See the plane? No? But it's there! What aircraft designers in Russia actually patented

The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec)has patented a new wide-body airliner. "Pervyi Tekhnicheskiy" is figuring out exactly what and when Russians will be flying on.

Something remarkable

According to the patent data, the flight range of various modifications will be up to 13.6 km. The airliner will be 3% more economical in terms of operating costs and 6% more economical in terms of direct operating costs than even the modern Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

But there is a nuance - the patent for the aircraft with a description exists only in general terms, but there is no aircraft project. And the prospects for its appearance are still vague.

In the current version of the comprehensive program for the development of the aviation industry until 2030, nothing is said about the creation of a new wide-body aircraft. So far, the plans include only the production of Il-96 aircraft.

When will airlines receive the Il-96

It is almost impossible for an ordinary passenger to fly on the Il-96. The plane lived a bright but very short life in Russia. The airliner appeared at the wrong time, in 1988, and the main deliveries to airlines occurred in the early 90s.

The borders opened and it quickly became clear that operating twin-engine Boeing and Airbus aircraft was much cheaper than the Il-96 with four gluttonous PS-90 engines.

At the moment, 17 aircraft of this family are in operation. And 11 of them are listed in the special flight detachment "Russia", which serves, among others, the President of the Russian Federation.

There are developments

Engineers have some developments in the design of a wide-body aircraft - since 2014, the Russian-Chinese CR929 aircraft has been developed. But the Chinese gradually reduced the participation of Russian specialists, and in 2023 they continued to work independently.

It was for the CR929 that the PD-35 engine began to be developed, but so far it exists only as a demonstrator on the test bench.

The problem is the small size of the market

The Russian market is too small to make a new aircraft mass-produced and inexpensive. For example, Boeing has produced more than 1,100 Dreamliner aircraft since 2011, and the Boeing-777 has exceeded 1,700 units.