Irkut president Alexey Fedorov said the carbon wingbox for the Irkut MS-21 regional jet was subjected to bench testing earlier this year as part of the next-generation narrowbody technology proving process.
Most of the composite parts in its airframe will be made using an infusion-diffusion process that does not require big autoclaves.
Although this technology is not yet mature, Irkut intends to gamble on it.
Fedorov also revealed that Irkut is "reviewing" its specifications to vendor items to cut development costs.
These were previously set at $7 billion, but Fedorov hinted that this figure could be reduced to $6 billion.
"[I] can't give you an exact figure because we are still negotiating with vendors," he said.
Half of this figure will come from the Russian government in the form of nonrefundable subsidy and the remainder from Irkut's own sources and commercial investors. United Aircraft, a holding structure that controls Irkut, is providing funding for development of the composite wing.
Fedorov also insisted the MS-21 can generate "between 1,000 and 1,200 sales" and said he expected to win 10% of market share for the segment in the first 10 years from the start of production, despite competition from the A320neo and Boeing 737NG.
He said that the aircraft's operating costs would be 12-15% lower than the Airbus A320 and added that he did not expect a brand new narrowbody to be produced by Airbus or Boeing earlier than 2022, which would give the MS-21 enough breathing space.
Despite some delays, its first flight is still planned for late 2014, following delivery of the first operable Pratt & Whitney PW1400 engines in mid-2014. Irkut expects the aircraft to enter service in 2016, has collected 150 "firm and not firm" orders and is converting one for 50 airplanes from Russian Technologies at Le Bourget.
Irkut reported that the MS-21 will be 23% more efficient than existing narrowbodies, with 13% coming from the engine, 6% aerodynamics and 4% weight reduction. The airframer also said that MTOW will be 9.5% lower than existing narrowbodies.
The aircraft's typical cruise mode will be Mach 0.8 at 41,000ft (12,500m). The cabin cross section is 4.06m wide compared with 3.94m for the A320 and 3.75m for the 737. Turnaround time for passengers is expected to be 6-7min faster than the MS-21's rivals, which corresponds to 150 more flights hours a year.
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Source: Flight Daily News
