28 March 2003 14:00
New Russian plane producers want to change name of aircraft
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Nizhniy Novgorod, 27 March: The board of directors of Sokol, a Nizhniy Novgorod-based aircraft producer, moved on
Thursday [28 March] that Chairman [of the board] Sergey Nedoroslev apply to the Myasishchev Experimental Plant, the
general designer of the M-101T Gzhel aircraft, produced by Sokol, to rename it into the M-101T Sokol. This decision is
due to the fact that Sokol had been producing the M-101T long before having the aircraft certified.
The M-101T was being modified along with the producer's and certification trials, and its performance was
greatly improved, the press service of the producer told Interfax-Military News Agency. The modified aircraft has a
reinforced wing and new landing gear, which allowed the maximum take-off weight to be raised to 3,270 kg, to increase
the commercial load capacity by 250 kg, and to extend the operational range to 1,400km.
The automatic pilot and sophisticated avionics and radio equipment render the aircraft all-weather capability, with a
single pilot if necessary. The aircraft features unique fuel consumption of 80 to 100 kg of kerosene per hour, which is
2.7 to 3.3 kg per 100 passenger kilometres - a figure comparable to the consumption of motor cars.
According to the press service, this month the plant has received an order for eight aircraft to have been built by
September 2003. These eight will be selected from available aircraft now on various production stages. Now the plant is
having the production of the M-1011T Sokol certified and is arranging a training centre for future pilots and engineers
of the new plane.
[Interfax-AVN military news agency web site] |
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