The Tu-214 aircraft manufactured by the Kazan Aviation Plant (part of Tupolev PJSC of the United Aircraft Corporation, UAC) can be made with a two-pilot crew cockpit. Provided that resources are focused and there are no external delays, the modification may take from one to three years, according to "Perviy Tekhnicheskiy" aviation expert, editor-in-chief of the "Aviation of Russia" portal, Andrei Velichko.
According to him, in order to replace the flight engineer in the aircraft, serious work needs to be done on equipping the cockpit. Tupolev already has such experience with the Tu-204SM aircraft.
Making a three-member aircraft for Tupolev is not a problem. If such an instruction were given and resources were allocated. I think that Tupolev could do it and start certification.
Velichko drew attention to the fact that PS-90A engines are previous generation engines, if compared with PD-14, and their fuel consumption is higher.
In addition, the very design of the Tu-214 was developed in the second half of the 1980s, therefore, from the point of view of airline economics, the aircraft is less profitable to operate than modern aircraft, the specialist added.
But here we have no choice. If we abstract from comparison with MS-21, modern Boeing and Airbus, the aircraft is not bad. And the economics of its operation can be improved by the most dense layout of the cabin, so that the aircraft flies with a full load, a lot and with minimal turnaround at airports, then the increased fuel consumption can be compensated.
Aviation expert Roman Gusarov previously said that due to the outdated material and technical base, KAZ is now unable to produce Tu-214 aircraft in the required volume. According to him, the company has too much manual labor, and strictly technically the aircraft is inferior to more modern counterparts, such as MS-21-310 and SJ-100.
State Duma deputy from Tatarstan Maxim Topilin holds a different opinion. He pointed out that KAZ is able to become an example of increased labor productivity in the future. The parliamentarian even named an exact figure - 10 times more efficient. However, Gusarov recalled that over the past three years KAZ has not built a single new Tu-214
Earlier www1.ru reported that Yakovlev will be able to produce up to 36 MS-21 aircraft per year in the future.
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