The experimental prototype of the short-haul aircraft SJ-100 performed its first flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The aircraft was piloted by the test pilots Leonid Chikunov and Dmitry Demenyov, as well as the test engineer Denis Velizhanin.
The flight lasted 54 minutes, reaching altitudes of up to 3000 meters and speeds of up to 343 km/h. According to the flight plan, the crew conducted tests of the aircraft’s stability and controllability characteristics, checked the cabin pressure automatic control system, performed “cloud landing,” and executed a second approach.
“The first flight of the Superjet, created as part of the import substitution program for systems and components, is the success of the thousands of teams involved in the aerospace and radio-electronic industries. Russian developers and manufacturers managed to implement and incorporate their own design solutions and technologies on the aircraft, including avionics, landing gear, auxiliary power unit, comprehensive control system, as well as power supply systems, air conditioning, fire protection, and many others,” noted Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.
Approximately 40 systems and components of Russian production have been installed on the domestically manufactured Superjet, replacing foreign counterparts.
To accelerate the testing program, the first SJ-100 prototype is equipped with Franco-Russian SaM146 engines. In the near future, the second prototype will begin the flight testing program with the domestic PD-8 engines, which are currently undergoing a series of ground and flight tests on board the Il-76LL flying laboratory.
“Today’s flight of the Superjet with Russian systems is the result of extensive joint work by the design team and the factory staff, who, in a short time, including by global aviation industry standards, have developed, assembled, and effectively launched a new aircraft,” said Yuri Slyusar, the CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation. “The next ambitious tasks are to certify the aircraft in a completely Russian configuration and start serial deliveries to airlines.”
According to the CEO of Yakovlev PJSC, Andrey Boginsky, the SJ-100 embodies the advanced developments of the domestic aviation industry, taking into account the experience gained from the design, certification, and operation of over 200 Superjet aircraft over the years.
“From the start of the preliminary project to the first flight, it took four years, which, considering the volume of design work, is close to a record time, on par with leading global manufacturers. It took the same amount of time, for example, for the A320neo, and more for the Boeing 737max,” he added.
