Russian 737 MAX & A320 Competitor - The MC-21 HD

https://www.foundandexplained.com https://www.patreon.com/foundandexplained The end of the cold war saw Russian airlines turn away from soviet planes and embrace western technology, filling their fleets with western made Airbus and Boeing aircraft that were, at the time, seen as more reliable and advanced technological products than the Russian made counterparts. But one Russian aerospace firm has kept that commercial aviation dream alive with the MC-21 design, taking the very best ideas from the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 to make a true world-class competitor. The MC-21-300, is the first version to pass flight tests, will be able to carry up to 211 passengers in a single cabin configuration and can nearly match the 737 and A320 in range. And it has state airline support as well, with Aeroflot backing the firm with an order for 50 MC-21 aircraft and options for 35 more in the near future. The MC-21 story begins back in 2006 with the United Aircraft Corporation of Russia. They realized that growing demand in aerospace over the next twenty years would mean at least 500 new aircraft for Russian airlines. Thus, they set out with a plan for a new type of short-haul aircraft code-named the Yak-242, a similar project from the 90s that never flew. They would have the following conditions: First, the new UAC design was to seat 130–170 passengers over 5,000–6,350 km (2,700–3,430 nmi) range, ideally to replace the aging Tu-154. Plus the plane would need to be 20–25% more efficient than the Airbus A320 and B737 next-generation competitors with 15% lower weight, 20% lower operating costs, and 15% lower fuel consumption. and it would be far more advanced than its counterparts, with a carbon fiber wing and tail, fly by wire controls in a glass cockpit, and feature cutting-edge technologies. UAC also plans there to be three models, the MC-21-300 with PW1400G western made engines, the MC-21-310 that has Russian built PD-14 engines, and a shortened MC-21-200 that can seat up to 132 passengers in classes and fly 3,500 nautical miles. This last version will not go ahead, as it covers the same market as the Sukhoi Superjet 100 and the Superjet 130. The goal was for this plane to enter service in 2012 for an initial target price of US$35 million, $20 million below the similar 737-700 0- a shocking upset to the world aviation market. Airlines would essentially be able to buy two MC-21s for the same price as a previous generation Boeing 737. lastly, it can be built fast, with all the components built-in Russia and tremendous backlogs in both Boeing and Airbus lines, the MC-21 could fill in the market gap - well at least in good times before the current crisis. Confident, the team launched the new program in 2007, planning a 2016 introduction with Russian carrier Aeroflot. With the factory producing up to 120 airframes per year past 2025. Thanks to Russian protectionism, the firm had to rely on local suppliers to essentially reinvent the wheel for wester