At a time when Russian capitalists are investing heavily in new aircraft programs such as Adam Aircraft and the Eclipse, it is ironic that Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company is looking to the west for its capital infusions. Last week, shareholders approved an additional stock offering valued at 1 million roubles (28 million Euros) to be acquired by Alenia Aeronautic’s subsidiary World’s Wing SA emission pursuant to the Russian Federation Presidential Decree, authorizing Italian strategic partner or its subsidiaries to purchase 25 percent +1 share in SCAC stock capital.
The move came as Sukhoi completed the first taxiing and run tests for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 at Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in preparation for this month’s first flight. The run tests featured a gradual speed increase up to 162 km per hour, which is close to the real speed of the nose landing gear take-off.
“This aircraft is remarkable. It’s pleasant to see how smoothly it goes,” said Alexander Yablontsev, chief test pilot. "The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is easy to control and very good in ergonomics. This new aircraft I piloted for the first time is every bit as good as Airbus and Boeing’s planes. Yablontsev has piloted both Russian and international aircraft including the Boeing-737, A319 and A320.
The taxiing and runs are an integral part of the preparation to the flight test campaign. The current testing is performed in Komsomolsk-based Flight Test Center, which has already conducted a successful series of ground tests of the main systems of the aircraft with the running engines. Prior to the first flight, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 is to undergo the shimmy tests and high-speed runs with the lift-off of the nose landing gear.
In separate news, during its annual shareholders meeting on May 8, two new members representing Alenia Aeronautica were elected to its board of directors. Carlo Loli, the marketing and business development manager and Camillo Perfilio, special projects manager. They are part of GSS (Grazhdanskie samoleti Sukhovo), the company implementing the SuperJet 100 project.
This alliance, it has been said by Loli, is very important for the future of Italian-Russian industrial cooperation and will not be the last such partnership between the two country’s aviation industries. Perfilio stressed the fact that technology transfers between Sukhoi and Alenia was very important for a long-term partnership.The actions during the shareholder’s meeting allows a faster entrance of a foreign partner into Sukhoi's capital and allows this partner to take part quickly in the decision taking process. Alenia will be in charge of marketing the new jet, of selling it on European markets and for maintenance.