Russian MC 21 300 completes its First Test Flight
MIAMI – The new Russia’s MC-21-300 narrowbody completed its maiden flight at Irkutsk Aviation Plant airfield in Siberia, about 2,600 miles east of Moscow, on Sunday morning, May 28, 2017. This is the first member of a new domestically produced Russian narrowbody commercial aircraft family. The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and Irkut Corporation – the aircraft designer, reported the first flight took 30 minutes at an altitude of 1,000 meters at the speed of 300 km/h. The flight plan included the aircraft in-flight stability, controllability checks, powerplant operation, approaches, climbs, turns and landing. By western standards, this was a very short, low altitude first test flight – even compared to Chinese competitor Comac C919’s inaugural sortie earlier in the month. “The program incorporates the best technologies, industrial practices and design solutions to date,” said Denis Manturov, Minister of Trade and Industry, referring to the aircraft’s “unique” wings that