Leading test pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation, Oleg Mutovin shared information about an incident that occurred during testing of the first prototype of the MC-21 aircraft.
During the testing of the first version of the MC-21-300 in the fall of 2021, before taking off from Perm, one of my Pratt & Whitney engines suddenly failed - it started producing metal shavings. I had to stay and wait three days for a new one to be brought in and replaced. It occurred to me then that flying to the center of Russian engine building on American engines was a mental mistake.
It should be reminded that the first MC-21-300 aircraft were equipped with American-made Pratt & Whitney engines.
The Irkut Corporation made such a decision at the time, as the American engines were ready for installation and testing earlier than the Russian PD-14s. This made it possible to certify the aircraft within the established timeframe.
Earlier www1.ru reported that a new method of rotary welding for engines PD-8 and SaM146 was introduced at the UEC-Saturn engine-building enterprise.