Import-substituted Russian MC-21 airliner almost ready for certification tests

This was revealed in a recent interview with RIA Novosti by Roman Taskaev, test pilot, Director of Flight Tests of PJSC Yakovlev (part of PJSC UAC of the Rostec State Corporation).

Taskaev, together with test pilot and cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, first raised the MC-21 into the air, and he also conducted MC-21 flights with a composite wing and with Russian PD-14 engines.

[...] Currently, I can say that we are waiting for the completion of import substitution on the MC-21 aircraft at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant in order to begin its certification tests in a fully import-substituted form. Certification of individual aircraft systems is currently underway.

Roman Taskaev, test pilot, Director of Flight Tests of PJSC Yakovlev

According to Taskaev, in addition to organizing flights and flight tests, he is responsible for checking flight personnel and monitoring their training. Foreign pilots are also trained for customers of Yak-130 abroad, and there is already"a program for the MC-21 to train pilots of airlines that plan to purchase the aircraft".

In the interview, Taskaev also spoke about the idea of the need to develop a Russian passenger drone aircraft, or an optionally piloted drone. This has often been discussed in recent years by both ordinary people and representatives of the aviation industry.

This thesis is usually argued by the fact that with the advent of a passenger unmanned aircraft, there is no danger of hijacking an aircraft. However, attackers can take control of the control point on the ground. And then what? It seems to me that the presence of a pilot in the cockpit will be indispensable for a long time. The subjective factor of decision-making in the event of an emergency is still important. Artificial intelligence is not capable of self-sacrifice, but only of self-destruction. The larger the drone, the greater the responsibility will be placed on it. After all, no matter what, any equipment is sooner or later subject to failure.

Roman Taskaev, test pilot, Director of Flight Tests of PJSC Yakovlev

In his opinion, there is also a romantic factor,"celebrated in all genres of art: man has always strived for the sky, no matter what". Taskaev is sure that fully drones will never replace the flight crew.