Increasing the size of the aircraft directly increases its fuel efficiency. Alexander Dolotovsky, Deputy Managing Director of PJSC "Yakovlev" — Director of the "Regional Aircraft" branch, spoke about this using the example of the "Superjet".
According to him, small aircraft are subject to physical limitations that cannot be circumvented by design solutions.
Firstly, in terms of weight perfection, the smaller the aircraft, the worse it always is, since there are constants that cannot be removed from consideration.
Dolotovsky attributed operational damage and the human factor to such constants. From a certain size, the skin thickness is determined not by the design strength, but by the impact of stones, birds, ice and sand.
In addition, human sizes cannot be scaled with the aircraft, which is why small aircraft have a disproportionately large proportion of the fuselage, doors, service areas and crew cabin, which ultimately worsens the weight perfection of the structure, he added.
The second factor is related to aerodynamics and atmospheric properties.
Increasing the linear dimensions of an object moving in the air leads to a decrease in friction resistance. If we double the "Superjet", its aerodynamic perfection will automatically increase due to the decrease in the proportion of friction resistance. Accordingly, fuel efficiency will increase.
It should be noted that certification tests of the import-substituted "Superjet" SJ-100 with PD-8 engines are in full swing. During the next flight on December 11, the aircraft with tail number 94024 rose to a height of 12,276 meters. 41 enterprises were involved in the work on the aircraft, Yakovlev noted.
