Aircraft nearing type certification after overhaul and upgrade (331 words)

Published: 5/10/2001

According to Andrey Sovenko of ANTK Antonov, the 7th May flight of the An-225 at Gostomel went successfully, meeting the two main objectives, comprising: · The assessment of the operation of the aircraft, after having been in storage · Demonstrating the aircraft to the public. The flight lasted half an hour and Antonov test pilots said that it performed as expected. To date, the An-225 has made 347 flights under the original flight programme with only 10 flights left for type certification, allowing the aircraft to fly at Paris and come into commercial service with Antonov Airlines. Soveko claims that the aircraft now fully meets ICAO airworthiness standards after its overhaul and modernisation, including reduced noise from the aircraft's D-18s, through alterations to the engine's nacelle. In the last year, Antonov Airlines' partner, Air Foyle, has identified potential customers for the aircraft and is currently discussing charters and longer-term contracts. The first potential charter with Siemens has, according to Bruce Bird, failed to materialize, but it is continuing discussions with other prospects, including producers of generating equipment, such as GE, ABB and Siemens, as well as longer term contracts with aerospace companies. The costs of getting the aircraft back into the air have not been disclosed, but earlier reports suggested $20m, with the costs split between ANTK Antonov for the upgrade and overhaul of the airframe and Motor Sich, which supplied six new engines. It has also been reported that Motor Sich already had the engines, but no customers and the overhaul of the aircraft offered the opportunity to generate some revenues from them. For Antonov Airlines, the new aircraft is seen as its flagship and it believes that its inclusion in its fleet will increase the airline's chance of taking share from Volga Dnepr (VD) that, according to Bird, will only have access to the aircraft as a broker, despite some reports that VD may operate it.

Article ID: 2524