Altitude Addicts reported on November 20th that the Tu-214LL Flying Laboratory, which is entirely Russian, is anticipated to take flight in the near future. United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced on November 21 that a flight testing program with new Russian components has commenced on the Tu-214 aircraft, which serves as a flying laboratory.
Konstantin Timofeev, the Managing Director of JSC “Tupolev” and the First Deputy General Director of UAC, disclosed this information. He stated that the aircraft made its inaugural flight today following the import substitution procedure.
The flight, which lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes, was conducted at the Kazan Aviation Plant named after S.P. Gorbunov, a branch of JSC “Tupolev.”
A personnel from JSC “Tupolev” operated the aircraft. Various systems and onboard equipment were subjected to the requisite inspections during the flight. The crew reported that the testing proceeded as anticipated, with all systems and equipment functioning without any complications.
“Using this aircraft as a base, we will continue flight tests, further modernization, and the development of the Tu-214 platform, including the creation of a two-crew cockpit,” emphasized Konstantin Timofeev.
The aircraft’s 15 main and approximately 30 minor systems were impacted by the replacement of imported components. Computing devices, mid-air collision warning systems, and ground proximity warning systems are among the components that have been replaced. Additionally, onboard radar systems have been included. The modernization also encompassed enhancements to the hydraulic system, the integrated control system, and the lighting and electrical systems.
Transaero Airlines has operated the Tu-214 aircraft with registration number RA-64509 since April 2007. The aircraft was manufactured in Kazan in 2006. This year, the carrier’s airworthiness was restored after it was stored in Kazan from October 2015 to June 2024, following the carrier’s bankruptcy.
After a prolonged period of inactivity on the ground, the aircraft was launched into the air for the first time on June 14. Subsequently, it was transported to Minsk, where it was repainted in the corporate livery of UAC at Civil Aviation Plant No. 407. Subsequently, it was returned to Kazan for modernization. During the summer, Konstantin Timofeev provided an update on the forthcoming tests of Russian systems on this aircraft, which are intended to supplant foreign systems.
UAC intends to establish an in-line production process for Tu-214 aircraft. It is contracted; the conveyor line is planned. The objective is to achieve the production of 20 aircraft annually. In the summer of 2024, while delivering a lecture to students of Kazan National Research Technical University – KAI, he stated, “We don’t need more, we’ll see that later, anything is possible.”
Kazan is in the final stages of completing the necessary preparations for the beginning of flight tests on the Tu-214 RA-64509 flying laboratory for import-substituted systems. Konstantin Timofeev, the Managing Director of Tupolev JSC and the First Deputy Director General of UAC mentioned this on his TG channel.
The top manager noted in the results of the week, “Completion of construction and equipping of new production sites of Gorbunov KAZ, as well as commissioning of a number of facilities is planned by the end of the year. This will make it possible to significantly increase the rate of aircraft production. I held a meeting of the staff on the flying laboratory. In the near future, its flight will take place after the complete replacement of imported components.”
The first flight of the aircraft with the flight number RA-64509 took place in November 2006. The liner was operated by Transaero Airlines from April 2007 to October 2015. This Tu-214 was repainted in the UAC corporate livery at the 407th Civil Aviation Plant in Minsk on 14 June 2024, following several years of storage and restoration of airworthiness.
As per Tatar Inform, according to the orders of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade No. 663 of 31 March 2015, the Tu-214 aircraft was required to replace over 240 sections of onboard equipment components with Russian ones. It covered the systems of collision warning in the air and dangerous proximity to the Earth, meteor radar, radio stations, satellite, and inertial navigation equipment, units of radio navigation equipment, drive-generators, fuel and hydraulic pumps and pumping stations, various sensors, relays, electrical connectors, contactors, filters, and elements of household and rescue equipment.
The Tu-214 was shown to be 87% composed of domestically procured component parts in the summer of 2023. Kazan Aircraft Plant and Tupolev are required to replace all imported components in the Tu-214 design with Russian ones by the end of 2024 and obtain approval for them to be included in the type certificate. It is anticipated that the Tu-214LL will evaluate the Russian inertial navigation system, meteorological radar station, early warning system of ground proximity, and rescue equipment. In the past, these systems were supplied by foreign companies.
Konstantin Timofeev had previously said that the Mechanical Processing Centre at Kazan Aircraft Plant is 52% completed. The glazing of the building, the pouring of the first-floor floor slab, the installation of engineering communications, and the arrangement of foundations for machine tools are currently underway. The thermal circuit of the building will be closed by the end of the year, and the installation of technological and storage equipment, as well as the interior finish, will commence. The facility’s construction necessitates the participation of 144 individuals and 23 units of specialized equipment.
The construction of the new shop is being conducted as part of the complex aviation industry development program. The shop is designed to accommodate over 120 machining machines, which will guarantee the production of 20 Tu-214 aircraft annually. The managing director of Tupolev also disclosed that the company intends to establish three new logistics centers in KAZ by the end of 2025, with a combined area of approximately 90,000 m².
The pile field is being prepared, networks are being relocated, and the old building has been dismantled for the construction of the first structure, according to him. Dismantling operations are currently underway in preparation for the construction of the second and third structures. The initial two facilities are anticipated to be finished in the summer of 2025, while the third is scheduled for the autumn.
The Kazan Aircraft Plant will build and rebuild 24 facilities as part of the extensive modernization initiative. Nine of these facilities have already been operational. In order to commence serial production of 20 Tu-214 civil airliners annually in 2028, the construction works must be finalized by the end of 2026.
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