Russia’s United Aircraft is intending to use a newly-restored Tupolev Tu-214 to advance efforts to develop a two-person cockpit for the type.
The aerospace firm disclosed the plan as the testbed commenced a flight programme to check Russian-built components developed to modernise the twinjet.
United Aircraft says the Tu-214 – bearing tail number 64509 – carried out a 1h 10min flight from the Kazan aviation plant, flown by a Tupolev crew.
It says the flight involved testing a number of import-substitution components.
“We will continue flight tests, further modernisation and development of the Tu-214 platform – including the creation of a two-member cockpit,” says Tupolev managing director Konstantin Timofeev.
Three cockpit crew members are normally required to operate the aircraft.
Powered by Aviadvigatel PS-90A engines, the twinjet was previously operated by Transaero before being parked and stored in 2015.
United Aircraft has restored the jet to airworthy condition, to become a ‘flying laboratory’, and it underwent repainting in Minsk in July before returning to Kazan for equipment fitting.
Revived production of Tu-214s for the airline sector is part of a strategy to provide sufficient jet capacity to Russian carriers, complementing newer programmes including the Yakovlev MC-21 and SJ-100.
