Test flights for the S-80 are on the go again and due to start in three months according to Sukhoi

Published: 2/25/2000

It seems that the imminent start of the S-80 trials have become a seasonal perennial in Moscow. A recent Reuters report announces that AVPK Sukhoi has begun preparations for test flights of the S-80 multipurpose aircraft. This is an announcement very similar to one they made back in September of 1999 when the aircraft's delivery to Zhukovsky in Moscow was announced and flight trials were expected imminently. According to the recent reports, the dissembled aircraft has been shipped by KnAAPO in Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the OKB Sukhoi design bureau in Moscow, where it is now being assembled and according to Sukhoi, will require three months of preparation before its first flight. The fate of the S-80 has been particularly precarious over the last few months, described by Sukhoi as suspended due to lack of funding at the Dubai Air Show and then miraculously revived only a few days later and its certification programme restarted. The reason for the sudden availability of new funding, reported to be $15-17m to achieve certification, is unexplained other than the fact that KnAAPO, within the Sukhoi group but remaining a state entity, made a decision to devote more of its Sukhoi military export revenues to the project. Associated articles: www.concise.org 10th September 1999

Article ID: 1474