SAMARA. Dec 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The first mass-produced AN- 140 plane manufactured by the local Aviakor plant was submitted for flight tests on Thursday.
"Russia's first mass-produced AN-140 plane manufactured by our plant has been submitted for flight tests by specialists of the flight testing station and the Samara Airlines company today," Albert Avdoshin, chairman of the Aviakor board of directors, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The plane has taken ground tests, but it has yet to spend about 20 hours in the air and be checked in all flight modes, Avdoshin said.
"Flight tests will take two or 2.5 months, and we are planning to hand over the AN-140 to Samara Airlines for commercial operation already in March," he stressed.
According to Avdoshin, airlines of Siberia and the Far East are waiting for the new plane.
"We have signed agreements with eight airlines of those regions on the supplies of 23 aircraft in 2004-2005," he said.
A spokesman for the Samara region administration told Interfax-AVN that the administration has granted a lax credit totaling RUB29.5m (USD1.09m) to Aviakor for preparations for the plane's mass production. In the future, other Samara-based enterprises may join the production program, he said. Among them are the Aviaagregat plant (landing gear), Samara cable company (cables, electric braids), and Samara metallurgical works (aluminium alloy half-stocks).
The AN-140 medium-range passenger aircraft was designed by the Antonov aircraft research and technical association in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is expected to replace YAK-40 Codling, AN-24 Coke and AN-26 Curl aircraft on airlines. The new aircraft is certified to carry out flights in Europe. .
Several modifications are being based on the AN-140, including the AN-140T military transport, designed to airlift and airdrop combat materiel, cargo, and paratroopers, as well as transport cargo in containers or cargo, packed on underpans. The AN-140TK is a convertible aircraft, designed to transport passengers and cargo on local airlines. The AN-140-100 is a passenger aircraft, designed to transport 68 passengers, or various combinations of passengers and cargo at a range of 1,700 to 3,600 km.
Ukraine's Kharkiv state-owned aircraft production enterprise and Aviakor registered a joint venture called International Aircraft Project 140 enterprise in Russia in September this year. The venture is aimed at promoting the AN-140 on the Russian market.
The Kharkiv enterprise and Aviakor are planning to bring the total output of AN-140 planes to 20-22 pieces in 2004 and to at least 35 pieces in 2005.