Tu-214 almost certified according to Chief Designer Yury Vorobiev

Published: 9/27/1999

The certification of Tu-214 combi (based on Tu-204-200) is close to completion, according to Yury Vorobiev, its Chief Designer. At the beginning of October, the aircraft will fly to Iran and UAE to be tested at high temperature and altitude. Vorobyov said that the plane is being tested according to new Russian rules AP25, equal to American AP 25 and the unified European rules, JAR-25. He added that several Russian airlines have shown interest in the Tu-214, citing Vladivostok Airlines, Aerokuznetsk, Omskavia and Khabarovsk airlines. For those airlines interested in the Tu-214, the intention would be to replace current flights by the Il-62 on flights to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. Which would offer the carriewrs significantly better range and economy. Serial production is reported to be taking place at KAPO in Kazan, where four aircraft are ready for sale and six are under construction. This level of speculative production of the Tu-214 seems unlikely given the number of Tu-204 airframes available for conversion to the combi configuration and the lack of available funds.

Article ID: 904