COMAC C929 Widebody Airliner

The second prototype of the Russian-Chinese wide-body CR929 composite wingbox intended for endurance tests is expected to be shown at the MAKS-2023 Russian Defense Salon, said Kirill Sypalo, director general of the Central Institute of Aerohydrodynamics, during a meeting with journalists at the TsAGI Press Day.

Experimental plant MAI shipped parts for the wing box of the wing of the CR929 aircraft​

29.04.2023

The Experimental and Pilot Plant (EPZ) of the Moscow Aviation Institute has completed the manufacture and shipment of assembly parts for the prototype wing box of the Russian-Chinese wide-body long-range aircraft (SHFDMS) CR929. The prototype of the wing box will undergo strength tests at TsAGI, the MAI press service reported.

According to the director of the MAI plant, Sergey Epishev, the parts have already been sent to Ulyanovsk to the customer, AeroComposite JSC, and it took about two months to manufacture them.

“Now the customer has to test our products. After their completion, we will be able to start serial production of assembly parts for ShFDMS,” Sergey Epishev noted. He added that the work was carried out on equipment that was purchased to develop production capacities under the Priority 2030 program.

“MAI carries out scientific and educational activities at all stages of the life cycle of high-tech products, developing, among other things, production competencies. The modernization of the EOS MAI will ensure the implementation of the full production cycle for the manufacture of parts, ”the MAI explained.

Earlier, during a meeting with journalists at the Press Day, TsAGI Director General Kirill Sypalo said that in August of this year, the prototype of the CR929 wing box will be put on the bench for life tests.

He noted that strength tests of the first sample of the wing box prototype will also be performed at the TsAGI stand. “We will try to break the caisson to determine its strength limit. But, according to preliminary calculations, we will hardly be able to do this, the wing turns out to be very strong, ”he added.

gelgoog said:

Well unfortunately the Russian engine development, for the PD-35, is basically stalled. Like I said they were supposed to be asking a Canadian company to build them a test stand for the engine. The same one that built the test stand for PD-14. But because of the sanctions on Russia you can just forget about it. So right now the Russians have a tested and working gas generator, you could say risk is retired like 80% on the engine. But they have no way of testing the full up engine on the ground. The Russians are supposedly going to try to repurpose an older test stand for the PD-35 near Perm but who knows when that will be available. Right now the Perm engine company is busy trying to ramp up PD-14 engine production. Because of Western sanctions on aircraft and aircraft part sales to Russia the PD-14 engine construction requirement basically tripled or quadrupled overnight.

As for the Chinese engine, the CJ-2000, who knows when that will be available.

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In short, Russia messed up everything as usual in this joint project with China, just because of Putins senseless invasion of Ukraine. Anyway, hopefully with Russia getting bogged down and drained from the war, they will be war wary enough in future to stop anymore agression or invasion of a neighboring country like they did with Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine , and other Eastern european/balkan states and ex soviet countries. China needs a peaceful environment to thrive as the world's largest trader. Putin has kinda messed things up with this his now endless war.

The PD-35 was never supposed to be the initial engine in the CR929 aircraft, instead it was always meant to be some Western engine, and the development of the wing is proceeding as normal.

gelgoog said:

Well unfortunately the Russian engine development, for the PD-35, is basically stalled. Like I said they were supposed to be asking a Canadian company to build them a test stand for the engine. The same one that built the test stand for PD-14. But because of the sanctions on Russia you can just forget about it. So right now the Russians have a tested and working gas generator, you could say risk is retired like 80% on the engine. But they have no way of testing the full up engine on the ground. The Russians are supposedly going to try to repurpose an older test stand for the PD-35 near Perm but who knows when that will be available. Right now the Perm engine company is busy trying to ramp up PD-14 engine production. Because of Western sanctions on aircraft and aircraft part sales to Russia the PD-14 engine construction requirement basically tripled or quadrupled overnight.

As for the Chinese engine, the CJ-2000, who knows when that will be available.

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The Russians can't create a test stand? Can China?

They are repurposing a test stand supposedly but it will take time. And it will be suboptimal. IIRC they will be using an open air test stand instead of the closed door facility that was originally planned to be built for it.

As an American who immigrated from a post-Soviet republic, I feel a lot of sympathy for Russia.

At the same time... I just don't understand why they can't integrate with China's economic sector. Just ask someone from China to build a stand... I bet they'd have 20 bids if they just held an open competition for the project. Same with every other problematic sector of the Russian economy.

It is two things. Legacy relationships with Western vendors built at least since the 1990s. Lack of capability of Chinese vendors in several areas until recently. Every one of these state projects has competitively bid processes and there is a Russian government run online bidding site. But if you are not a Russian company it is quite unlikely you even know how to use these online facilities.

gelgoog said:

It is two things. Legacy relationships with Western vendors built at least since the 1990s. Lack of capability of Chinese vendors in several areas until recently. Every one of these state projects has competitively bid processes and there is a Russian government run online bidding site. But if you are not a Russian company it is quite unlikely you even know how to use these online facilities.

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I think I heard from a podcast somewhere, that the Russian defense sector recapitalized a lot of their tools with Chinese equipment post 2014. Hopefully, the next decade will see a much more thorough co-operation between China's and Russia's industries. Both have a lot to offer to each other.

sahureka said:

The second prototype of the Russian-Chinese wide-body CR929 composite wingbox intended for endurance tests is expected to be shown at the MAKS-2023 Russian Defense Salon, said Kirill Sypalo, director general of the Central Institute of Aerohydrodynamics, during a meeting with journalists at the TsAGI Press Day.

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and at MAKS 2023 they will also bring something else
Apparently RD-35 is not dead

Rostec State Corporation at the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2023, which will be held from July 25 to 30 in Zhukovsky, will present the gas generator of the first Russian high-thrust engine PD-35.
The gas GENERATOR, which is called the "heart" of an aircraft engine, consists of a high-pressure compressor, a combustion chamber and a high-pressure turbine - this is the part that provides the power plant in rotation.