the contract for the supply of 14 Il-76MD-90A until 2028. At the same time, the TV7-117ST-01 engine is completely ready for operation, and UEC talked about resuming Il-114-300 flights a year ago - in March 2023.

Il-96-400M – the situation with the domestic wide-body airliner is unclear. What can be said for sure is that there will be no mass production of these aircraft. The government plans include 12 airliners. There were no reports of flight tests of the aircraft after its first flight.

Tu-214 – infirst edition of the comprehensive program(2022) it was planned to produce 70 aircraft, in the summer of 2023 their number was adjusted to 115. But these plans are simply unrealistic. Whoever prepared the schedule for the government document should have understood this. Last year it was planned to build three aircraft, but none were made. In this case, seven cars need to be produced already, but if three of last year’s ones are released, that’s already good. From 2025, the Kazan Aviation Plant should reach a rate of 10 aircraft per year, in 2026 – 15, and from 2027 to build 20 aircraft annually. To produce such volumes, the plant requires a large-scale expansion of production, which is currently underway. But the main thing is not to disrupt the modernization and production of Tu-22M3 and Tu-160M bombers. There is no confidence that Kazan will implement plans for the Tu-214 in full. You just have to be realistic here.

The Tu-214 can become the most popular aircraft with the PS-90A engine, therefore, a lot of them are needed. In 2022, in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel, the general designer of UEC-Aviadvigatel JSC, Alexander Inozemtsev , said that the company, together with military orders, is going to produce 120 PS-90A in the coming years. For 115 Tu-214 aircraft, 230 power plants are required. The comprehensive program provides for the production of 254 PS-90A engines. It turns out that for twelve Il-96-400M, transport Il-76MD-90A and replacement engines, only 24 PS-90A units remain. The Il-96-400M alone requires 48 of them and the same, if not more, for the Il-76MD-90A. Don't you think that the government document was prepared by people who do not know arithmetic?

“Ladoga”, “Baikal”, “Osvey” - until the VK-800SM engine is ready, there is nothing to say about these aircraft... UZGA promises to begin flight tests of the engine by the end of this year. Will they be able to? Will they make it? There is no certainty. Because back in April last year, the general designer of the Engines division of UZGA, Sergei Vakushin, promised that by the end of 2023 the VK-800SM should enter flight tests as part of the Yak-40LL flying laboratory at SibNIA, and the first flight is planned for the third quarter of 2024 aircraft "Baikal" with VK-800SM. There was no further information on this topic.

From all of the above, one conclusion follows: it is necessary to plan, soberly assessing the current situation with a responsible understanding of the state of affairs, existing and necessary resources. Unfortunately, our “talking heads” first promise, and then remain silent or, as if nothing had happened, announce a shift in deadlines: “everything is fine, we are on schedule .”

Now about some technical details on the MS-21 aircraft.

The author of the hype in the “firm sign” tells us that due to the use of Russian composites and parts in the import-substituted version, the flight range of the MC-21 with a maximum payload of 20,300 kg was reduced (according to the author) to less than 2,800 km, and according to some sources - up to 2000 km. “At the same time, the maximum flight altitude that the aircraft can now master is 7 km,” the article says.

The source of Russian Aviation in Zhukovsky (Gromov Flight Research Institute) commented on this statement extremely frankly. According to him, illiterate journalists interpreted in a peculiar way plans to increase the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft from 79.25 to 85 tons in order to increase the load when fully refueled, that is, by exactly the amount that was added in the “hard sign” article to the weight of an empty aircraft . “But that’s good! All manufacturers are striving to increase weight yield,” says the source.

It turns out that the author of the article is not familiar withaircraft type certificate MS-21-300/-310, where it is stated that the maximum payload is 21,100 kg, and the maximum operational altitude is 12,200 m. Experts know very well that flight range depends on many factors, and the weight of an empty aircraft does not always play a major role here.

Regarding the plane’s “mastery” of an altitude of 7 km, our interlocutor expressed the opinion that these data, to put it mildly, do not correspond to reality. “According to the MS-21 type certificate, it is allowed to fly with passengers at FL400, which is 12,200 meters. Without passengers, if the plane is being transported from one airport to another, you can fly higher, at FL410,” he said. You can master the budget. The plane rises to altitude or gains it. But the journalists of the publication with a clear sign in the title apparently do not know this.

It was at flight level FL410 - 12500 m - that aircraft 73057 with a domestic wing (the former first production MC-21 b/n 73361) flew at one of the stages of the flight for painting from Irkutsk to Ulyanovsk in July 2023, which was recorded on the graph of the online tracking service flights of civil aircraft FR24. Being at flight level FL400 (12200 m), at the request of the dispatcher, in order to allow oncoming aircraft to pass under it due to thunderstorms over Siberia, part of the route the plane flew at an odd (oncoming) flight level FL410 (12500 m).

In January 2023, an experienced MS-21 b/n 73051 performed non-stop flights to the Omsk region and back to Zhukovsky to determine the optimal flight parameters along air routes during takeoff with a maximum permissible weight of 79,250 kg. On January 26, the flight duration was 6 hours 13 minutes, on January 27 – 5.5 hours. During these two days, the distance the plane covered was from 4000 to 4500 km. What 2000 km?

At that time, board 73051 had already undergone remotorization for PD-14 engines. If it took off with the maximum permissible weight and was in the air for more than five hours, and the plane does not meet the weight parameters set by the designers, then this only means that it will take less payload, but the flight range will not change. They don’t understand this in the “firm sign”? Replaced the wing material and the flight range was halved? Are composites made of lead?

“The 057 has a wing made of our composites, and its weight is practically no different from previous cars. But now no one can say anything about the weight of the installed systems, because there is no import-substituted version yet,” noted our interlocutor in Zhukovsky and added: “In Rostec, commenting on the “weight characteristics” of the MS-21, they said, that “the final appearance of the completely import-substituted aircraft will be formed in the second half of this year.” So, there is no point in talking about specific numbers now.”

HowDmitry Rogozin noted in his telegram channel, “reproaches for the “overweight” of new Russian aircraft are a typical marked card of the “fifth column”, which every time tries to ruin the domestic civil aircraft industry.”

Andrey Velichko

lancelot wrote:Another thing which they could consider would be restarting production of aircraft which were at one point made in Russia but which were designed in Ukraine and might have had some Ukrainian content. Like the An-140T or the An-38

Under US legislation, the aircraft may have up to 11 seats and can carry 9 passengers and 2 pilots. Other countries did recertify the aircraft to have up to 14 seats. By doing so they adopt the FAA certification based on part 23 and add text to waive the 9 passenger limitation.

Here some proper feedback.
Not unrealistically positive and not pessimistic without reason.

https://aviation21.ru/lyotchik-nabiraet-vysotu-ili-kak-osvoit-byudzhet-v-7000-metrov/

lancelot wrote:There are quite a lot of 1990-2000s failed small aircraft designs which could be repurposed I think.

UZGA will complete the assembly of the first prototype Ladoga aircraft by the end of this year
14.03.2024, 17:32

The assembly of the first flight prototype of the Ladoga aircraft (TVRS-44) will be completed in Yekaterinburg at the facilities of the Ural Civil Aviation Plant by the end of this year; the prototype may begin flying in the first half of 2025. The “Russian Aviation” website was told about this in the “Vzlyot” magazine.

The aircraft will be produced in broad cooperation between enterprises in the aircraft and engine manufacturing industries. The fuselage is the responsibility of the Samara Aviakor plant, the wing box and wing assembly will be produced at the Smolensk Aviation Plant, the tail unit will be produced at the UZGA production site in Nizhny Novgorod, the aircraft will receive a TV7-117ST-02 engine developed by ODK-Klimov as a power plant "

The final assembly will be carried out in Aramil (Ektb) in the Titanium Valley special economic zone at the Uktus site. Here, a building for engineering and technical services and a production building were erected for UZGA, where the aircraft will be assembled. To carry out testing and certification of the machine, it is planned to build four prototypes - two flight ones, a static one and a life-saving one.

“It is expected that the fuselage from Samara, the wing from Smolensk and other components of the first flight prototype of the TVRS-44 will arrive for final assembly in Yekaterinburg by this summer, and by the end of the year the aircraft will begin workshop testing of on-board systems, and it will be able to take off in the first half of 2025,” said our interlocutor at the Vzlyot editorial office.

Currently, in Samara and Smolensk, in parallel with the creation of units for the first flight model of the aircraft, the fuselage for a static prototype is being manufactured, which will be transferred to TsAGI for testing. In 2025, it is planned to complete the construction of the second flight model, and after that - the resource model. Taking into account the large volume of certification work, which involves about 800 test flights, the start of serial production of Ladoga aircraft and the first deliveries to customers is expected no earlier than 2027. To speed up the certification process, UZGA and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation are discussing the possibility of creating a third flight prototype.

TVRS-44 LADOGA UNDER CONSTRUCTION

When is Russia's new regional aircraft coming?
In the shadow of well-known Russian airline projects such as Superjet and MS-21, another passenger aircraft is being built east of the Ural Mountains: the TWRS-44 Ladoga. The regional turboprop is eagerly awaited in Russia. But when will it be finished?

Patrick Zwerger
March 18, 2024

You won't learn much if you search the Internet for news about the TWRS-44 Ladoga. Even on relevant Russian websites, the turboprop project lives in the shadows. Its importance for Russian civil aviation should not be underestimated - with space for 40 to 50 passengers, the TVRS-44 fits into exactly the segment that is still used in Russia today by the Antonov An-24 (and partly the An-26 ) is filled out.

Successor to Soviet oldies

The An-24 was built until 1979, and the examples that are still active, especially in the more inhospitable regions of Russia, have been waiting to be replaced for years. The same applies to the ATR 42 from the West, some of which have also found their way to Russia in the past. The TWRS-44, built by the Ural Civil Aircraft Plant USGA in the Aramil special economic zone near Yekaterinburg, could become the legitimate successor to this warhorse of aviation - and according to the manufacturer, it is actually intended for exactly that.

The TVRS-44 could replace old models such as the Antonov An-24 in passenger operations on remote routes

Delay – sure

Original plans from 2021 called for the first Ladoga units to be delivered to customers as early as 2025. Nothing will definitely come of this, because even in spring 2024 there will only be a fuselage mock-up of the aircraft and not a single real prototype yet. Nevertheless, the USGA and well-known suppliers continue to work hard on the project, which is largely based on the Let 610 designed in Czechoslovakia. According to the adjusted plan, the first test machine should be ready by the end of this year. A maiden flight is now planned for the first half of 2025. A total of four prototypes are planned to be built, although two of them are intended for static tests.

Problem engine from Klimov
The Let 610 was a flop with only six completed aircraft, but that shouldn't happen with the more Russified new edition. With new avionics, a glass cockpit, a lavishly designed cabin and powerful Klimov turboprops, the USGA, in the shape of the Ladoga, believes it is in tune with the times. The TW7-117ST-02 engines produce 2,400 hp and are a reduced-power variant of the TW7-117ST-01, which is used in the larger Ilyushin Il-114-300 . The Il-112W military transporter - which has now been put on ice - also flew with two TW7-117STs until one of them caught fire in the air and the only prototype of the Il-112W crashed in Kubinka. Subsequently, structural defects were discovered in the engine, which have since been remedied.

The TWRS-44 is intended to fly 2,100 kilometers with 40 passengers. The USGA specifies the cruising speed as up to 480 km/h.

Perfect for rough operations
Klimow would like to begin series production of the TW7-117ST-02 for the Ladoga in 2025. USGA itself orchestrates the final assembly in Aramil and produces the performance mechanism at the Nizhny Novgorod plant, while the fuselage of the TWRS-44 is manufactured at Aviakor in Samara and the wings including the wing center box come from the Smolensk aircraft plant. Technodinamika from Moscow is also involved as a system supplier.

In use, the new model is intended to score points with its particular robustness and is therefore ideal for flights to remote areas under extreme climatic conditions. The Russian-Far Eastern regional airline Aurora signed a letter of intent for 15 TWRS-44s in January 2024. The aircraft are said to come from a Russian lessor.