Russian airframer Irkut has delivered an MC-21-300 fuselage to Moscow’s Zhukovsky airfield where it will undergo fatigue testing.

The fuselage will be subjected to repetitive loading to simulate some 180,000 cycles.

MC-21 static 2

Irkut

Both Irkut and the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute – which is already testing a static MC-21 airframe – will assemble the twinjet’s structure and fit the stress systems.

The fuselage was transported to Zhukovsky on 3 December using a Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-100 freighter (RA-82044).

“Endurance tests are conducted to confirm the design solutions in terms of fatigue strength and operational survivability,” says Irkut.

Irkut has assembled and completed systems installation on the third flight-test MC-21, and says the aircraft is undergoing “the final stage of adjustment”. The first two flight-test aircraft have been conducting trials at Moscow.

The airframer is also working on assembling a fourth aircraft, which will form part of the test fleet, and is bringing together fuselage sections for the first serial airframe.

Initial MC-21s are powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G engine but Russian developers aim to test the twinjet with the domestically-built Aviadvigatel PD-14.

Irkut transferred the MC-21’s static test fuselage to the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in 2016.

MC-21 fatigue test airframe

Irkut

Source: Cirium Dashboard