Sukhoi Superjet 100 flight-testing could be delayed until the middle of the year, with programme managers blaming the hold-up partly on the powerplant's test effort, which is behind schedule.
When the SSJ prototype was rolled out on 26 September, the airframer declared that aircraft was due to fly before the end of 2007. With that target missed, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) declines to reveal when the aircraft will now fly, although unofficially Sukhoi managers say that the goal is to complete the maiden flight in February. However this new target is widely considered optimistic, and some observers believe the prototype could remain grounded until May or June.
Mikhail Pogosyan, general manager of SCAC parent Sukhoi Aviation Holding, told Flight International that the SSJ will fly as soon as it is ready: "The date will be determined once ongoing ground tests and flight-testing of the SSJ's [PowerJet] SaM146 engines have been completed."
Flight testing of the SaM146 on an Ilyushin Il-76 flying testbed began in December - much later than scheduled. SCAC president Victor Subbotin told Russian media that this delay was one of the causes of the SSJ's first-flight slip.
Russian aviation authorities require a new engine to log at least 40 flight hours before clearing it to power an all-new aircraft. A total of at least 140 flight hours are required for engine certification.
Yuri Lastochkin, general of NPO Saturn which is a 50% partner with Snecma on the SaM146, says the SSJ would be cleared to fly once the SaM146 test engines have logged a total of 1,500h of ground and flight tests. "To date, we have completed nearly 600h," he says.
SCAC confirmed to delegates attending the last SSJ airline advisory board meeting in November 2007 that the target for SSJ's Russian certification remained November 2008 and service entry with launch customer Aeroflot was still planned for December of that year. However European Aviation Safetey Agency certification has been pushed back to June 2009.
Meanwhile, Singapore is being favoured by Sukhoi for the location of the SSJ's support centre in South-East Asia. Says Pogosyan. He adds that the final decision will be driven by which country in the region is the first to place a worthwhile order.
"We are negotiating with carriers from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam," says Pogosyan, who adds that Sukhoi would consider offset programmes with local manufacturers.
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Source: FlightGlobal.com
