Superjet jet flies for the first time with Russian PD-8 engine
After months of anticipation, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has carried out the first flight of a Superjet regional jet equipped with Russian PD-8 engines.
A prototype of the aircraft took off from Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Monday morning for a 40-minute flight that reached 500 km/h and an altitude of 3,000 meters, the state-owned company announced.
The PD-8 is a turbofan developed by the United Engine Corporation (UEC) to replace the PowerJet SaM-146, an engine made in partnership by Safran (Snecma) and NPO Saturn to power the original Superjet.
It is part of the SJ-100 program, a ‘Russified’ variant of the 100-seat regional aircraft that emerged in response to trade sanctions imposed by the West following the military invasion of Ukraine.
However, the aircraft equipped with the new engine, registered 951757 and manufactured in 2018, is an old prototype using foreign equipment.
“This approach will allow us to ensure the necessary certification rates, as well as to develop technical solutions for the possibility of subsequent re-engineization of the currently flying Superjets fleet,” said UAC CEO Vadim Badekha.
A fully Russian Superjet 100 is expected to be completed soon, as more PD-8 engines are delivered.
Engine to also power Be-200 amphibious aircraft
“After 2022, the Superjet will have to be essentially reassembled from scratch. At the same time, the engine is one of the key elements of the import substitution program, it is the ‘heart’ of the aircraft. There is still a lot of work and many flights ahead. In April, another, completely Russian, aircraft with PD-8 engines will join the certification flight tests,” said Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec State Corporation, which controls UAC.
With 8 tons of thrust, the PD-8 will not only equip the SJ-100 but also the Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft. It has had about 40 imported systems and equipment replaced with local ones, including the engine, avionics, chassis, auxiliary power unit, integrated control system, power supply systems, air conditioning, fire protection and others.
UAC also said that the Superjet’s aerostructures have been simplified to reduce maintenance costs. The company is working towards certifying the aircraft by the middle of the second half of the year.
The first series production SJ-100s could be delivered in 2026.
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Ricardo Meier
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