Pratt & Whitney powered Il-114 recieves certification from MAKS

Published: 1/5/2000

According to Tatyana Anodina, Head of the Interstate Aviation Committee, the P&W powered Il-114-100 has been type certified as of 27th January 2000, for flights within the Russia and the CIS. The fitting of the P&W 127F engines and certification process for the aircraft has been extremely quick by any standards, being completed in less than two years, with flight tests taking place over a ten-month period, involving 97 flights. The certification document, which was accompanied by the personal congratulations of Prime Minister Putin, clears the way for the aircraft to be serially produced at the TAPO facility. According to Vadim Kucherov, General Director of TAPO, the plant is ready to produce two of the $10.5m aircraft a month, with a capability to increase production to five aircraft, if required. The price, which is at the lower end of the range previously cited, suggests that the plant has listened to consultants who indicated that the previous price range of $10-13m for the aircraft made it too expensive to be competitive. Currently three aircraft are under production, which is substantially less than the ten reported earlier in the year and will be delivered to Uzbekistan Airways by the middle of 2000. There has been no confirmation of the earlier reported option for 40 additional aircraft. According to Kucherov, there is also a letter of intent with an unnamed operator in South East Asia for the delivery of 15 aircraft. Kucherov confirmed that there had been no firm orders from Russia, despite reported orders from Perm Airlines for two planes and unconfirmed interest from Aeroflot. Reports of interest from Pakistani carrier, Safe Air International, in August 1999 for two aircraft through Uzavialeasing, appear to have not materialised. Given the recent crash of a Klimov powered Il-114 in Moscow, which observers attributed in part to the aircraft being underpowered, together with the intention of the Uzbekistan Airline, the only operator of the Klimov powered version, to buy the P&W powered aircraft, it seems unlikely that any future aircraft will be TV7-117S powered.

Article ID: 1285