The Irkut Corporation MC-21-300 narrowbody twin made a successful first flight on 28th May at the airfield of Irkutsk Aviation Plant, an affiliate of Irkut Corporation, which is part of United Aircraft Corp (UAC).

The 30-minute flight reached an altitude of 1,000m and a speed of 300km/hr.

The flight plan included checking of in-flight stability and controllability, and also the controllability of the power plant. The flight included a simulated landing approach, followed by a flight over the runway, climbing and turning.

Copilot Roman Taskayev reported that “all aircraft systems operated without glitches.”

UAC president Yury Slyusar underlined the involvement of other UAC companies, including Aerocomposite company, Ulyanovsk and Voronezh aircraft plants and the UAC Integration Center in Moscow.

The aircraft was officially rolled out in June 2016.

The MC-21-300 offers a capacity of 163 to 211 passengers. It is claimed to feature new levels of comfort thanks to its relatively large fuselage diameter compared to its rivals (44.06m vs 3.95 for the A320).

Western equipment suppliers present on the aircraft include Pratt & Whitney (PW1000G engines), Hamilton Sundstrand, Rockwell Collins, Goodrich and Zodiac Aerospace. Notable features include composite wings and fly-by-wire flight controls.

The aircraft will also be offered with the Russian PD-14 engine, the first new civil turbofan engine to be built in Russia since the Soviet era.

Irkut reports firm orders for 175 MC-21 aircraft.