The first SSJ-New prototype, tail number 97021, assembled at the Irkut production centre in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, has been delivered to the flight test station. The company’s specialists have commenced a set of ground tests of the airliner’s systems and the first fueling of the aircraft has taken place. This was reported by the press service of the United Aircraft Corporation.
After the first flight the aircraft will be presented to the Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Air Transport Agency) specialists for certification tests, following which the imported systems will be approved for use on the SSJ-New. This will enable the start of serial production and commercial operation of the aircraft.
“Conducting ground testing is an important step in preparation for the first flight of the SSJ-New. Over the next few weeks we will test the ground operation of all the new airliner systems to ensure that they work correctly in the air. Safety is one of the key priorities in the development of the new modification of the civil aircraft,” said Andrey Boginsky, UAC Deputy Director General for Civil Aviation, CEO of Irkut Corporation.
Certification of the SSJ-New aircraft in a fully “russified version,” including the PD-8 engines, will be conducted on the second flight of the SSJ-New (97003). On June 13, on the eve of SPIEF-2023, responding to a question about SSJ-New, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that getting the type certificate with imported component base, units and PD-8 engine should take place before the end of this year.
At the same time, to begin certification of the Russian systems and units, without waiting for the readiness of the PD-8 engines, the first SSJ-New prototype will take to the skies using the French-Russian SaM146 engines.
Flight certification tests of the PD-8 engines in the SuperJet will be conducted on the prototype SSJ100 (95157). Earlier, the UAC reported on the ongoing flight tests of the propulsion system on the IL-76 flying laboratory.
