TheRussian aircraft MC-21 is joining the world stage in the single aisle airplane war. Russia’s newly built MC-21 aircraft will be in direct competition with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320, as well as Bombardier’s CSeries and Embraer’s E-Jet series aircraft. The MC-21, with production scheduled to begin in 2017, rolled out last Wednesday for a media presentation in Irkutsk, Russia. The new airplane is being built by the United Aircraft Corporation of Russia.
Russian aircraft MC-21 specs and plans
The MC-21 will be a single aisle, twin jet aircraft. The plane will be available in 3 different series called the 200, 300, and 400 models. Passenger seating will vary from a minimum of 150 seats to a maximum of 211 seats. The aircrafts flight range will vary by model between 3,400 and 3,700 nautical miles. The new aircraft will be built with extensive use of composite materials, and alloys of aluminum and titanium. Purchasers of the airplane will have a choice between two engine types. The Russian Aviadvigatel PD-14 or American Pratt & Whitney PW1400G. Both engines were specifically developed for this new aircraft.
In addition to hopeful new international orders, the plane has been envisioned as a replacement aircraft for much of Russia’s aging domestic commercial aviation fleet. The flight test plan for the new airplane is scheduled to start before the end of 2016, with certification scheduled by the end of 2017. The company claims to already have 182 confirmed orders for the aircraft, including 50 from Russia’s international flag carrier Aeroflot. All of the currently confirmed orders have come from Russian airlines and leasing companies, with the exception of a single order of 6 aircraft by Cairo Aviation. All of the orders are also for the same MC-21-300 model type, except a single order for 15 MC-21-200 aircraft placed by the Russian Corporation Rostec. You can view a YouTube video of the aircraft rollout by clicking the link below:
Image from www.themoscowtimes.com