Premium 2018.14 – remarkable MC-21 progress

We have been working on improving our understanding of this new aircraft. The MC-21 is the second aircraft to emerge from Russia's UAC after the Superjet. The Superjet has made a niche for itself in western markets, specifically Europe and Mexico. This success has encouraged interest in China and Iran. The MC-21 is a far more ambitious project. Originally the program was envisaged to have a family of three models. With a need to replace aging TU-134, TU-154 and YAK-42s, 134 the MC-21 is an aircraft Russia needed. The family approach was a -100, -200 and -300 with seating from 116 to 174. The current focus is on the -200 and -300. A -400 is under consideration while the -100 has been dropped. The goal for the MC-21 was 25% better fuel consumption, 15% lower operating costs using the A320ceo and 737NG as yardsticks. IRKUT, the design house running the program within UAC, has plans to produce 10 aircraft per year in 2019 and then growing this to 70 by 2024. Developing the MC-21 with the state of art aircraft available in 2006 as yardsticks did not mean having an easy hurdle. Airbus and Boeing were not expected to stand still and this was proven when the neo and MAX were announced. As Irkut shared with us: "In this situation, the only way to achieve market success is to create a product that meets the needs of the airlines better than those of the competitors (has a more relevant market positioning), has better efficiency (ability to perform the maximum amount of transport work) and offers lower direct operating costs. Having an advantage over these parameters or at least being at par with competitors, you can offer products at a price that ensures program payback and sufficient profitability throughout the life cycle of the project. The key factors that determine MC-21 superiority over competing products are: ideal sizing of the aircraft constituting the family, taking into account the growing trend in the average aircraft seat capacity; increased utilization thanks to reduced turnaround time at airports, increased cruise speed and expanded expected operating conditions; reduced costs per flight hour due to fuel-efficient engines, perfect aerodynamics, and refined weight characteristics. Additional factors increasing the attractiveness of the aircraft for airlines include: innovative ergonomic cockpit and friendly interfaces; the unprecedented level of comfort for passengers and convenience for the personnel; the extensive set of options to offer passengers additional services; full implementation of modern and future environmental requirements." IRKUT has developed an aircraft with impressive features. For example, most obviously, the wing. The key design feature of MC-21 is the use of a wing made of polymer composite materials using a vacuum infusion method. This is the first time such technology has been used for medium-haul aircraft of this dimension. IRKUT wanted a supercritical wing, with low drag to make it highly efficient. The wing was developed as required and then tried something novel - using vacuum infusion rather than an autoclave. This novel use of composite accounts for 30% of the wing's construction. The deployment of a wing without winglets says something about the wing's efficiency. IRKUT claims the MC-21 "has the best aerodynamic quality in its class retaining an advantage over competitors by 5-6%, despite the larger diameter of the fuselage. The key factor that predetermined perfection in aerodynamics was the use of wing made of composite materials. This solution allowed to create a wing with an elongation equal to 11.5 compared to the value of 10 – 10.5 obtained by modern aircraft. The application of a new generation of supercritical wing profiles additionally improves speed characteristics and reduces drag." Using advanced manufacturing processes and materials has also allowed IRKUT to claim much-improved weight. If we compare maximum take-off weight per a single seat, our new airliner is 3% better than Boeing 737-800 and 9% better than Airbus A320ceo." IRKUT goes on to claim: "...the annual reduction in ground handling expenses, airport and air navigation charges compared to B737-MAX 8 can exceed $100,000, which will give the savings of up to $2.5ms during the entire aircraft life cycle. IRKUT has also brought some improvements in maintenance: an A check is performed after accumulating 800 flight hours, and a C check is performed after accumulating 8,000 flight hours. Moreover, IRKUT did not ignore the growing importance of cargo. "The increased diameter of the fuselage made it possible to offer carriers the largest volume of cargo compartments in the class. For MC-21-200 aircraft, it is 31.1 cubic meters, which is 25% more than for Boeing 737-700, and 19% more than for Airbus A319. For the MS-21-300, it exceeds Boeing 737-800 by 15% and exceeds Airbus A320 by 30%, as its cargo compartments have a volume of 48.0 cubic meters. The combination of features and improvements allow IRKUT to state they expect the MC-21 to offer airlines an additional passenger capacity of about 20 seats without increasing the maximum takeoff weight, with a reduction in fuel consumption by 20-25%, and an ability to maximize fleet flight time. AirInsight is working on a detailed report on the program, and hope to complete this by the end of spring.

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