Irkut has transferred a third MC-21 to the flight-test station after completing assembly of the twinjet at its manufacturing plant.
The Russian airframer says the transfer took place on 25 December.
While it has yet to disclose a date for the aircraft’s maiden sortie, the jet is set to join two other MC-21-300s already engaged in the flight-test campaign at Moscow Zhukovsky.
Irkut says that the results of these initial tests have been taken into account during the development of the third aircraft.
“Flight and ground certification tests of aircraft prototype confirmed the main design solutions,” says Irkut chief Yuri Slyusar.
He says that the company’s priorities for next year include introducing additional aircraft to the test campaign – a fourth flight-test MC-21 is undergoing assembly – and ramping up production efforts on the serial airframes.
“United Aircraft businesses have begun to manufacture parts and units of MC-21-300 aircraft intended for customer delivery,” says Slyusar.
Moscow’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute is also undertaking static and fatigue testing of MC-21 aerostructures.
“Construction of the new aircraft and certification tests of the first machines confirm that the MC-21 program is developing steadily,” says Russian trade and industry minister Denis Manturov.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
