On May 19, 2008, the roar of jet engines echoed in the sky above the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur – the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100), the first Russian passenger airliner of the post-Soviet era, took off on its maiden flight. This moment was the culmination of years of work by hundreds of people – designers, engineers, technicians, and test pilots. But behind the dry facts of aircraft construction lies a real story — a race against time, technical challenges, and even the unpredictable Far Eastern weather, which almost disrupted the historic flight.
A Dream of Civilian Skies
In the early 2000s, the Russian aircraft industry was going through difficult times. The legendary Tu-134 and Tu-154, which formed the basis of the Aeroflot fleet and other airlines, were becoming obsolete. The world was moving to new standards of fuel efficiency, noise, and ecology, and Russia did not have a modern short-haul aircraft.
The idea of creating a regional jet airliner was born to Mikhail Pogosyan, then head of the Sukhoi holding. The company, famous for its fighters, decided to enter the civilian market. The project was codenamed RRJ (Russian Regional Jet) and was conceived as a family of aircraft with 60–95 seats. However, marketing research showed that the future lies with 100-seat machines. This is how the Superjet 100 appeared.
Engines with a French Accent
One of the key decisions was cooperation with the French Snecma (now Safran Aircraft Engines). Together with the Russian NPO Saturn, they created the SaM146 engine — economical, relatively quiet, and compliant with international environmental standards.
On February 20, 2008, these engines first "came to life" on the ground — engineers ran them, checking their operation in different modes. This was an important stage: without a reliable power plant, all other systems lost their meaning.
But after 2014, and especially in 2022, cooperation with Safran ceased. The Russian aviation industry faced a tough choice: either to curtail the program or urgently create a replacement. The solution came in the form of a new Russian PD-14 engine.
Why PD-14?
- Technology unification — the engine has already been certified and has begun to be installed on the MC-21
- Power with a margin — thrust of 14,000 kgf versus 7,900 kgf for the SaM146 allowed it to be adapted for the SSJ100
- Full independence — all components are manufactured in Russia
But there was also a serious problem — size. The PD-14 is significantly larger than the SaM146 — its diameter is 1.9 m versus 1.22 m. This required a large-scale redesign of the aircraft.
The deep modernization project was named SSJ-NEW, and the new engine was named PD-8. The main changes were in the new pylons — reinforced structures for mounting heavier engines, a modified wing to change aerodynamics and compensate for the increased weight, and a reinforced chassis — to withstand the increased take-off weight. However, the transition to new engines did not go smoothly: the increased weight reduced the flight range by 200-300 km, the first batches suffered from "childhood diseases" — required frequent adjustments, and airlines had to retrain technical personnel.
Today, the Superjet with PD-8 is undergoing the final stages of certification. The first production copies are planned to be handed over to airlines as early as 2025. This project has become a vivid example of how forced restrictions can stimulate the development of own technologies in aircraft construction.
Tests: From Taxiing to the Edge of Takeoff
On May 14, 2008, the Superjet first rolled out onto the runway for taxiing. The pilots accelerated it to 162 km/h — the speed at which the nose landing gear is already almost detached from the ground. Any malfunction could lead to an accident. But everything went smoothly. Special attention was paid to the chassis. The plane at high speed ran into special obstacles, simulating a hard landing. The metal had to withstand the impact, and the hydraulics had to remain operational.
Attentive observers noticed an unusual detail — a long rod on the nose of the first prototype. This is not a design whim, but a flying laboratory. The fact is that the standard speed and altitude sensors located near the fuselage operate in a "dirty" air flow, distorted by the flow around the body. The rod extended the measuring instruments forward, to where the air is undisturbed. Later, the data from it was used to calibrate the main sensors, and the structure itself was removed.
At 16:47 SSJ100 with tail number 97001 (factory number 95001, tail number — 97001) took off from the runway.
I have been working since 2006. I remember that day, May 19, 2008, all the employees who worked in the administrative building, including me, when they learned that the aircraft 95001 was in the sky, ran out of the building from the central entrance, raised their heads up and saw our handsome man high in the sky in the distance. Some even shed tears of joy.
In the cockpit — two experienced pilots: Alexander Yablontsev and Leonid Chikunov. The plane did not retract the landing gear (as required for the first flights) and began a cautious climb. Meanwhile, a Su-17 took off – an escort aircraft. Its task is to film the behavior of the airliner in flight and promptly inform the crew of any external anomalies.
We waited for the first flight with great anticipation and with great hopes. Everything turned out quite well, although it took a little longer. The Su-17 aircraft, which was supposed to accompany us, took off later than us and caught up already in the air. During the flight, they already accompanied us, prompted us, and filmed us.
The pilots checked the stability of the machine, performing a series of maneuvers:
- "Swings" in roll (±20 degrees)
- Change in pitch (raising and lowering the nose)
- Simulation of approach with a vertical speed of 5 m/s
But the most difficult thing was waiting at the end. The weather in the Far East is unpredictable. When the SSJ100 began to descend for landing, a thunderstorm broke out over the airfield. The crosswind reached 15 m/s — three times more than the permissible standards for the first flights.
By the time of landing, the weather had deteriorated, a thunderstorm began. For landing, the wind should be no more than 5 m/s, and our landing fell just on a thunderstorm and a crosswind of 15 m/s. Nevertheless, the plane showed itself well, it coped with this wind. The first flight ended in the victory of the team.
At 17:54 the airliner touched the runway. On the ground, designers, engineers, and technicians applauded standing — they knew what path this project had taken.
The first flight of the aircraft is a very exciting, joyful and responsible event. We prepared for it for three years, from 2005 to 2008. We went to the Design Bureau, held meetings with design departments, discussed and made decisions on the layout of the cabin and the operation of all aircraft systems in working groups, and trained on flight simulators. This work gave the necessary results — during the first flight, the aircraft reproduced the control model that we were already used to, by about 80%.
Indeed, the team used advanced computer technologies for design. The Sukhoi Design Bureau even created a full-fledged cabin simulator even before the construction of the first prototype — so that pilots could "fly" on a still non-existent aircraft.
A Long Road to the Sky
After the first flight, the certification tests began — 600 hours in the air, tests in heat and cold, at high-altitude airfields and under extreme loads. In 2011, the SSJ100 received a type certificate and entered the lines.
There were both successes (more than 200 built machines, operation in different countries) and problems (difficulties with maintenance, accidents). But that first flight in May 2008 will forever remain a symbol of the revival of the Russian aircraft industry — a moment when it seemed that nothing was impossible in this industry.
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