But the future of this airliner is still in an impenetrable fog.
Yesterday the first flight of the Russian wide-body passenger airliner Il-96-400M took place: the plane spent 26 minutes in the air at altitudes of up to 2 km and speeds of up to 390 km/h. The United Aircraft Corporation told and showed how this flight took place.
“ The flight went great ,” said Sergei Sukhar, the aircraft commander (PIC), after landing.
“ The flight and navigation equipment worked without any problems. Everything in flight was controlled, the automation worked accurately. And most importantly, all the equipment here is Russian – we have it on board. Therefore, we are glad that Russian aviation is moving forward and all the components are ours ,” added Sergei Goremykin, Honored Test Navigator of the Russian Federation.
UAC told and showed how the first flight of the Il-96-400M went
“ This is the beginning of a large flight certification testing program. And our task, of course, is for the aircraft to take its rightful place in the UAC line of civil aircraft and provide transport communications along with Superjet, MC-21, Tu-214, Il-114 aircraft, and transport passengers over long distances. It has a range of 8100 km, this is the aircraft that should replace Western analogues ,” commented Yuri Slyusar, General Director of the UAC, on the first flight of the Il-96-400M.
Il-96-400M is a modernized version of Il-96-300. It is distinguished by a fuselage extended by 9.35 meters and more powerful PS-90A1 engines. The passenger capacity of the liner is up to 370 people.
Naturally, everything will not be limited to the first flight: the aircraft will be tested for a long time, then it will receive a type certificate. But what will happen next is completely unclear: this model is not included in the current comprehensive program for the development of the Russian aviation industry until 2030. Earlier, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, said that the Il-96 is planned to be mass-produced , but… under the order of the SLO (special flight detachment “Russia”) and as a transport aircraft. And most importantly – not with four engines, but with two. That is, instead of the PS-90A1, two PD-35s will be installed. At the same time, the serial PD-35 will appear only by the end of the decade …
In general, based on the current situation, the Il-96-400M may never go on commercial passenger flights – even with four engines, even with two.
