Certification of the Sukhoi-80 regional twin-boom turboprop, first flown on 4 September, is set for 2003 to Russian AP-25 rules, followed the next year by US FAR Part 25 approval. The flight test programme could require 900 flights. Ground tests continue on a prototype at SibNIIA in Novosibirsk. As well as civil applications, the S-80 is being offered in armed border patrol version able to loiter for 6-9h at up to 350km (190 miles) from the base.
Source: Flight International
Boeing has resumed production of two widebody programmes in the Pacific Northwest following the end of strike action by its machinists’ union last month.
Russia’s Yakovlev and electronic systems specialist KRET have completed development of the autopilot and autothrust algorithms for the SJ-100 twinjet. The SJ-100 is the latest version of the Superjet 100, and features an increased proportion of systems produced domestically rather than by foreign suppliers. Preliminary testing on the ‘electronic bird’ ...
Airbus secured orders for 30 aircraft in November, including 15 A330-900s and five A350-900s, but it has identified none of the three customers involved. The airframer lists the 20 widebodies in its latest backlog figures, along with an order for 10 A321neos. These agreements accounted for Airbus’s entire order activity ...
