Russian Civil Aviation News

[ananda]

So with SSJ have high momentum to speed ahead (the crash in Indonesia seems the findings indicated more to Human error), I do agree the UAC should drop An-148 altogether. SSJ so far seems the only design that come out from Russia, which has enough momentum facing Airbus and Boeing.

MS-21 seems promising, however with Tu-204/214 still (according to your gents and Tupolev claim) have open production line for some time in the future, how this can work with MS-21 ?

Is there a big hurdle for UAC to just concentrate with SSJ and MS-21 ?

[a89]

So with SSJ have high momentum to speed ahead (the crash in Indonesia seems the findings indicated more to Human error), I do agree the UAC should drop An-148 altogether. SSJ so far seems the only design that come out from Russia, which has enough momentum facing Airbus and Boeing.

IMO the problem is that if you phase An-148 (or Tu-204) out of production, you decrease the contracts of certain factories by a large amount. An-148 is produced in VASO; others (Il-96) are not sold in big numbers.

Same with KAPO, they produce Tu-204 mainly.

[TR1]

IMO the problem is that if you phase An-148 (or Tu-204) out of production, you decrease the contracts of certain factories by a large amount. An-148 is produced in VASO; others (Il-96) are not sold in big numbers.

Same with KAPO, they produce Tu-204 mainly.

Seems like VASO is having difficulty getting more orders for An-148 as is though. I bet Superjet production, if Sukhoi wants to expand it to VASO, would yield more airframes in the next 5 years.

[a89]

Ilyushin expects to sale 100 Il-114 until 2030:

http://www.aex.ru/news/2012/9/18/98357/

[Austin]

Seems like VASO is having difficulty getting more orders for An-148 as is though. I bet Superjet production, if Sukhoi wants to expand it to VASO, would yield more airframes in the next 5 years.

I dont think An-148 production will die out due to superjet ,there are many countries in Latin America and CIS countries that wont care much about EASA certified aircraft as long as it gets certified by their local aviation authorities and meets fuel and noise specification of modern civil airlines.

More ever An-148 and SSJ are not on the same class one is 74 seater and other is 99 Seater, the closest An-148 comes to SSJ is with An-158

UAC will push for both aircraft and as long as it sells it is good.

Check interview with Antonov Designer

http://www.aviaport.ru/digest/2012/09/13/240570.html

[Austin]

Irkut MC-21 tour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgYJQGB4moo

[Italy]

SSJ so far seems the only design that come out from Russia, which has enough momentum facing Airbus and Boeing.
?

They are not facing Airbus and Boeing. They do not make anything directly the size of SSJ.

Sukhoi is facing Embraer and Bombardier

[a89]

Interesting article on why Interjet chose SSJ:

- CRJ900 couldn’t meet its hot-and-high requirements.
- E190 was believed to be overpriced.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-ne...s-interjet-ceo

There are quite a few discussions in Russian circles on SSJ performance. Some people are lobbying for state support to other aircraft (Tu-334, Il-114), believing that the SSJ is monopolising state support and not performing as it should be. Any opinions?

[Austin]

^^^ Indeed a hard fought win for Superjet and a well deserved one , he even goes on to say that SSJ is superior to E190 which is a nice compliment.

Superjet would need atleast a dozen of hard fought win in the coming decade to make a significant impact in this market.

State support is important for any aircraft be it SSJ or Tu-204SM program without which no program even with well established like Boeing or Airbus would survive there is a famous fight between Boeing and Airbus with the former claiming that latter was subsidised by EADS and the latter claiming that Boeing was subsidised by US govt via defence program.

[TR1]

Interesting article on why Interjet chose SSJ:

- CRJ900 couldn’t meet its hot-and-high requirements.
- E190 was believed to be overpriced.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-ne...s-interjet-ceo

There are quite a few discussions in Russian circles on SSJ performance. Some people are lobbying for state support to other aircraft (Tu-334, Il-114), believing that the SSJ is monopolising state support and not performing as it should be. Any opinions?

That has been the situation from the start- basically Tupolev and Antonov fans have taken every chance to criticize the Superjet, and falsely blame it for the cancellation/underfunding of post Soviet projects like Tu-204, Tu-334, An-148, Il-96. They ignore the fact that none of those were truly competitive to the latest offerings from the "established" airline manufacturers, and even if performance was fine, there was no promise of timely delivery and support.
Also there has been a lot of hooplah over the non-Russian content of the Superjet, but that is just people not facing reality of airliner manufacturing today. At the end of the day the Superjet has attracted foreign orders, something the more "Russian' AN-148 has failed to do, not to even mention the Tu-334/204 and Il96.

Superjet, followed by MS-21 is the way foreward, not dead-end projects that (sadly) died years ago.

[Austin]

Seems like Antonov is not happy with the effort to reengine An-148 with SaM146 engine

http://vpk.name/news/76319_an148_pri..._v_20_mln.html

AN-148 bring to the airlines annual revenues of $ 20 million

The AN-148, equipped with engine D-436-148 made by "Motor Sich" (Zaporozhye), bring to the operators annual revenue of $ 20 million

This was announced by the head of the board and the board of directors "Motor Sich" Vyacheslav Boguslaev, Interfax-Ukraine. He questioned the wisdom of replacing the engine Zaporozhye Russian-French SAM-146, as the An-148 has excellent performance raid. The new engine can degrade the flight characteristics. "The engine is heavier and has a different diameter, centering aircraft violated," - said Boguslaev.

[Austin]

Good News for Tu-204 comes in bits and pieces

"Transaero" will lease two cargo Tu-204

http://www.aviaport.ru/news/2012/10/02/241577.html

How is Tu-204SM progressing ?

[TR1]

Seems like Antonov is not happy with the effort to reengine An-148 with SaM146 engine

http://vpk.name/news/76319_an148_pri..._v_20_mln.html

Heh, no surprise Motor-Sich is not happy with such a plan.

[a89]

Heh, no surprise Motor-Sich is not happy with such a plan.

CEO of Rossiya stated that they are not fully satisfied with An-148 fuel efficiency.

http://www.ruaviation.com/docs/2/2011/9/22/41/#cite26

At the end of the day the Superjet has attracted foreign orders, something the more "Russian' AN-148 has failed to do, not to even mention the Tu-334/204 and Il96.

My impression is that many people who support Tu-334/204 struggle to understand that airliners are built in many countries nowadays. Boeing has even offices in Russia. You cannot really expect to fully build the aircraft in Russia because countries want to get involved in development and/or production phase.

[Snow Monkey]

Indonesia’s Approval Of SuperJet Clears Sky Aviation Deliveries
Indonesian regulators have validated the type certificate of the Sukhoi Superjet, paving the way for Indonesian carrier Sky Aviation to take delivery of its first Superjet in November. (...)

Indonesian Aerospace In Talks To Manufacture Sukhoi SuperJet Parts
Indonesian state-owned aircraft maker Indonesian Aerspace (IAe) is negotiating with Russia-based Sukhoi to manufacture parts for the Sukhoi SuperJet.

An agreement could see IAe making the empennage, a senior IAe official tells Aviation Week. “It will take a few months to settle the negotiations,” the official says. He declines to say if the plan is for IAe to be a sole-source or second-source supplier. But the official says, “In the request for proposals, they’ve asked that we have the ability to produce 50 to 60 empennages per year.” That is the equivalent of the forecast total annual production rate for the Sukhoi SuperJet, the official adds.

[TR1]

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/359033.html

First Superjet for Yakutya is ready.

[Snow Monkey]

Am I correct in thinking that the final inquest to the Superjet crash in Jakarta hasn't been released yet?
Given the news about type certification, I would guess that they have definitively decided that the crash was not due to any problem with the plane itself, even if they have not decided exactly how to apportion the blame between the pilot and ATC...?

[TR1]

http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/23975/

Superjet is presented in Venice.

http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/22144/

Aaaand the 15th serial Superjet takes first flight. This is the first Indonesian bird.

[Austin]

Progress on Tu-204SM but where are the firm orders yet ?

The certification testing of Tu-204SM aircraft under conditions of High Intensity Radiated Frequencies has been completed

The certification ground testing of Tu-204SM aircraft (number 64150) under conditions of High Intensity Radiated Frequencies (HIRF) has been successfully completed. The HIRF testing was carried out in order to validate the protection of Tu-204SM systems from the impact of electromagnetic fields radiated by tele- and radio-stations or radar. The testing is aimed at provision of flight safety, Tupolev’s press-service reports. AEX.ru

According to the preliminary results, the aircraft meets the requirements of the certification basis.

The certification testing was carried out by specialists of Tupolev Company and Beriev Aircraft Company under control of Aviation Registry of Interstate Aviation Committee and certification bodies.

[TR1]

An-148s for Angara.

[Austin]

Executive Antonov An-148 To Enter Service

[TR1]

http://atwonline.com/aircraft-engine...-seen-program-

Interjet adds 10 options to its order of 20 Superjets.

[Trident]

Nice going - seems Interjet likes what they see from the airlines that already operate the type. While as a vote of confidence it doesn't compare to an increase in firm orders, it's a very encouraging sign for sure.

Meanwhile in China:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...d-2013-374219/

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...urther-378959/

In the military field they seem to be doing alright, but if this is anything to go by the Chinese aerospace industry will have to SERIOUSLY up its game for the C-919 to become a success, and the lingering ARJ21 work load is not going to help.

[TR1]

C-919 orders seem to be extremely suspect too - most of them are huge orders by newly established, gov-funded airlines that currently have tiny fleets.
How that covers development cost IDK, since in the end the Chinese gov is just covering the costs itself.

On the other hand such a brute method will still give the domestic industry experience, and the domestic market is big enough to make such subsidized production worthwhile...well as long as the economy keeps chugging along.

Let's be honest, ARJ wasn't going to impress anyone from the start.
Given how much money they are throwing @ the program though, these developments do not look rosy.

[Trident]

Let's be honest, ARJ wasn't going to impress anyone from the start.

In terms of performance, no. Personally I expected the project to run a lot smoother though - small hitches here and there, leading to a delay of a year or three maybe, but compared to the original schedule at programme launch we are talking 8+ years at this point! Of which fully half only accrued AFTER the actual first flight (i.e. are not simply attributable to the rather overambitious initial road map) - the SSJ racked up "just" 2 more years once it had finally made it into the air.

Not impressive when you consider that practically the only major part which was designed both locally and from a completely clean sheet is the wing - and they had Antonov's help for the aerodynamics aspect of that. Engines? A minor adaptation of the type already in service on the E-190, with no local input at the design stage. Basic configuration, fuselage structure and empennage? Derived from the MD-90 to a large extent. Systems? Sourced practically exclusively from experienced Western suppliers. Yet this lack of ambition did not translate into better schedule performance.

To be honest, I'm beginning to doubt the C-919 will completely avoid the same pitfalls - many of the familiar ominous signs are already there. Lacklustre weight projections, vague definition of key aspects (wing box, flight deck) alarmingly late in the programme, likely an engine that doesn't quite match the GTF on the MS-21... Certainly with the ARJ21 still interfering for years to come, at least their rather tight schedule is now more than questionable, quite apart from any performance concerns. It might not go quite as badly as the ARJ21 but that's not saying much, is it.

According to the plan as it currently stands, first flight would occur the same year as the first ARJ enters commercial service! Anybody think that's going to be tenable?

[TR1]

http://russianplanes.net/images/to92000/091550.jpg

Neat photo- never seen so many Tu-204s at once.

[TR1]

http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/23986/

16th serial Superjet has flown.

[Austin]

http://russianplanes.net/images/to92000/091550.jpg

Neat photo- never seen so many Tu-204s at once.

Nice , Looks like these are from Presidential Special Fleet

[Austin]

Nice Interview

"Once again, flying at high angles of attack, the flutter, the noise"

[a89]

Rusavia-Sokol has acquired a single Tu-334-100:

http://www.aex.ru/news/2012/12/5/100566/

This aircraft was dead a few years ago, but it may gain a second life. Russian government agencies need to replace airliners and Tu-334 is 100% Russian. No big orders so deliveries could be faster than other models (SSJ).