BANGALORE, India. Feb 12 (Interfax-AVN) - The improved D-18 aircraft engine for the An-124 heavy air transport, expected to be launched into series production in Russia again, will be ready to undergo tests in a year and a half, President of the Ukrainian Motor Sich company Vycheslav Boguslayev said at the Aero India 2007 air show just over in Bangalore.
"The new engine was have a smaller number of stages due to employment of wide-chord blades. That will make the engine lighter, while its thrust and fuel efficiency will be considerably superior to those of existing engines," Boguslayev said.
He pointed out that the new engine would have a thrust of 25-26 tonnes, as opposed to the current 23.5 tons.
"The engine may even demonstrate a thrust of 29-35 tons in the future," Boguslayev said.
In addition to that, according to him, the noise abatement characteristics of the engine have also been improved. "The D-18 engine of the third series complies with ICAO Chapter Four requirements, which enables it to operate throughout the world without any limitations. The upgraded engine will meet ICAO requirements with a margin of 15%," Boguslayev said.
According to him, the tests of the engine modernized would not take long, since separate assemblies were already being bench-tested. "Blades and other units have been tested for quite a long time," Boguslayev said.
An additional protocol to the Russian-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement on resuming the An-124 production is expected to be signed in 2007.
"We believe that the international demand for the An-124 heavy air transport amounts to 80-120 aircraft," Boguslayev said.