Russian airframer Irkut completed the maiden flight of it’s new MC-21-300 aircraft yesterday. The test flight was conducted at the airfield of Irkutsk Aviation Plant and reportedly lasted 30 minutes.
The MC-21 program was launched in 2007 with the first prototype being rolled out in 2016. The program is headed by Irkut which is a subsidiary of the Russian government owned United Aircraft Corporation.
The aircraft was powered on its first flight with Pratt & Whitney PW1400G-JM engines, the alternate engine option will be the Aviadvigatel PD-14 which is expected to be certified in 2018.
The MC-21 will come in two variants the MC-21-300 (42.2m in length) and the shorter MC-21-200 (36.8m).The MC-21 has 175 orders mainly from Russian leasing companies. Azerbaijan Airlines ordered 10 MC-21-300’s in 2016.