First Sukhoi Superjet 100 rolls out

The hope of Russian air industry, the fly-by regional jet, Superjet 100 successfully made its first test flight on Monday, says the spokesman for Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. "It rose into the sky like a blue bird, performed all tests and landed," says the official, who watched the flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Photo: First Sukhoi Superjet 100 rolls out

The Superjet 100 project is a family of medium-range passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with major American and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace, and Honeywell.

This is a regional jet in the 75 to 95-seat category. The Superjet100 airliner family is being developed based on the principle of maximum standardization of frame assemblies and systems, via: wings, fins, chassis, engine unit, crew cabin, basic aircraft systems and component parts. The standardization of the design will make it possible to improve the economic performance of the aircraft family operation with expenditures kept at a rational level. The aircraft is equipped with the major systems, for instance, auxiliary power unit and landing gear. Avionics blocks installation is under completion and pilot cockpit holds all panels, indicators, side-sticks, thrust levers and pedals.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is to be remembered as the first aircraft designed and produced in the new Russia. The company plans to manufacture at least 700 Superjet 100s, and intends to sell 35% of them to North America, 25% to Europe, 10% to Latin America, and 7% to Russia and China. The list price of a 95-seat base model is $28 million, but the company is currently working on both smaller and larger capacity modifications. The market for the Superjet 100 is estimated at around $100 billion for around 5,500 planes, up to 2023, says RIA Novosti.

Translated by Lena Ksandinova