Development of the Irkut MC-21 twinjet has passed from the solid modelling and test phase to the assembly of airframe structures for two flying prototypes.
Irkut vice-president and MC-21 production plant director Alexander Veprev says the airframer has begun bolting down central fuselage sections.
“Of 56 segments, we've received eight,” he says. “Their assembly is already under way, along with the manufacture of other structural parts.”
Under a co-operation agreement with Irkut, the Ulyanovsk-based airframer Aviastar will supply a range of MC-21 components, including empennage torsion boxes and fuselage panels made of titanium alloys and composite materials.
“The first shipment is to be sent for the final assembly at Irkutsk by March,” said Veprev during a visit to the plant.
In the second half of 2015, Ulyanovsk regional administration intends to open an MC-21 customisation centre at the special economic zone adjacent to Aviastar.
Governor Sergei Morozov says Rb800 million ($23 million) will be invested in the designated facility, where a staff of 120 is to be employed.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
