The United Engine Corporation (UEC) began test flights of the PD-8 engine as part of a flying laboratory in Zhukovsky, Rostec said. Experimental power units are mounted under the wing in place of one of the regular D-30KP engines.
“The main operational data – rotational speed, pressure, temperature, as well as additional parameters necessary to confirm the adopted design solutions and ensure safe operation of the power plant,” the report said.
The tests are based on the IL-76LL aircraft (b/n 76529), which belongs to the Gromov LII. The aircraft was built at TAPOICH in 1977 for the Iraqi Air Force and in 1989 it was returned to the USSR and refitted as the IL-76LL flying laboratory (registration number USSR-76529, then RA-76529) to test new engines. In 1989-1990 it was used to test the D-236T propeller-fan engine, and in 1990-1994 to test the D-27 propeller-fan engine. After that, the board was in storage in Zhukovsky for 20 years. After repairs in 2015-2017, it was used for flight tests of the PD-14 engine.
The PD-8 engine is being developed at the JSC UEC Aviadvigatel (Perm) and is intended to replace the French-Russian propulsion system Sam146 on the SSJ100 aircraft, as well as the D-436TP engine developed at the ZMKB Progress named after Academician A.G. Ivchenko (Ukraine), which are used on Be-200 amphibian aircraft.
The beginning of testing of the PD-8 as part of the SSJ-New aircraft is scheduled for spring 2023, with certification – in December. The first two production machines are to be handed over for commercial operation in 2024, with a subsequent output of twenty Superjets per year.
