SuperJet delivery postponed again
06.10.2008 (16:01) | RBC
The launch of the new SuperJet 100 aircraft could be delayed, again, according to Alexei Fedorov, head of the United Aircraft Corporation.This time, the postponement would be due to the delayed delivery of SaM146 engines by NPO Saturn. Four jets should have already been equipped with the engines, but only one engine set has so far been supplied.
The Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) was originally scheduled to deliver the first SSJ 100 jet to Aeroflot in November 2008, but the delivery was later postponed until the end of 2009. The aircraft maker has over 100 firm contracts for SSJ 100s, including a firm contract with Aeroflot for 30 aircraft and an option to buy another fifteen. The first jet will be delivered in September 2009.
So far, engines have only been supplied for one SuperJet 100, which is undergoing flight tests in the Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, according to Alexei Fedorov. “We do not even have engines for the second jet, though four jets should have been equipped with engines already,” he lamented. The only way to influence the engine maker is through economic methods, “as everywhere else in the world,” Fedorov noted. He said there were no plans to find another engine supplier because “it takes a long time to adjust any engine.” Fedorov did not specify what financial sanctions would be applied against NPO Saturn.
The delay arises from problems regarding the Russian elements of the engine, a source familiar with the matter told RBC Daily. The engines have two different producers: gas generators are supplied by France’s Snecma, and ventilation systems – by NPO Saturn. The source said the defects of the engine made flying hazardous. “As a result, the engine certification process is being delayed,” he pointed out. The second plane would not be ready until 2009, he believes. NPO Saturn was unavailable for comment.
Yet, Florent Vilbert, a spokesman for Safran Group, which controls Snecma, rejected claims against engine suppliers. He told RBC Daily that PowerJet, a joint venture of Saturn and Snecma, was in full compliance with the SuperJet 100 program, and SaM146 engines were being delivered in accordance with the flight test schedule. He also asserted that the engines showed excellent flight performance during a total of 1,600 testing hours. The Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company hopes that the aircraft delivery deadline – the third quarter of 2009 – will remain unchanged.
Delayed delivery of the second jet is sure to affect the certification tests. Sergei Chernyshev, Director of the Central Aerodynamics Institute, told RBC Daily earlier that the institute had been prepared to begin certification tests for SSJ 100. “The SCAC must give us a jet to test. We expect the aircraft to arrive in Zhukovsky from Komsomolsk shortly,” he said in early September. The certification process takes 12 months from the arrival of the second jet.
The lack of engine parts also delays completion of the certification tests, says Oleg Panteleyev, chief analyst at Aviaport agency. “The performance of the SaM146 engine program has been adversely affected by Saturn’s management changes and its strained relations with Oboronprom.”
If various delays persist, there is a risk that the certificate will not be received at all in 2009, Pateleyev fears. He says that Saturn and Snecma have themselves become hostages to this situation because SaM146 engines were only produced for SSJ jets, and no engines can be sold in the absence of planes.
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