New Russian RJ Put Through Its Paces

The AN-148-100, a new regional jet, whose first flight took place on December 17, 2004, successfully performs the tests. On December 30, 2004 the weather allowed to perform six test flights.

Strength properties, margin of aeroelastic stability, performance of longitudinal and lateral stability and controllability in all configurations of the aircraft were estimated during those flights. Engine characteristics in steady mode and transient conditions from idle gas to take-off one were estimated as well. The systems of the aircraft life support, in particular, air preparation and pneumatic ones, automatic adjustment of pressure, anti-icing, emergency evacuation (with mannequins ejection) were checked out. The results received during these first tests coincide with the designed data.

Here's the company's account of the first flight:

The aircraft was operated by crew consisted of: leading test-pilot Eugenii Galunenko, the crew captain; test-pilot Sergei Troshin, co-pilot; leading engineer on flight tests Aleksander Makiyan. The take-off was carried out from the runway of "Sviatoshin" airdrome (Kiev). The take-off run was 1000 meters. The program of the first test flight included investigation of stability and controllability of the aircraft within the whole rate of speeds, at all positions of the elements of the wing high-lift devices, with extended and retracted landing gear and operational test of all the aircraft systems.

It was almost fully performed except of climb to the altitude of 7000 m because of adverse weather conditions in Kiev on the 17th of December. That is why the flight with duration of 1 hour 25 minutes was performed on altitude rate from 0 till 3000 m with the speeds from 200 km/hrs to 470 km/hrs. The AN-148-100 landed at airdrome of ANTONOV ASTC’s flight test and operational developing base in Gostomel near Kiev. All systems worked in normal mode, no failure had been revealed. The real flight characteristics of the aircraft practically in full coincided with designed ones. At the press-conference held after the first flight of the AN-148 the captain said: "To fly on such an aircraft is the real pleasure both for the crew and for passengers."

The AN-148-100 is equipped with the system of flight data measuring which permits to register more than 5000 parameters simultaneously, to look them through and to fulfill the express analysis onboard in the real time scale.

Meanwhile the building of the second and third aircraft prototypes is in progress. In December 2004 the system of power supply of the second AN-148-100 was connected to the source of current and optimization of its airborne systems was started. On December 29, the fuselage of the third prototype was taken out of the assembly jig.

FMI: www.antonov.com