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First MC-21 aircraft with composite wing will be delivered to customer in 2022 — Irkut

In May, Irkutsk Aircraft Plant received a 17.5-meter long wing console for the aircraft made of Russian composite materials

IRKUTSK, June 16. /TASS/. The first MC-21 aircraft with a composite wing will be delivered to the customer in 2022, Alexander Veprev, Director General of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and Deputy CEO of the Irkut Corporation, told reporters on Wednesday.

"We are preparing this aircraft for delivery in 2022, at the end of the year the vehicle will be transferred to the flight test center," he said.

In May, Irkutsk Aircraft Plant (IAZ) received a 17.5-meter long wing console for MC-21-300 aircraft made of Russian composite materials.

Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Russia’s Rostec corporation, said earlier that the plane with the composite wing would undergo trials by the end of the year, while in 2022, the jet’s serial production would start.

The MC-21 is a narrow-body airliner under development. The plane is being developed with two types of engines: a PD-14 one and the American Pratt & Whitney (PW140). Last fall, Rostec completed the construction of the first MC-21-310 jet with Russian PD-14 engines. The first flight with the domestically-produced engine was performed last December. The liner with the PW140 engines is undergoing certification trials.

Earlier, the US slapped sanctions on the United Aircraft Corporation and Rostec, which led to the suspension of composite material supplies for the MC-21 jet’s wing. After that Russia started the production of its own composite components.