RuAviation

Tupolev design bureau announced the launch of the Innovation Design Center (IDC) for the modernization of the Tu-214 aircraft. The first meeting of the project participants was held at the company’s site in Moscow under the leadership of Konstantin Timofeev, Managing Director of Tupolev JSC. This was reported in the press service of UAC.

The IDC is created to solve specific tasks related to modernization of Tu-214, which include digitization of documentation, airframe weight reduction, transition to new polymer-composite materials, modernization of aircraft systems and interior. In particular, to reduce the weight of the airframe will require an upgrade of on-board electronic equipment and reduction of the flight engineer’s seat, i.e., transition to a crew of two pilots.

The selection process for the IDC team is tough. So far, more than 300 resumes have been received from potential participants, including team offers. As a result of the first interviews with Konstantin Timofeev, six specialists have already been selected, these are talented and creative engineers ready to offer fresh ideas and developments in the field of aircraft construction.

Opening the meeting, Konstantin Timofeev noted that the Tu-214 is an airplane with its own advantages and potential for development.

“Very good wing, certified engines, high-quality fuselage and horizontal plumage. In terms of its flight characteristics, the airplane turned out to be almost perfect, but we will continue to work on its improvement. The task for the near future is to reduce its weight. We do not plan to change the format, it will be the same length, width, height, passenger capacity, but we will work on weight optimization,” the Managing Director of Tupolev said.

Teams formed at the IDC will work in specialized areas such as airframe, systems, aftermarket and propulsion. Each team will include at least two designers, a technologist and an economist. More teams are planned as needed, depending on the tasks assigned to the IDC.

Each team will be assigned a supervisor, who will take over the coordination of work and ensure consistent movement of participants on the way to the realization of the set tasks. This will allow to efficiently organize the work process, starting with the formulation of the task and ending with the defense of the project and its implementation in the production cycle.

Andrey Velichko, editor-in-chief of the Russian Aviation website, believes that the IDC brings to a new level the interaction between specialists and the acceleration of modernization processes in the aircraft industry.

“In fact, for the first time in the domestic aircraft industry, a specialized unit is being created within the structure of the development bureau, which will be engaged in one single task – aircraft modernization. But the main peculiarity can be considered that the engineering staff in the IDC is not transferred from the parent design bureau itself, but is recruited on a competitive basis on the side,” he said.