Aircraft

Superjet 100 SaM146 engine begins flight-testing on Il-76

By David Kaminski-Morrow

PowerJet began flight tests of the SaM146 powerplant using an Ilyushin Il-76 flying testbed on 6 December. The engine, which was installed in the No. 2 positon on the Il-76, will power the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

The tests, at Zhukovsky in Russia, will be complemented by a second series of tests next summer at Istres in France. Franco-Russian joint venture PowerJet says the Il-76 will be used to put the engine through a range of test regimes to explore its performance.