PAUL DUFFY / MOSCOW
Approval to be finalised when first aircraft flies with English-language flightdeck
The European Joint Aviation Authorities has completed initial flight testing of the Rolls-Royce RB211-powered Tupolev Tu-204-120C and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA - formerly JAA) approval is expected towards the end of the year. The completion of the first aircraft to have an English-language flightdeck is required to finalise certification.
JAA pilots from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority were involved in a series of Tu-204-120 test flights to attain CIS ARMAK (Aviation Register of the MAK) AP-25 certification. JAA-requested changes are being incorporated in production Tu-204-120s.
Two more test flights are required involving the first English- language cockpit version. The aircraft will be the first of five freighters being built by Aviastar for Tu-204 lessor Sirocco Aerospace for lease to Chinese carriers - three for Air China Cargo and two for China Eastern Cargo. The first Chinese aircraft is due to fly in April, and the EASA programme should be completed in late 2004. Chinese certification trials will also be conducted this year.
Liu Shao-yong, vice-minister of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and a qualified Boeing 747 pilot, will begin a visit to Russia on 11 January, during which he will sign an air safety bilateral between the two countries. This will enable each side to accept the other's certification standards. He will also fly a Tu-204-120 from Moscow to St Petersburg to inspect the centre where Chinese Tu-204 pilots will be trained, and visit Aviastar's Ulyanovsk plant to see the five aircraft being built for China.
Sirocco recently secured $105 million to fund the completion of the five aircraft. $55 million will be provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with the balance supplied by a consortium of Egyptian and French banks. Three Chinese aircraft should be completed this year, and the final two in early 2005.
Source: Flight International
