The new Il-114-300 turboprop aircraft, with the possibility of operation from unpaved runways, may not be certified until 2028. These timelines were announced by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Anton Alikhanov.
According to him, the Ilyushin company has already manufactured a prototype of a shield to protect against the scattering of loose soil from under the wheels of the nose landing gear.
Flight tests are planned to be completed by the end of 2027, with approval of the main change to the type certificate in 2028.
The official cost of the Il-114-300 is already known — 4 billion rubles for the first three, and 2.6 billion for subsequent ones. Airlines directly raised the question of the aircraft's effectiveness on unpaved surfaces due to the too low position of the TV7-117ST-01 turboprop engines.
It should be noted that the Il-114-300 is often compared with foreign Dash 8-400 and ATR-72, which do not experience problems with unpaved runways. "Pervy Tekhnichesky" conducted a detailed analysis and found out the strengths and weaknesses of the domestic aircraft against its competitors.