Latest version of MC-21 airliner enters test phase

On 7 June 2021, the fifth United Aircraft Corporation MC-21-310 prototype (73055/05) arrived at Zhukovsky. The new airliner was manufactured by the Irkut Corporation at Irkutsk, part of the United Aircraft Corporation. It had flown from there to Ulyanovsk where it was painted by the local company Spektr-Avia, and from the paintshop to Zhukovsky.

The aircraft was flown by a crew of test pilots Vasily Sevastyanov and Andrey Voropayev, and flight test engineer Anton Kuznetsov. According to Vasily Sevastyanov, the aircraft equipped with new Russian PD-14 engines performed well during the flights Irkutsk – Ulyanovsk and Ulyanovsk – Zhukovsky.

The MC-21-310 is a single aisle airliner designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and the Irkut Corporation. It has a capacity of 132–163 passengers in a two-class or 165–211 in a single class configuration. The aircraft concerned had its maiden flight in December 2020.

The first prototype of the MC-21 was rolled out of the factory on 8 June 2016 and made its first flight on 28 May the following year. 

United Aircraft Corporation has been able to book 175 firm orders for the MC-21, of which the majority will be delivered to Russian airlines. Aeroflot has placed 50 firm orders and 35 options.

The new Aviadvigatel PD-14 powered MC-21-310 aircraft will continue its flight test program at the airfield of the Gromov Flight Research Institute. It is planned to see its public premiere at the Moscow international aviation and space salon MAKS-2021.

Source: Irkut Corporation