At the end of May 2017, the "Boeing and Airbus thunderstorm" - the newest Russian aircraft MC-21, took off for the first time. As soon as this steel bird was not called in the Russian press: both "the liner of the Russian dream" and "the plane of the future." But are such epithets appropriate?
The history of the MC-21 medium-range airliner began in 2002. Then Rosaviakosmos announced a tender for a project to create passenger aircraft... It was attended by Il-214 (Ilyushin Design Bureau), Tu-234 (Tupolev Design Bureau) and MS-21 (Joint project of Irkut OJSC and Yakovlev Design Bureau). Moreover, the MS-21 was based on the very outdated Yak-242, which was developed back in 1993. He, in turn, was a deeply modernized model of the narrow-body Yak-42 aircraft, the operation of which began in the distant 1980s. Surprisingly, it was the MC-21 project that won the tender and received the first $ 150 million for the development of the aircraft. In 2014, the MS-21 investment project was estimated at $ 3.9 billion. A significant part of the funds for the project was allocated by Sberbank of Russia under the guarantees of the Russian government.
"Russian aircraft should not lose out to foreign ones in terms of their characteristics," Dmitry Medvedev said at a Security Council meeting on development issues. aviation industry... The vice-president of the Irkut company said that he expects to produce approximately 1,080 MC-21 aircraft by 2035.
The name MC-21 stands for very formidable - "trunk plane of the XXI century." As conceived by its authors, it should not only replace outdated models of the Soviet era, such as the Tu-154, but also become a serious competitor to the popular Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. There is only a small problem - tens of thousands of aircraft from foreign aircraft manufacturers have been in operation for many decades. and the only MC-21 performed its first flight only at the end of May 2017. In addition, the Russian PD-14 engines, planned for installation on the MC-21, were never built on time, and the MC-21 flew with the American Pratt & Whitney PW1400G ...
The first flight of the MC-21 evoked a strong sense of surrealism of what was happening: the "Boeing and Airbus thunderstorm" was not just hidden from the public, but completely classified. The first test flight of any new aircraft is always carried out in a solemn atmosphere, the show is attended by representatives of the creator company, the media, politicians and foreign guests. After all, any aircraft is a commercial project, the main goal of which is to become as well known to potential buyers as possible. This demonstration increases the chances of getting orders and is one of the elements of promotion to international markets.
Nevertheless, the first flight of the "mainline aircraft of the XXI century" lasted only half an hour and passed in a special secrecy regime, which is an unprecedented event in the history of aircraft construction.
For comparison: the first flight of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 lasted 2 hours and 42 minutes, the Airbus A320neo - about 2.5 hours. The Chinese passenger Comac C919, which also made its first flight not so long ago, stayed in the air for 79 minutes. Moreover, competitors gained three times during this time great height than MS-21. Of course, such "nuances" can be attributed to a special test program Russian aircraft... But if everything is so good, then why such secrecy?
Instead of a heart - a Perm motor
One of the main components modern aircraft are its engines. It is they who ensure the competitiveness of the aircraft in the market to a large extent. Fuel consumption depends on them, which for airlines turns into the main economic indicator - the price of a ticket for a passenger. Another critical metric is reliability and MTBF.
The engine is the most knowledge-intensive off-the-shelf component aircraft... It is believed that it takes about 10 years to create a promising turbojet engine.
The aircraft industry of the USSR did not manage to create its own reliable and economical engine. The latest Russian development - PS90A - was distinguished by low reliability (three to four times worse than that of competitors) with comparable fuel consumption.
The engine was developed by the Perm Motors company. In 1997, she narrowly escaped bankruptcy and sold part of the shares to new investors - the Russian Interros and the American engine manufacturer, the Pratt & Whitney corporation. New investors paid off wage arrears and significantly modernized production. The Americans actively participated in the development of the new engine, but after a loud scandal withdrew from the project, and the engine remained unfinished and unsuitable for modern aircraft.
The PD-14 engine, developed specifically for the MS-21, is still very crude. Certification of the engine is planned only for 2018. But the dates, as you know, tend to shift.
At the same time, the series of Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines from the American manufacturer has been debugged for a long time, it works reliably and economically. Such engines are installed on the main competitors of the MC-21 - Bombardier CSeries, Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), Embraer E-Jet E2 and Airbus A320neo.
When will the MS-21 fly on Russian engines? No one can give an answer to this question. The question is whether foreign airlines will want to contact liners with such engines at all. Most likely, the MS-21 with Russian engines will fly on Russian airlines, and abroad they will have to be equipped with imported ones.
What is in my appearance to you
Compared to its main competitors, the MC-21 has a fuselage diameter 10-30 cm larger. This will increase the distance between the seats and make them more comfortable. Also, the luggage compartments and the capacity of the aircraft as a whole will increase.
But the electronic systems and avionics in the MC-21 are completely imported from the Thales, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins corporations. Needless to say, Russian "import-substituted" avionics is still being designed?
In addition to using imported components, the MS-21 has its own Russian design. This is a wing made entirely of polymer composite materials. For a medium-range aircraft, this is a truly revolutionary step: previously, carbon fiber was used as a structural material only in wide-body long-range aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB.
The peculiarity of composite materials is that the parts made from them, in terms of strength, correspond or surpass the traditional ones, which are created from aviation alloys. Such parts are lighter, their use reduces the weight of the aircraft and reduces fuel consumption. This ultimately directly reduces the price of a ticket for a passenger and increases the competitiveness of the airline.
The Soviet school of aircraft construction had a very large reserve for composite materials. For example, in the largest serial transport aircraft in the world, the An-124 Ruslan, landing gear flaps, fairings, fairings for flap monorails, etc. are made from composite materials. In addition, they are used in the longitudinal and transverse beams in the form of reinforcing linings. All this made it possible to reduce the weight of the aircraft by 6 tons.
However, in the case of the MC-21, the lighter composite wing compensates for the weight of the wider fuselage, which will provide a higher level of comfort compared to competitors.
Foggy future
At the start of the MS-21 project, the US and European sanctions against Russia could not be seen by the designers even in a nightmare. About 40 main partners are taking part in the project. Half are well-known foreign concerns Eaton, Honyewell, Goodrich, Pratt & Whitney, Thales, Meggitt. It is difficult to say to what extent the designers are provided with imported parts, but it is absolutely certain that in the event of even a small "squeeze" by the sanctions, the MS-21 project simply will not take place. While Russia develops and certifies analogs of imported components (which are more reliable and are produced in large batches), the global aviation industry represented by Boeng, Airbus, Bombardie will again go far ahead.
In addition, China, which previously only copied foreign aircraft, is now actively involved in the air race. The Chinese Comac C919 aircraft was developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. The first flight took place also recently - on May 5, 2017. Like the MS-21, its engines are also imported - CFM Leap 1C. But the C919 airliner is estimated at $ 50 million, which is half the cost of similar Boeing and Airbus. The Russian MS-21 will presumably cost $ 72-85 million, which means that it is already losing to the Chinese. On the this moment Already received pre-orders for 517 Comac C919 aircraft from 21 companies.
Both Russia and China are guided by approximately the same export markets - they want to become the third player after Boeing and Airbus in developing countries through political agreements and government support for sales. At the same time, China has much more political weight and money, not to mention the fact that the huge market of both China itself and those dependent on it Asian countries, closed for MS-21.
However, political influence does not guarantee successful product promotion. Suffice it to recall the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100, with which the Russians wanted to conquer Europe. At the end of 2010, Vladimir Putin even met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on this matter and said that “Italy is ready to buy from Russia enough a large number of passenger aircraft. "But two weeks later, Italy's main air carrier Alitalia abandoned the SSJ 100 and preferred Brazilian Embraers. In 2015, there was an agreement to supply 100 Russian SSJ-100 aircraft to China and Southeast Asia... The total cost of the deal was estimated at $ 3.6 billion, but the matter did not go further than talk.
Of course, Russia can use the scheme of the times of the USSR - to promote civil aircraft to those countries with which there are supply contracts military equipment(there are about a dozen of them). At the stage of creation, the MS-21 had several dozen firm foreign orders. But to date, Egypt and Malaysia have refused firm orders for the "Boeing and Airbus storm".
After the lifting of sanctions on Iran, the need for new aircraft in this country has become simply enormous. It would seem that the Russians, with their "warm" attitude towards Iran, should have been lucky. But the first to arrive were European Airbus and American Boeing, from which Iran has already ordered hundreds of modern aircraft.
Despite the intentions of the creators of the MC-21 to seriously squeeze competitors in the international arena, firm contacts have been concluded only with Russian leasing companies. All other clients so far are limited to, in fact, nothing promising "memoranda of intent" and "memoranda of understanding".
The start of serial production of the "Russian Dream liner" is expected in 2018. Suffice it to recall that the first work on the aircraft began in 1993 to clearly see the size of the abyss into which the Russian aircraft industry collapsed after the collapse of the USSR.
And also in broad international cooperation.
In 2009, on the basis of the design team of the Experimental Design Bureau named after A.S. Yakovlev, a design and engineering division was formed in the corporation - the Engineering Center. A.S. Yakovlev, who ensures the development of the MS-21. It unites and coordinates the work of scientific and industrial cooperation, which includes the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after V.I. Professor N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI) and leading scientific institutes of Russia; centers of excellence created within the framework of the United Aviation Corporation (UAC); domestic and foreign engineering companies creating fundamentally new developments for the MS-21.
Specialists from the Irkut Corporation branches in Ulyanovsk and Voronezh are developing the design and systems of the MC-21 aircraft in a single information space with the Engineering Center.
When designing the MC-21, a customer-oriented approach to product development was implemented. It provides for the involvement of potential customers in the aircraft development process from the earliest stages of the project.
By 2017, the Irkut Corporation signed firm contracts for the supply of 175 MS-21 aircraft. The portfolio of "soft" orders (options and letters of intent) exceeds 100 aircraft. At the same time, Aeroflot, the beginning of deliveries - 2018.
Total investment in the creation program the latest aircraft MS-21 in mid-2016 amounted to about 100 billion rubles, of which 80% - money that was received from the state in the form of various assistance, and 20% - Irkut Corporation.
On May 28, 2017, the new Russian civilian airliner MS-21, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
"A huge victory for aircraft manufacturers." The first demonstration of the MC-21 aircraft
© Corporation "Irkut" / President of the MC-21 development company - Irkut Corporation (part of the United Aircraft Corporation) - Oleg Demchenko during the presentation of the aircraft noted that several years ago it was decided to make an aircraft that would take its rightful place in the world aviation market. “We are confident that the MS-21 will be the best in its class,” he added.
3 out of 8
President of the MC-21 development company - Irkut Corporation (part of the United Aircraft Corporation) - Oleg Demchenko during the presentation of the aircraft noted that several years ago it was decided to make an aircraft that would take its rightful place in the world aviation market. “We are confident that the MS-21 will be the best in its class,” he added.
© RIA Novosti / Sergey Mamontov / The Irkut Corporation has already formed a starting portfolio of firm orders for 175 MC-21 aircraft. Advances have been received on firm contracts. The first aircraft operators will be the airlines of the Aeroflot group, which has ordered 50 airliners. Another aircraft customer was Azerbaijan Airlines.
5 out of 8
The Irkut Corporation has already formed a starting portfolio of firm orders for 175 MC-21 aircraft. Advances have been received on firm contracts. The first aircraft operators will be the airlines of the Aeroflot group, which has ordered 50 airliners. Another aircraft customer was Azerbaijan Airlines.
© Corporation "Irkut" / Irkut is considering the issue of supplying the MC-21 to the Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania. An agreement for the supply of six aircraft with the possible purchase of four more airliners has been concluded with Egypt. Jordanian air carriers showed interest in MC-21.
6 out of 8
Irkut is considering the issue of supplying the MC-21 to the Tanzanian national carrier Air Tanzania. An agreement for the supply of six aircraft with the possible purchase of four more airliners has been concluded with Egypt. Jordanian air carriers showed interest in MC-21.
© RIA Novosti / Alexander Astafiev / “Today we see the MC-21 for the first time - one of the world's most modern airliners, a passenger aircraft of the XXI century. And we are very proud that it was created in our country. This is a huge victory for aircraft manufacturers, a victory for the Irkut corporation, our scientists, our designers, our engineers, our workers. With your hands (of course, with some support from the state), a modern Russian aircraft industry is being created, which is moving forward our entire country, our economy, "said Dmitry Medvedev.
The newest medium-range passenger airliner developed by the Russian aviation corporation Irkut. At the initial stage, it is planned to produce aircraft in 2 versions with different fuselage lengths - the base MS-21-300 and the shortened MS-21-200. Currently, the first built airliner in the MC-21-300 version is being tested. The delivery of serial samples to the airline is scheduled for 2019.
Basic layouts of the MS-21 aircraft cabin
The number of passenger seats - 132
Business class - 12 seats with a seat pitch of 92 cm
Economy class - 120 seats with a seat pitch of 82 cm
The number of passenger seats - 163
Business class - 16 seats with a seat pitch of 92 cm
Economy class - 147 seats with a seat pitch of 82 cm
The interior of the passenger compartment of the MC-21 aircraft
Currently (as of 2017) there is no MC-21 aircraft equipped with a passenger cabin. The photos below show a full-size mockup of the future showroom publicly shown by the manufacturer. The layout shows a fragment of a passenger cabin with installed business and economy class seats.
Electronic systems in the MC-21 aircraft
The MS-21 airliners use a variety of electronic systems used both to ensure flight safety and for entertainment and comfortable pastime of passengers.
Lighting of the passenger compartment of the MC-21 aircraft
The MS-21 airliner will be equipped with a modern passenger compartment lighting system with several color modes of background light. Individual lamps will also be installed above each passenger seat.
The article was written based on the materials of the official website of the MC-21 aircraft developed by the Irkut corporation.
On May 28, 2019, a significant event for the domestic aviation industry took place: the newest Russian passenger airliner MS-21 set off on its maiden flight from the airfield of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. After the successful completion of the tests, Oleg Demchenko, President of PJSC Irkut Corporation, called this event a historic one and congratulated the staff of the enterprise. And such a statement does not look like an exaggeration: the excellent performance characteristics of the MS-21 passenger aircraft give hope that this airliner will be in demand in the future by both Russian and foreign airlines.
Irkut MC-21 is a program for creating a new short- and medium-haul medium-body passenger aircraft, which was launched at the beginning of the 2000s. Although, in fact, the MS-21 is not one aircraft, but a whole family passenger liners, which differ in their passenger capacity, configuration and flight range. So far, the MC-21-300 is undergoing tests, which will be able to take on board 211 passengers. However, along with it, another modification of the liner was developed - MS-21-200 with a maximum passenger capacity of 165 people.
Currently, OKB them are taking part in this project. Yakovleva and the Irkut corporation. Initially, the OKB im. Ilyushin, but in 2008 this company left the project. It was planned that the new car will receive the designation Yak-242, but later this idea was abandoned. The airliners are assembled at the Irkutsk aircraft plant.
In the future, the main competitor of the MC-21 mainline aircraft will be the Chinese airliner COMAS C919, as well as the American Boeing-737 MAX and the European Airbus A320 neo.
It should be noted that the cost of the new Russian aircraft is lower than that of its western competitors. It will range from $ 72 to $ 85 million. The price of American and European counterparts of the MC-21 aircraft ranges from $ 90 to $ 125 million. True, the Chinese SOMAS C919 airliners will obviously cost less than the Russian aircraft.
In total, $ 4.54 billion was spent on the MS-21 project.
So far, MC-21 aircraft are equipped with American PW-1400G engines, but the aircraft manufacturers plan to install the Perm PD-14 on the aircraft.
The history of the creation of the MC-21 aircraft
Work on the creation of the MS-21 began back in 2002. In the middle of the last decade, the main project of the Russian aircraft industry was the Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane. When it became clear that the Sukhoi Superjet project would be successful, the idea arose to create a larger aircraft that could compete with the products of such world giants as Airbus and Boeing.
As conceived by the creators of the MS-21, it should replace the outdated Tu-154 aircraft and other machines developed back in the Soviet period. Wherein new liner will not compete with the Sukhoi Superjet 100, but, on the contrary, will complement it. It is believed that in the future, these two aircraft will make up about 80% of our country's passenger aircraft fleet.
Initially, the design bureaus of Ilyushin and Yakovlev were involved in the development of the new machine, and the direct manufacture of the machines was entrusted to the Irkut corporation, which today can be safely called one of the flagships of the domestic aircraft industry. Irkut manufactures Su-30 combat aircraft, Yak-130 trainer aircraft, and also manufactures for Airbus some nodes passenger cars... In 2008, the OKB im. Ilyushin withdrew from the project and specialists from the Yakovlev design bureau were engaged in its completion. I must say that many other Russian enterprises participated in the creation of the MS-21, for example, the unique composite wing of the aircraft was developed by the Aerocomposite concern, and the tail unit was created at the OKB im. Beriev.
It can be added that the MS-21 has a larger number of Russian components compared to the Superjet: 80% versus 60%.
The aircraft manufacturers had ambitious plans, in 2009 it was announced that the new aircraft would take off in 2013, and by 2019 its serial production would begin. However, due to underfunding and difficulties encountered at the design stage, the deadlines had to be postponed. In 2010, TsAGI carried out a purge of the engines of the future aircraft, and gave recommendations for their further operation.
In 2011, the management of the Irkut corporation stated that the priority of the developers is to create a modification of the MC-21-300 aircraft with a passenger capacity of 211 seats because most potential customers are interested in this particular machine. It was decided to postpone work on the MC-21-400 modification (more than 200 seats) until better times in order to fit into the program budget.
In 2012, Irkut signed a cooperation agreement with Pratt & Whitney, a famous American company engaged in the creation of engines for civil and military aircraft. According to this document, the MS-21 was planned to be equipped with PW1400G motors.
In 2012, a demonstration of a project of an aircraft with promising domestic PD-14 engines took place. This machine was planned to be manufactured for Russian customers, such as the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergencies, the FSB, and others.
At the beginning of 2014, the assembly of prototypes of the airliner began at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. In the summer of the same year, TsAGI tested a large-scale model of the aircraft.
It should be said that during the implementation of the MS-21 project in Russia, a new bench base was created practically from scratch, on which individual components and assemblies of the future machine were tested for strength and fatigue, and their aerodynamic qualities were also tested. It can be added that the implementation of this project gave a powerful impetus to the development of enterprises that are part of the UAC. A significant re-equipment of the production facilities involved in the production of the aircraft was carried out. Thanks to the implementation of the MC-21 project, new high-tech companies have appeared in the country.
A few months later, Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin announced the date of the liner's first flight - April 2019. However, even with this period, it turned out to be a bobble: on June 8, 2019, only the first presentation of the liner took place - the solemn ceremony of rolling the aircraft out of the factory hangar, it took another year to prepare the first flight of the car. The first tests of the aircraft were carried out routinely, the pilots highly appreciated the aerobatic qualities of the new aircraft.
At the moment, two MC-21 aircraft have already been manufactured, eight more are in production.
Earlier, the manufacturer announced plans to produce 72 MC-21 aircraft a year. The project will start to make a profit only after the sale of the 350th airliner. Back in 2019, Irkut reported that it already had a firm package of orders for 175 liners, some of which had already received prepayments. Most of the potential clients are domestic aviation and leasing companies. Interest from Iranian, Indian and Indonesian companies has also been reported. In total, the developers plan to sell 1,000 liners in twenty years.
Description of the design of the MC-21 aircraft
The MS-21 passenger aircraft is made according to the scheme, which is classic for machines of this type and purpose. It is a twin-engine low-wing aircraft with a low sweep wing and a tricycle landing gear. It should be noted that the MS-21 project involved the development of several aircraft modifications at once, differing in their passenger capacity and fuselage length. Also, there were initially plans to create a passenger liner with a longer flight range within the framework of this project.
Composite materials are widely used in the design of the MS-21 airframe. By the volume of their use (about 40%), this Russian aircraft is at the level of the best world analogues and is inferior only to the latest American (Boeing 787 Dreamliner - 50%) and European aircraft (Airbus A350 XWB - 53%). The wing of the MC-21 is completely made of carbon fiber, which made it possible to significantly lighten it.
The MC-21 has a fuselage of significant diameter, as for aircraft of its class (more than 4 meters), which provides its passengers with a level of comfort comparable to wide-body airliners. It is made mainly of aluminum alloys. The design of the aircraft initially included the possibility of rearranging the cabins, depending on the needs of a particular air carrier.
MC-21 has a classic tricycle landing gear, consisting of two main and front pillars. All three supports have two-wheeled bogies; on the heavier modification MS-21-400, a chassis with four-wheeled bogies may be installed.
The chassis for MS-21 aircraft is manufactured by the Hydromash concern; they are mainly made of steel and titanium alloys.
One of the main highlights of the MS-21 airliner is its wing, which is completely made of composite materials. Thanks to this, it was possible to significantly reduce its weight, while fully retaining its strength and performance characteristics. The MC-21 black wing was developed and is currently being manufactured by the Aerocomposite concern. It is likely that in the coming years this airliner will be the only aircraft of this class in the world with a wing of this design. Also, the tail unit of the liner is made of composite materials.
The MC-21 cockpit has five large-format displays, which display information about the operation of aircraft systems and flight parameters. Previously similar displays in the Russian civil aviation were not applied.
More recently, the crew of passenger aircraft consisted of four people: two pilots, a navigator and a flight engineer. Modern airliners are usually operated by two people, the rest of the functions are taken over by electronics.
On the MC-21, flight control is carried out using side sticks - special control sticks. At the request of the customer, the aircraft can be equipped with indicators on the windshield of the cockpit or synthetic vision - a special system that displays the space surrounding the aircraft on electronic displays. Such a system makes it easier to control the machine in case of loss of visual visibility due to poor weather conditions or the time of day. To facilitate the work of pilots, special electronic tablets have been developed for them.
Most of the MC-21 onboard electronics are designed and manufactured in Russia in close cooperation with world leaders in this field - Rockwell Collins and Thales.
One of the global trends in aircraft construction is the constant increase in the level of comfort for passengers. MC-21 absolutely follows this trend: the considerable width of the fuselage allows to increase the size of the cabin and the aisles between the seats, which significantly reduces the time of boarding and disembarking passengers. For the airliner, special passenger seats have been developed that are comfortable for people of different sizes, and special seats for disabled people have been provided. The MC-21 salon will be equipped with the latest multimedia devices for watching films and playing computer games.
The passenger compartment of the liner has large windows that provide sufficient natural light. The intensity of the artificial lighting will vary with the time of day, making it easier for passengers to cope with the change of time zones. In addition, the designers paid great attention to the microclimate in the cabin: the aircraft is equipped with a special air conditioning and humidification system, it passes through several biological filters, and the temperature is regulated.
In general, the layout of the MS-21 passenger compartment will support two comfort classes: economy and business class. Based on the wishes of the customers, the liner can have one or two classes in the cabin.
The development of life support systems for the MC-21 passenger compartment was carried out by the Russian NPO Nauka in close cooperation with the American company Hamilton Sundstrand. The interior design was created by the French firm C&D Zodiac.
Almost 20% of the MC-21 fuselage volume is occupied by luggage compartments. The aircraft will be able to carry cargo both in special containers and in bulk. At the same time, the luggage compartment of the liner has an automatic loader, the use of which significantly reduces the time of unloading or loading luggage.
The MS-21 airliner can be equipped with two types of engines: the American PW1400G, developed by Pratt & Whitney, or the domestic PD-14, which has been developed by Aviadvigatel OJSC since 2008. While the PW1400G will be installed on the aircraft, these engines are currently considered one of the most advanced in the world, they are used on the passenger liners Airbus, Mitsubishi, Embraer and Bombardier.
The domestic aircraft engine PD-14 is currently being tested, and it is planned that its serial production will begin next year.
It should be noted that all types of engines that will be equipped with different models MS-21, comply with international environmental norms and standards.
Modifications of the MC-21 aircraft
As mentioned above, the MS-21 is a whole family of passenger aircraft. It includes several modifications with a very high degree of unification:
- MS-21-200. It is considered the "youngest" version of the aircraft. Its passenger capacity is 165 passengers in a single-class layout. The takeoff weight of the vehicle is 72.5 tons, it is planned that it will be equipped with PD-14A or PW1428G engines. Air carriers showed less interest in MS-21-200 than in basic modification, therefore, its production will start later;
- MS-21-300. This is the basic modification of the aircraft. It has a fuselage 8.5 m longer than the MS-21-200. The passenger capacity of this model can reach 211 people in a single-class layout. The takeoff weight of the vehicle is 79.2 tons, it is equipped with PW1431G or PD-14 engines. This modification the aircraft aroused the greatest interest among potential buyers, so serial production will begin with it. The prototypes of the liner are presented by the MC-21-300 modification;
- MS-21-400. Enlarged version of the airliner. It differs from the base modification in the increased dimensions of the fuselage and wing, and is also likely to have a four-wheeled chassis bogie (according to other sources, there is also a chassis with four struts). The passenger capacity of MS-21-400 will be 230 people, takeoff weight aircraft - 87.2 tons. The airliner is planned to be equipped with an uprated PD-14M engine. Due to the rather serious changes that had to be made to the design of the MS-21-400 in comparison with the base model, the development of this aircraft was postponed.
In case of a successful start of the new project, Russian aircraft manufacturers plan to significantly expand the MS-21 family by adding aircraft with a longer flight range and passenger capacity. Whether they will be implemented, the near future will show.
Prospects for MS-21
The Russian aviation industry has high hopes for the MC-21. Most of the new domestic aircraft are produced in such small quantities that manufacturers cannot even “recoup” the development costs for them.
V different years the Soviet, and then the Russian aviation industry was engaged in the development of many projects, which remained at the stage of design development or creation of experimental models. This happened especially often with passenger planes. Moreover, many domestic cars, which never saw the sky, had very good flight performance, and even surpassed foreign competitors in some parameters. Is there a future for the MC-21, given the highest level of competition in this area?
MS-21 is a medium-haul airliner, that is, it belongs to the most numerous niche of passenger aircraft. These machines now account for 78% of the total number of commercial passenger liners. To estimate the size of this market segment, one can give only one figure: in the next twenty years, 30 thousand medium-haul aircraft will be sold in the world. That is, potentially the MC-21 has excellent prospects.
However, the competition among aircraft manufacturers is unusually high. Currently, the niche of medium-range aircraft is almost completely closed by Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. On May 7, 2019, the Chinese medium-haul passenger liner Comac C919 made its maiden flight and is scheduled to start operation in 2020. In terms of its characteristics, it is very similar to the MC-21-300, but there is practically no doubt that the new "Chinese" will cost significantly less than not only its Western counterparts, but also the Russian aircraft. Now the figure is $ 50 million. The Chinese manufacturer already says it has a package of 517 firm orders for the C919 to date.
On the other hand, we can state the fact that Russian aircraft manufacturers were able to create really good car, which is in no way inferior to Western counterparts.
This car will be equipped with the latest western engine, environmentally friendly and economical, which can be called an undoubted advantage of the project. For the task of persuading foreign customers to purchase a passenger airliner with a Russian engine is incredibly difficult. Since the collapse of the USSR, the domestic aircraft engine-building industry has not created a single new engine for passenger airliners and has noticeably lagged behind the world's major manufacturers. Even the engine for the Sukhoi Superjet had to be created in cooperation with the French. PD-14 will first have to be run in on domestic Russian lines, and only then offered abroad.
The MC-21 has on-board electronics with the so-called open architecture, which allows it to be installed on equipment from any manufacturer. The cockpit and passenger compartment are made according to the latest international standards.
Since the MS-21 is a new aircraft, its design initially included a large volume of the luggage compartment, spacious luggage racks, comfortable and wide seats, as well as significant aisles between them. Existing and prospective medium-haul Airbus aircraft and Boeing are modifications of older models that inherited their fuselages. Therefore, they will not be able to offer such amenities to their passengers.
In addition to the above advantages, MS-21 has a very competitive price compared to Western counterparts. However, the fact is that the price of the aircraft indicated in the catalog is only one of the factors that determines the choice of a particular model of the aircraft by the buyer.
A huge disadvantage of Russian aircraft is the almost complete absence of an after-sales service system. For example, Boeing customers receive a warranty (usually 3-4 years) for the main components of the aircraft. In addition, buyers of Airbus and Boeing airliners know that, if necessary, a new part will be delivered anywhere in the world within 12-14 hours. Also, potential clients, as a rule, are offered a whole package of financial options (payment terms, leasing, loans for purchase). Over the decades, European and American manufacturers have managed to create a complex system of attracting customers, and neither China nor Russia has anything to oppose to this.
However, despite the rather unclear commercial prospects of the Russian airliner, the MS-21 can still be considered a breakthrough for the domestic aircraft industry. It is not known whether the billions that the state invested in the creation of new production facilities and the construction of experimental vehicles will pay off, but in any case, the MS-21 project is a significant step towards Russia's entry into the international aviation market.
If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.
How the car behaved, was it comfortable in the MC-21 cockpit and what the airliner borrowed from its "younger brother" - the Yak-130 combat trainer.
- What parameters of the new aircraft were evaluated during the first flight?
- Usually the first flight is performed without changing the takeoff and landing configuration, that is, the aircraft does not retract the landing gear and flaps, everything is stabilized. This is a typical limitation for all aircraft rising into the sky for the first time. 
“That is why the range of altitudes and speeds in the first flight is significantly reduced. Our speeds were limited due to the extended chassis - we accelerated to 340 km / h. It was also not necessary to climb high, we flew almost up to 2 thousand meters. The altitude was needed to see how the plane was gaining it, how it was descending.
- We also looked at the characteristics of the aircraft's handling - how it reacts to the handle. They rejected a little, not at full amplitude, watched how they listened. In this case, I can only be glad for the car - it has very good handling characteristics. 
- Then we checked the performance of the hydraulic system, power supply, pumps, generators, the operation of the air conditioning system, electrical systems. The course vertical is the unit that gives us information about the roll of the aircraft, its pitch, heading. 
- We checked the radio communication, the parameters of the power plant - speed, temperature, characteristics of the oil system. We assessed the information and control field of the cockpit, how easy it is for the pilot to navigate in it during the flight. 
- If everything goes well and there are no major improvements, then in the near future we will continue testing and make a second flight, in which we can remove the landing gear and flaps and be able to reach other heights and speeds. 
- Will you also check the maximum speed and altitude?
- Certainly. Here we can safely say that the characteristics, range of speeds and heights of the MC-21 are the same as those of its competitors - Airbus and Boeing. They are dictated by the most commercial activities of the aircraft - these are altitudes up to 12 km, speed up to Mach 0.85 (910 km / h), weight 75-77 tons, range up to 5 thousand km. Such parameters are typical for all commercial aircraft of this class.
- How did MC-21 behave - did you listen well?
- Amazing! The controls are so comfortable that you don't need to get used to it. 
- Roman Petrovich, were you worried before the flight?
- Before you get on the plane, of course, there is excitement. You need to think over the whole sequence of your actions. And when I sit down and start work, I immediately forget that I am afraid, that I am worried. I just do it, that's all.
- Does this plane contain the trademark features of Yakovlev's planes, the traditions and style of the Yakovlev Design Bureau?
- Until then, I have not carried out tests on Yakovlev's civil aircraft. At the time when they were lifted into the air, he flew on Mikoyan fighters.
About continuity, I can only say one thing: the control system, which is on the Yak-130 combat trainer and makes this aircraft super-safe, is also used in the MS-21. This "intelligence", these developments that we made during the tests of the Yak-130, are very comfortable, it is very cool to operate such a system. And, of course, it has the highest degree of security.
- It turns out that a large civilian plane took some of the best from its combat "little brother"?
- Yes it is. We can say that the MS-21 "absorbed" all the best developments of the Yakovlev Design Bureau in this particular area.
- In the first flight, the MS-21 was not alone, but just accompanied by the Yak-130. Was it for filming or for some other reason?
- In the first flight, there is a possibility that the determination of the parameters of the altitude and speed of the new aircraft will not be entirely correct. We do not know how the flow around the sensors in real flight conditions, whether they function correctly. This is typical for all aircraft. And we start the tests ourselves by correcting the correctness of the readings, because we need to bring the characteristics in line with the correct readings of altitude and speed, temperature and everything else.
- Therefore, we raise the escort plane to see the correspondence with its speed and altitude. In addition, the MC-21 accelerated to such a speed for the first time, the first time it flew into the air. Of course, it is desirable for the escort to see how, for example, the wheels of the aircraft, its landing gear behave, and any hatches did not fly off. Ground testing is one thing, and flight is quite another.
- Was the MC-21 accompanied on its first flight by one aircraft, or was it two?
- There were two Yak-130s. One was "stuck" to us in order to do the work that I have already mentioned, and the second was insured just in case. In parallel, he was entrusted with the task of aerial photography. The first "Yak" was piloted by test pilot of the Yakovlev Design Bureau Vasily Sevastyanov, the second - by Maxim Konyushin.
- How long will the testing of the MS-21 take approximately?
- The program is very extensive. We are now talking about a program of factory tests, then certification tests will be carried out. This is a fairly large volume, but it can be carried out in parallel with serial production aircraft.
