Il-96-400M prototype made its first flight

A prototype of the Russian wide-body long-range aircraft Il-96-400M made its first flight, reported press service of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) “Rostec”.

The aircraft, which is a modernized version of the Il-96-300, features a fuselage lengthened by 9.35 m, more powerful PS-90A1 engines and can accommodate up to 370 passengers. The sample was created in the included UAC branch of PJSC “Il” – VASO. During the flight, the stability, controllability of the aircraft, the performance of its systems, power plant and landing aids were checked. The flight took place as usual, the stable operation of the equipment manufactured in the Russian Federation was confirmed.

“The first and successful flight of the modernized Il-96-400M is a demonstration of the highest level of competence of domestic design bureaus and aircraft factories. The aircraft not only retained the high performance of the Il-96-300, but also received new operational and transport capabilities,” Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov commented on the flight.

The new equipment, he explained, increases the safety and reliability of flights. In the future, the aircraft will improve the competence of Russian enterprises in the development and production of wide-body long-haul aircraft, the Deputy Prime Minister added.

At the beginning of September in Russia took place the second flight of the SJ-100 under the factory development test program, during which the crew, in particular, retracted the landing gear and tested the air brakes. The first flight of the SJ-100 with imported systems took place on August 15 at an altitude of up to 3000 m, it lasted 54 minutes. The second flight, as noted in UACtook 75 minutes and took place at altitudes up to 6000 m.

Due to the special operation in Ukraine, the US, EU, UK and a number of other countries imposed sanctions on the Russian aviation industry. They banned the supply of new aircraft and components for all Western-made aircraft to Russia, and repair and maintenance services for aircraft were also banned. In addition, by the end of March 2022, European lessors were required to terminate all relations with Russian carriers, reclaiming the aircraft they owned.

In March of this year, the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev reported on the allocation of 300 billion rubles. for the purchase of aircraft leased by Russian airlines from foreign lessors. At the same time, he clarified that some of these funds had already been used “Aeroflot» for the purchase of 10 long-haul aircraft.