Irkut Corporation introduces for the first time the MC-21-300 in Turkey, during the festival of aviation, aerospace and technology Teknofest 2019 which takes place at Istanbul from September 17 to 22. It is the first exhibition of the aircraft in a foreign country.

During the flight from the airfield of Zhukovsky (Moscow region) to Istanbul Ataturk airport, the MC-21-300 aircraft ranged more than 2,400 km in 3.5 hours. The plane was piloted by a crew of test pilots Vasily Sevastyanov and Oleg Mutovin. After the landing, Vasily Sevastyanov said: “The flight went normally. The machine and its systems performed well in flight. Part of our route passed over the sea for the first time. ”

The MC-21-300 aircraft exhibited in Istanbul is configured with a two-class passenger cabin. It takes part in the flight program and is opened for visits by potential customers. Ravil Khakimov, General Director of PJSC Irkut Corporation, said: “During the exhibition, we plan to make a presentation of the aircraft and demonstrate its competitive advantages to potential customers.”

The MC-21-300 debuted in Russia in August of this year at the MAKS-2019 International Aviation and Space Show. Three MC-21-300 aircraft are used in flight tests that began in 2017. The MC-21 program is currently undergoing certification testing and will be subject to further validation in accordance with European regulations.

The fourth flight test MC-21-300 aircraft began testing in 2019. Another MC-21-300 is being assembled, intended for flight tests with Russian PD-14 engines. Until then, only the MC-21-300 powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1400 turbojet engines have flown. The MC-21-300 test fleet has reached an altitude of 12,500 m, a Mach speed of 0.89 (corresponding to a speed of 949 km/h) and can fly 6.2 hours. “The flight tests confirmed the accuracy of the main design and technological solutions”, commented Irkut.

The flights are performed by test pilots from the Yakovlev Engineering Center (Irkut Corporation design and engineering unit), LII Gromova expert pilots, GosNIIGA (State Research Institute of the Civil Aviation) and the EASA.

Irkut Corporation has established a firm order portfolio of 175 MC-21s. Aeroflot is among the first operators of the MC-21-300. The production of the first MC-21-300 to be delivered has begun.