IRKUTSK, August 17. /TASS/. The designers of the Ilyushin Il-114 airliner should take into account the need for its use on unprepared airfields, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said at a meeting dedicated to the development of civil aviation on Thursday.
"As for Il-114, I ask you to keep in mind the possibility of using this aircraft un unprepared airfields, that is, actually, to take off from natural ground airfields and land on natural ground airfields, and in the Arctic modification - the ski landing gear," he said. "In that case, we will be able to expand the range of application for this aircraft, which be highly sought after in terms of linking our country’s territorial entities with each other."
Rogozin noted that currently many Russians can fly from one city to another within the Far Eastern and the Siberian Federal Districts only via Moscow, which is unacceptable.
The Ilyushin Il-114 is a Russian twin-engine turboprop airliner designed for local routes.
The aircraft
The commissioning of the Ilyushin Il-114 turboprop airliner in the Russian internal market will make it possible to save about $5 bln owing to refusal to import its foreign-made counterparts, CEO of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Yury Slyusar has noted.
"We are planning to supply 57 aircraft to the internal market [instead of outdated Antonov aircraft — TASS]. That will make it possible for us to save about $5 bln that would be spent on purchasing similar aircraft from our foreign competitors," he said.
According to Slyusar, the UAC is prepared to start supplies of the new aircraft in 2022, while the certification of the Il-114 airliner is to be completed in 2018.
"Our objective is to manufacture 12 aircraft per year," he added.
The Ilyushin Il-114 is a Russian twin-engine turboprop airliner designed for local routes.