Ground Testing To Prepare MC-21 Airliner For First Flight

Ahead of MC-21 airliner’s maiden flight next year, Irkut Corporation announced Tuesday that it has started preparing for the aircraft’s ground testing and has begun frequency response tests.

“The works are held in the final assembly shop of the Irkutsk Aviation plant with the participation of specialists from the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI),” company press release dated 20 December said.

The 180-seat, single-aisle aircraft is scheduled to achieve first flight from Irkut’s assembly complex in Irkutsk early next year, with entry-into-service expected to follow in 2018.

Assembly works of the MC-21-300-0002 aircraft for static tests to be conducted in TSaGI, are near completion, a presentation on the status of the MC-21 program published in Irkut website says.

As per the presentation, aircraft is under preparation for flight tests. Since the roll-out of the first flight test aircraft on 8 June, Irkut conducted fuselage testing for airtightness, installation of on-board measurement systems and equipment has been done, and aircraft systems are undergoing adjustment procedures. The aircraft is switched to electric power and frequency response tests haves been started to identify frequencies of natural oscillations of the structure.