Airliner World – April 2018

36 AIRLINER WORLD APRIL 2018

Right from the start of

the project, the Russian

government and UAC

specified that design

should be a huge leap

forward in innovation.

The company has also produced
concepts for a pure freighter (MS-21K)
a combi variant (MC-21KP) and options
for VIP versions, but these have been
put on the back burner as the
manufacturer concentrates on bring
the -200 and -300 models into
service. Three Russian-designed
engines were originally looked to
power the jet, while the CFM-56 and
International Aero Engines V2500 were
also viable options. At this early stage,
entry into service (EIS) was scheduled
for 2014, and Yakovlev planned a
production run of around 640 examples
through to 2028, of which two-thirds,
it forecasted, would be acquired by
domestic carriers.

All Change

A presidential decree by Vladimir

Putin in February 2006 saw the largest

reshuffle of the Russian aviation

industry in its history, resulting in

the formation of United Aircraft

Corporation (UAC), under which all the

nation’s aerospace manufacturers were

integrated into a single organisation.

Irkut Corporation, with a history dating

back to 1932 and with vast experience

in the production of military aero-

planes as well as more recently supply-

ing Airbus with A320 nose gear bays,

was selected as the lead contractor for

the MC-21 in July 2007. This was three

years after the Yakovlev had been

integrated within Irkut.

In December 2008, Irkut issued a

tender for developing and supplying

systems for its new airliner that

mentioned Irkut Corporation, the

Irkutsk Aviation Plant Design Bureau,

YDB, Beriev Aircraft Company and

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft as its partners

in the programme. The tender also

revealed another variant, the 211-seat

MC-21-400, while the smaller -100 had

been dropped.

The tender document also outlined

clear targets for the project including:

25% better fuel efficiency, 15% lower

operating costs than the rival A320 and

the Boeing 737 Next Generation, and

this was to be achieved by harnessing

cutting-edge technology. First flight

was scheduled for 2014, with EIS for

domestic carriers in 2015 and

international certification due a year

later. At the 2009 Paris Air Show and

MAKS airshow held in August, Irkut

Corporation went public with three

models of the MC-21-200, -300 and

-400. Later that year it selected Pratt &

Whitney as one of the engine suppliers,

offering the state-of-the-art PW1400G

Geared Turbofan. At the same time, it

confirmed other major suppliers both

from home and abroad. Irkut, having

become the lead contractor for the

programme, completed preliminary

designs late in 2010, but they were

frozen the following spring.

Work Begins

Designing and building the MC-21

has taken far longer than originally

planned, but there are good reasons for

that. It is a complex project and Irkut

Corporation’s inexperience at

managing such a multi-national

programme meant it had to build its

industrial infrastructure almost from

ABOVE LEFT • Final

adjustments are made

to the prototype MC-21

prior to its official

roll-out.

ABOVE • A fuselage

section is manoeuvred

into position prior to its

mating to another

section at the Irkutsk

Aviation Plant.

Inside the completed

fuselage as Irkut

technicians prepare

to install flight test

equipment ahead of

the jet’s maiden flight.

ALL IMAGES IRKUT

CORPORATION UNLESS

STATED

The distinctive lines of

the MC-21 are evident

as the first prototype

is pulled out of the

flight test hangar at the

Irkutsk Aviation Plant

ahead of another sortie.