United Aircraft Corporation’s first serial MC-21-310 completed its maiden flight from the Irkutsk Aviation Plant in Russia on 3 August, flying for 1 hour 23 minutes and reaching 6,000 metres and 600 km/h. The fully import-substituted narrowbody, powered by the Russian PD-14 engine, was flown by UAC and Yakovlev test pilots, who checked handling, controllability and domestic onboard systems during the sortie.
The flight took place at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant airfield in Siberia and was confirmed by Russia’s industry ministry. UAC and officials linked the sortie to preparations for a first production batch of 18 aircraft, while noting that the MC-21 programme remains in certification and that deliveries to airlines will begin only after approval is completed.
The aircraft’s first flight is a production milestone for the MC-21-310 programme as Russia continues to replace imported systems with domestically produced equipment. Officials have said about half of the certification flight programme has been completed, leaving the jet in testing rather than commercial service.