On the prospects of engines for aircraft from Tu-214 to MC-21-400

A shot of a video report by TV channel Zvezda

Alexander Inozemtsev, Deputy General Director of JSC UEC for management of Perm Motors NPK told on the sidelines of the International Military and Technical Forum “Army-2022” about the prospects of producing and upgrading the PD-14 engine, the required number of PS-90A, about the development of the PD-35 engine and the opportunities opening up for designers after its appearance.

“We have just signed a loan of four billion rubles with Novikombank for the production of a very large batch of PD-14 for the next few years,” Alexander Inozemtsev told Alexei Samolyotov, a reporter of the TV channel Zvezda, during the conversation.

He explained that the required volumes of production of PD-14 are currently so large that this engine is not planned to be used anywhere except for the MC-21 airliner. “God willing, we will swallow what is going to be on the MC-21-310 now. We have been instructed by the government to reach 160 engines a year by the thirtieth year, that’s with the reserve. There will be 72 planes [per year], plus the reserve,” said the deputy head of UEC.

Speaking about the range of promising engines and the modernization potential of the PD-14, Alexander Inozemtsev noted that so far this is the first member of the family. But there will be others with a thrust of 8 to 18 tons.

“Irkut Corporation is simultaneously making a smaller aircraft for the engine with 12.5 tons instead of fourteen, and is now actively engaged in the “four hundred” – the MC-21-400. This is 16.5 tons and an airplane with a larger capacity,” Inozemtsev said.

As for the PD-8 engine, he said that its development is carried out by ODK-Saturn, while ODK-Perm Motors is an “accomplice” in this project, explaining that the required number of these engines is about 100 per year. “We need the Superjet to fly.”

Responding to a question about the continuity of the PD-8 and PD-14 gas generator, Alexander Inozemtsev said that it is a mistake to consider the PD-8 gas generator as one of the PD-14 variants. “This is a completely new gas generator. It is smaller, more optimal for this small engine than the PD-14 gas generator and therefore a more technically risky project. The deadlines for its creation are very tight,” he explained.

Alexander Inozemtsev also noted that in addition to the PD-14 and PD-8, there will be a sharp increase in the production of PS-90A engines.

“Because the magnificent Tu-214 aircraft that was blighted in the zero years “the executive made a decision: to make them urgently 70 planes before the 30th year. We are reaching 120 PS-90A engines a year. That, together with military orders. This, too, is a huge volume. It’s the engine that got into the most remodeling… We got the type certificate on April 3, ’92… And thank God that it comes to life and will be made in the same quantities as the PD-14,” said the general designer of UEC-Aviaadvigatel.

And depending on the engine, the undeservedly ruined Tu-214 – a medium-range airliner capable of flying non-stop for 6-7 thousand kilometers, for example from Moscow to Khabarovsk – also comes to life. This airliner is also used for special purposes as a reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. “The rigging has been preserved, the technology has been preserved. Now we just need to remove the military interior and put nice armchairs, and it will be a magnificent passenger aircraft,” Inozemtsev said.

And the most important question asked by Alexey Samolyotov, Deputy General Director of UEC: “What is the fate of the PD-35?

According to Alexander Inozemtsev, in conditions of limited resources, unfortunately, the project will develop more slowly than previously planned. The PD-35 demonstrator engine will be assembled and tested by 2024.

“The PD-35 project will go a little slower, with a shift to the right by two or three years, because huge amounts of money are needed. There is no doubt that we will assemble and test the demonstrator engine by 2024, no matter how hard it is. And then we’ll go with the situation. But we will understand exactly where we are in terms of technology when we assemble the engine, since we are creating technology for the long-haul market,” Inozemtsev said. He added that the main efforts will now be focused on replication of PD-14 and PS-90A engines.

The General Designer of ODK-Aviaadvigatel noted that the PD-35 has a great potential. “This is the most innovative project. The latest technology is absolute. This is a market niche for long-range twin-engine airplanes, a colossal scientific and technological potential, which we have to enter with the help of the PD-35 and further make the family from 25 tons to 50 tons. This is what we are aiming for,” said Alexander Inozemtsev.

He added that China is very interested in the PD-35 engine project. “Now it will get easier with the pandemic, we will revive.