MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. The first flight of the Baikal airplane with the domestic powerplant was normal and the engine showed stable performance, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

"According to the report of the pilots, the flight was normal, the airplane is stable and controllable within the established range of alignments, speed and heights. The main propulsion system operated without comments during the flight - the engine showed stable performance," the ministry said.

The airplane reached the speed of 210 km per hour and the altitude of 400 meters in flight.

Full ground check of the power plant was completed during trials, along with the assessment of engine operating stability in all stipulated conditions, the intake response and throttling characteristic, the check of engine emergency shutdown and propeller emergency feathering, and engine fuel feed assessment.

"The test flight confirmed the possibility of creating a completely Russian airplane with the domestic powerplant for small aviation, making it possible to deliver the important government task - to ensure high connectivity and transport accessibility of the entire territory of the country, including hard-to-reach areas," Deputy Minister Gennady Abramenkov said.

The airplane completed its first flight earlier today.

The LMS-901 Baikal light multirole aircraft is designed to replace the An-2 multirole airplane of the Soviet era. The aircraft has nine seats, cruising speed up to 300 km per hour and the maximum flight range of 3,000 km (1,500 km with the 2-ton payload).