April 1, 2009. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft is pleased to announce that the first two Sukhoi Superjet 100 series aircraft have been delivered to the M.M. Gromov Flight Research Centre in Zhukovsky for Flight Certification Testing.

The two aircraft, Sukhoi Superjet 95001 and 95003 were flown from Komsomolsk to Zhukovsky via the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. Both planes will continue the certification flight test campaign at the SCAC flight test center, which is furnished with a full set of test equipment and software packages required for flight data processing.

Conducting the certification test program at the flight centers is expected to accelerate the certification test program owing to better logistics of data processing and interaction with certification authorities.

“The schedule of the SSJ100 certification tests is truly tough,” said Igor Vinogradov, First VP on Program Coordination, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. “Within a limited time frame two test aircraft have completed more than 130 flights totaling more than 400 hours in the air.”

To date, flutter safety tests as well as the first stage of the tests on high angles of attack and stall control have been completed. Both aircraft demonstrated the flutter margin within a whole range of operating altitudes and speeds. The flight control system was checked at direct and normal modes of the remote control system.

“The stability and control testing show good results. The overall test program, including static tests at the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI), eliminated the redesign risks,” said Viktor Soubbotin, President of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, summing up the results of the tests in Komsomolsk. “Expansion of the SSJ100 operating limits will make further tests within all approved ranges of heights and speeds possible.”

Alexander Yablontsev, Chief Pilot of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, said the flights from Komsomolsk through Novosibirsk to Zhukovsky, with each leg being 3,500 km, provided “the first appraisals of the aircraft operational capability in the context of a real regional flight.”

“Both Sukhoi Superjet 100s are good aircraft,” said Mr. Yablontsev. “Their engines and systems operate smoothly and normally, and the Sukhoi Superjet 100 is easy to control even for an ordinary airline pilot”.

Shortly after, both aircraft will continue with certification flights confirming the flight performance.

Source: Sukhoi