Amid the fanfare of a ceremony in a Siberian factory that was attended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev this week, United Aircraft Corporation’s (UNAC) subsidiary Irkut Corporation rolled out its new MC-21 passenger plane which it hopes will help it rival Boeing and other western aircraft manufacturers.
Described by Medvedev as ‘cool’, the new twin-engine short and medium-range aircraft will eventually come in two models – the MS-21-200 and the MS-21-300 which will be capable of carrying up to 165 and 211 passengers respectively. According to UNAC, the new plane will be able to fly routes of up to 6,400km in length at 85% of the cost of today’s aircrafts.
Test flights are due to take place by the end of the year, with the first planes expected to ready for delivery two years later. Aeroflot is reported to have already put in an order in for 50 aircraft.
“I only want to say that I am absolutely certain that the airliner will be the pride of Russian civil aviation, and that our citizens and foreign people will take pleasure in flights on MC-21,” Medvedev sad.
Russia unveils MC-21 mid-range passenger plane in bid to rival Boeing
Source: reuters