MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. Russia’s new medium-haul passenger plane MC-21-300 has performed its third flight, Irkut Aircraft Company, part of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, reported on Thursday.
The plane took off from the aerodrome of the Irkutsk Aviation Enterprise and stayed in the air for an hour and a half, the company’s press office said.
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"The flight was performed as part of the development test program and lasted an hour and a half. During the flight, the range of flight regimes was expanded and the change of the configuration of the wing’s mechanization from the takeoff to the cruising modes was studied. The flight assignment was fully accomplished," the company reported.
The new Russian short-and medium-haul narrow-body passenger plane MC-21 (Mainline Aircraft of the 21st Century) performed its debut flight on May 28, 2017 over the aerodrome of the Irkutsk Aviation Enterprise. The flight lasted half an hour at an altitude of 1,000 meters and at a speed of 300 km/hr.
Russia plans to produce two versions of the aircraft: the MC-21-200 and the MC-21-300. The plane’s versions differ only by their capacity: the MC-21-300 can seat from 163 to 211 passengers while the MC-21-200 can carry from 132 to 165.
The order book for the MC-21 airliner comprises 285 planes, 175 of which have been contracted on prepayment. Preliminary understandings have been reached and framework agreements have been signed on the other 110 airliners.
Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot has become the first and the largest client: it intends to buy 50 MC-21 planes. There is also a firm contract with Indonesia’s Crecom Burj Berthad for the delivery of 25 airliners and an option for 25 more planes, as well as a letter of intent signed with Egypt’s Cairo Aviation on the delivery of six passenger planes and an option for four other airliners. Tanzania’s national airline Air Tanzania, as well as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have displayed interest in the plane.
According to Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, Russia may supply up to 1,000 newest MC-21 planes through 2037.