Rosaviatsia initiates the development of a Russian light training aircraft

Russia may start developing a new light aircraft for pilot training. Training centers of the Federal Air Transport Agency throughout Russia are in dire need of such machines, Vladimir Izrailev, head of the flight operation department of the Federal Air Transport Agency, said at the annual meeting of the Union of Aircraft Manufacturers on April 26 (Vedomosti got acquainted with the audio recording of the speech).

According to him, today all nine flight schools of the department use foreign-made aircraft for pilot training: Cessna 172, Diamond 40/42, L-410, Bell and Eurocopter light helicopters. Izrailev noted that now about half of these machines are “out of order.” The problem is the supply of foreign components for these aircraft and helicopters, the situation is especially difficult with engines. “Engines are delivered for a very long time, expensive, and sometimes they are not delivered,” he said.