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Series, all are still in their development
phases. The Russian jet’s roots stretch
back to 1993, when the Yakovlev Design
Bureau (YDB) proposed a twin-engined
version of its tri-jet, the Yak-42M.
The airliner, which could seat between
156 and 162 passengers and was
bristling with the latest technology,
would have had a super-critical aerody-
namic wing with raised wing tips. This
would have given the Yak-242, as it was
known then, a range of 865 to 1,560nm
(1,600 to 2,890km) and maximum take-
off weight of 141,095lb (64,000kg). The
aircraft was to have been powered by
a pair of Aviadvigatel PS-90A turbo-fans, also used on the Ilyushin Il-76,
Il-96 and the Tu-204/214, although the
Yakovlev was also investigating using
CFM International's CFM-56 power-
plant. However, the Yak-242 failed to
leave the drawing board and the project
was shelved in 1997 due to economic
uncertainty and the disarray of the
Russian aviation industry at the time.
In 2002, the Federal Civil Aviation
Development Program realised there
was an urgent need for a short- to
medium-range airliner to replace
the ageing fleets of Tupolev Tu-134s,
Tu-154s and Yak-42s. A year later YDB
won the contract for the MagistralnySamolet 21 veka or Mainline
Aircraft of the 21st Century. So,
the MS-21 was born (the designation
was later changed to MC-21). Although
there has been rumours that it may
eventually adopt its old designation, the
YAK-242, a Irkut spokesperson said this
was unlikely to happen now.
While Yakovlev used the failed -242 as
its starting point, the manufacturer
originally proposed a family of three
jets, the MC-21-100, the stretched -200
and the largest model, the -300, seating
between 116 and 174 passengers with
a range of up to 2,970nm (5,500km)
depending on variant.The MC-21 incorporates
technologies from vari-
ous Western suppliers
including Honeywell,
Pratt & Whitney, Elbit
Systems, Thales and
Rockwell Collins.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
ARTYOM ANIKEEVThe MC-21 has been
developed as a short- to
medium-range airliner
to replace older Soviet-
designed Tupolev
Tu-134, Tu-154 and
Yakovlev Yak-42 aircraft.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
ARTYOM ANIKEEV