Range 5,000 km Engine type Turbofan | Cruise speed 870 km/h | |
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Manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation Designers Yakovlev, Irkut Corporation | ||
The Irkut MC-21 is a twin-engine short- to mid-range Russian jet airliner with a capacity of 150–212 passengers. The MC-21 is being developed and to be produced by Irkut and Yakovlev Design Bureau of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) group. It was formerly known in English as MS-21; Russian: МС‑21 "Магистральный Самолёт 21 века" – "Magistralny Samolyot 21 veka" – "Airliner of the 21st Century".
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The design is based on the never-realized, twin-engine Yakovlev Yak-242 as a development of the three-engine Yakovlev Yak-42. According to a 2013 statement made by Russian deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin, the name of the MC-21 serial production aircraft will again be Yak-242.
Intended to become a competitor of Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, Bombardier CSeries, also replace the remainders of Yakovlev Yak-42, Tupolev Tu-134, Tupolev Tu-154, and Tupolev Tu-204/214s in service, the MC-21 certification and delivery was initially planned by 2016, but later delayed to the end of 2018.
Irkut mc 21 tour
Development
The initial design is to include composite materials (about 33%), increasing to 40–45% provided a composite wing is added in 2015. In March 2008, a contract was signed which will see Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Sukhoi Corporation, designing and manufacturing composite wings for the aircraft. Engines supplied for the Russian domestic market will be the Aviadvigatel PD-14. In December 2009, Pratt & Whitney announced that the Irkut Corporation had selected the PW1000G engine to power the MC-21. On 20 August 2009, Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, announced they had signed a $2.3 billion deal with Irkut to supply systems for the MC-21. Irkut also selected Rockwell Collins and its Russian partner Avionika to supply the MC-21's avionics. Goodrich also a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, along with Aviapribor, secured the mandate to develop an integrated control system for the MC-21. The Interior will feature furnishings from Zodiac Aerospace, coordinated from C&D Zodiac in Huntington Beach, California. The Water and Waste Systems of the aircraft will incorporate innovations from Zodiac Aerospace in Carson, California.
The designer plans that the MC-21 will be 10–15% more efficient than Airbus and Boeing aircraft in the same class and it will have a 15% structural weight efficiency advantage, 20% lower operating costs, and 15% lower fuel consumption than the Airbus A320 with an initial target price of $35 million USD.
As of 2009, the MC-21 was in the pre-design phase, with projected completion of the first prototype in 2013, the first flight in 2014 and deliveries commencing in 2016. By June 2011, the pre-design phase of development had been completed, giving way to the working design phase in which models and drawings are constructed, with an estimated completion date of this phase sometime in mid-2012.
Delayed delivery was announced by Dmitry Rogozin – vice-premier of Russian Government in charge of defense industry – on 10 February 2012, with first flights planned 2016 and delivery planned in 2017.
The -300 was rolled-out on 8 June 2016 in Irkutsk, East Siberia, six years after program launch and with 175 orders. It could be the first commercial aircraft with an out of autoclave composite manufacturing for its wings. The program faces domination of the single-aisle market by Airbus and Boeing and Russian protectionism hampering critical western suppliers for the avionics, landing gear, hydraulics, power systems and engines.
Design
The MC-21 is composite structure low-wing cantilever monoplane with a tricycle landing gear and powered by two wing-mounted turbofan engines. It has a glass cockpit with side-stick controls and an optional Head-up display. The 3.81m wide cabin has wider luggage racks than comparable aircraft types.
Variants
The baseline MC-21-300 is designed around 180 passengers in single-class configuration and will be followed by a 153-seat -200 with basic and extended-range models, plus a very-long-range MC-21-200LR. A larger 212-seat -400 version is taken under consideration. Initially, a smaller variant, MC-21-100, with a capacity of up to 132 passengers, was also proposed, but, in order to avoid competition with the Sukhoi Superjet 130, it was cancelled. Cargo and business variants are also being considered.
Orders
By the end of MAKS 2013, total commitments for MC-21 raised to 276 aircraft, including 175 firm orders, according to Irkut vice-president of marketing and sales Kirill Budaev. Fifty of them were ordered by the Aviakapital-Service leasing company (a subsidiary of the Rostec corporation) for Aeroflot and 35 more, powered by PD-14 turbofan engines, for governmental customers. Fifty planes more were ordered by Ilyushin Finance Co.; six of them to be leased to Transaero, though Transaero bankrupted in 2015, 10 to Red Wings. Thirty more airliners were bought by VEB Leasing; 10 of them could be leased to UTair Aviation and 6 to Transaero. In addition, Irkut now has a single-source contract with IrAero for 10 planes plus an agreement with Sberbank Leasing for 20 aircraft, with the latter agreement to increase the order to 195 airliners. Ilyushin Finance & Co. and Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC have signed a memorandum of intent for the supply of Irkut MC-21 planes. The volume and time of the supplies are not specified.