Irkut has confirmed the MC-21 aircraft is meeting weight targets as the first airframe, wings and engines are coming together at the Irkutsk Aviation plant, according to Russian lessor Ilyushin Finance (IFC).
“We see it’s a mature design,” says IFC general director Alexander Rubtsov, who visited the factory in recent weeks.
So far, Irkut has mated several sections of the fuselage, while continuing to assemble the wings. Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney has announced delivering the first PW1400G geared turbofan engine to Irkutsk, with the second engine scheduled for delivery within a few weeks.
A tour of the final assembly line in Irkut revealed a sophisticated assembly operation, Rubtsov says, with fully automated riveting systems and machine presses in final assembly. German robotics company Durr, a major supplier to Boeing and Airbus, provides automation systems to Irkut for the programme.
“Of course the biggest challenge is for the composite wing technology, because it was never done on such a large-scale wing,” Rubtsov says. “But so far the test results are quite positive.”
Irkut plans to complete assembly of the first flight test aircraft by the end of the year. First flight is scheduled in the second quarter of next year.