Photo by: Irkut Corporation
Second MC-21-300 pilot aircraft designed for flight tests was built by the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. According to the official web-site of the Irkut Corporation, on 25 March it was delivered from the final assembly workshop to the flight test facility of the plant.
"Final assembly of the second aircraft is an important step of the MC-21 programme. Involvement of new vehicles in flight tests would solve the key project tasks: complete the certification procedure for MC-21 within the agreed time, deploy commercial output and supply first aircraft to the customer," Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, was quoted by the web-portal of the Irkut Corporation as saying.
Four pilot MC-21 aircraft will be involved in flight tests. Today, the plant continues the assembly of the third and fourth vehicles.
MC-21 medium-range aircraft is built by the Irkut Corporation in cooperation with the holding companies of the Rostec State Corporation. In particular, equipment for assembly and disassembly of batteries in the fuselage section of MC-21 is developed by the Technodinamika holding company, and UEC-Perm Engines (a member of the United Engine Corporation) supplies PD-14 engine units for flight tests of the aircraft. Besides, Ulyanovsk Instrument Manufacturing Design Bureau, a member of Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies, manufactures a half of all avionics for the new Russian aircraft.
