Russia To Soon Test MC-21 Jet Powered By PD-14 Engine

Russia is soon to test its MC-21-300 airliner equipped with domestically developed PD-14 engines, following US sanctions that prevented Moscow from using Pratt &Whitney engines in its aircraft.

"The assembly of the MC-21-300 fuselage to be tested with the Russian PD-14 engine was completed. The assembly of the MC-21-300 fuselage was completed at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a branch of Irkut Corporation (part of UAC). This aircraft will be tested with the Russian PD-14 engine," Irkut Corporation said in a statement.

The semi-bodies of the prototype were docked at the automated station.  Installation of systems, joining of wing consoles and tail fins of the MC-21-300 aircraft will begin soon, the statement read.

Irkut rolled out its first serially manufactured plane with the PD-14 engine made by United Engine Corporation (UEC) earlier this year.

According to UEC, the emission, noise and a number of other parameters are better than those of the Western analogues of the PD-14. In 2018 it received the Russian certificate. Its validation by the European EASA is expected later this year. PD-14 is developed by UEC-Aviadvigatel and produced by UEC-Perm motors.

The key technologies destined to provide PD-14 with a competitive advantage on the market are composite materials. Their use in the nacelle components (65% of elements) and in the engine itself decreases the total mass of the propulsion system by 8%.