Russian aerospace researchers are conducting windtunnel testing of the engine pylon for the Yakovlev SJ-100 version to be powered by domestically-built engines.
The new model will feature Aviadvigatel PD-8 powerplants instead of the PowerJet SaM146 used previously.
Yakovlev carried out a maiden flight of the SJ-100 in August but the test aircraft was still fitted with SaM146s.
“The next step will be flight-testing of the second prototype airliner with domestic PD-8 engines,” says the Moscow-based Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute.
It has been comparing “several configurations” of the wing-pylon-nacelle assembly and, following refinement of contours, conducting analyses of the modified pylon in a transonic windtunnel using a half-model of the aircraft with the PD-8.
Airflow visualisation and the aircraft’s performance in cruise – including lift and drag changes – were examined over a wide range of Mach numbers, says the institute, and “confirmed” calculations about its aerodynamic characteristics.
