Home / Archive / N3 2009 / SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT FOR TU-214
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT FOR TU-214
The Kremlin selects Tu-214 as platform for special mission aircraft
June 1, 2009, the first day of this summer, seems to be the turning point for the program of the Tupolev Tu-214 narrow body airliner. That day the Kazan Aviation Production Association named after Sergei Gorbunov (KAPO) delivered two Tupolev Tu-214SR aircraft, registration RA-64515 and RA-64516, to the Special Air Detachment under the Administration of the President of Russian Federation (the operator is also referred to as the Moscow branch of GTK “Rossiya”, GTK stands for “State Transport Company”). On the same day, both aircraft were ferried to Moscow Vnukovo airport, their main station, and were inspected on arrival by Russian prime-minister Vladimir Putin. Reportedly, he made some remarks about high performance and high manufacturing quality of GTK Rossiya’s new assets, and issued command to continue with the plan on more Tu-214s for governmental structures.
The new aircraft are intended replacement for the morally outdated Il-22 relay aircraft (a special mission airplane using the platform of Il-18 four-engine turboprop airliner).
The Tupolev Tu-214, also known as the Tu-204-200, is the most advanced version of the baseline Tu-204, featuring higher gross weight and improved wing shape. Today, this is the best of the Soviet legacy platforms that are in production in the modern Russia. This fact prompted the Administration of the president of Russia, the Russian government and the Ministry
of defense along with their agencies to select the Tu-214 as the basic platform for a number of special mission aircraft. Exact number of airframes to be procured is still being decided upon, but it is clear today that the grand total will certainly exceed a dozen units. Firm orders already placed by Russian government structures call for delivery of six Tu-214s in 2009-2011. But this initial order placed in 2005 is to be supplemented by follow-on orders, in the view of more deliveries from 2011 onwards.
The Tu-214 are considered for a wide variety of applications: relay aircraft, flying command posts, airborne communications centers, electronic reconnaissance, radio emission analysis, VIP transport, airborne early warning and command, maritime reconnaissance aircraft etc.
In Kazan, the handover ceremony at KAPO turned into a massive gathering of the plant employees, with few thousand people taking part in the event. They were elated by the fact that, after a 15-year break, the Russian government has restored itself in the status of main customer for KAPO products. The ceremony was attended by president and chairman of the executive board of United Aircraft Corporation Alexey Fedorov, prime minister of Tatarstan Republic Rustam Minnikhanov, member in the Military-industrial Commission under the government of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Bobryshev, KAPO general director Vasil Kayumov and UAC vice-president on strategic and special purpose aviation, Tupolev president and general designer Igor Shevchuk. Kayumov and Shevchuk handed over symbolic keys to the aircraft to GTK Rossiya deputy chief engineer on new equipment Vladimir Kochegarov and head of special transportation operations department of the transport department of the Russian president administration Aleksandr Zuev.
Addressing the audience, UAC president said: “Respectable colleagues: workers, engineers and other employees of Kazan aviation production association! We have a great day today. Two beautiful machines, two airplanes are being handed over to our customer. These aircraft symbolize very intense and hard work of all KAPO employees. These machines are very special aircraft, they will carry out very important missions of the national defense. They are first pair in the large series of special purpose aircraft that are being built here, at Kazan plant. Our customers have been criticizing us for delivery postponements, and they were right with the very fact that the delivery date has indeed shifted. But some of their arguments did not have much
ground. And now, finally, we reached the
point when the delivery is made possible. I am sure these pair will be followed by many more as the airframes now in the final assembly shop will get completed. These new airframes come in different versions, with varying functions. I am sure these new airframes will be completed on time and with high manufacturing quality. Today I want to congratulate most heartedly the team of the Kazan plant and say: well done! I wish you to held ceremonies on new aircraft deliveries as many as possible. Thank you for your hard work!" Later on, answering questions of the mass media, Fedorov said: “the Tu-214SR is a relay aircraft that is specially designed to carry out very specific missions. Because of this, we cannot tell you in much detail about the exact differences between this new version and the baseline platform being the Tu-214 passenger jet. A few additional nonstandard
antennas are visible outwardly.
Those antennas reflect the functions that this new version is intended to carry out. The relay aircraft uses the Tu-214 as a platform. The baseline aircraft meets all current international requirements. It can operate from various air strips, it is allowed to fly in airspace of other countries around the globe since it meets their requirements including ecological, to noise levels, emission etc. The new version of the baseline aircraft has won approvals in the form of complimentary certificates in full accordance with the current requirements of civil aviation authorities. The airplane has been tested thoroughly, including in extreme conditions, climatic and not only”.
Answering questions on timing of next deliveries, UAC president said: “Several more Tu-214s are in a high degree of readiness. Some of them are in the final assembly shop, others are getting their components mated. Let me stress one more time that this pair of aircraft that we handed over today are the leading machines of the new, large series of aircraft that will come in a number of modifications. Production run of these special missions aircraft will be quite large. These aircraft will use the same basic platform, but differ in functions and, hence, in onboard equipment. Outwardly, changes will be few, so that few people would be able to tell one version from another.”
Answer to question on when KAPO would join UAC: “We are finishing preparations to the next emission of UAC shares so that to use this emission as a necessary step to integrate the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG (RAC “MiG”) and the Kazan plant into the UAC corporate structure. During this summer the respective procedure shall go to completion. And this will render MiG and KAPO new, very important members in our corporate structure.
Touching on completions of the Tu-214SR cabin, Fedorov said: “the cabin design is very modern, offering high comfort. We have made all we could to ensure comfort conditions for work and rest of the crews who will fly these aircraft and operate their onboard equipment. The customer has put forward very demanding specification for the cabin. I believe we have managed to meet all of the customer
requirements.
On the matter of aircraft price, Fedorov conveyed the following information: “I can only say that we sell airlines Tu-214s in baseline passenger version at sticker price of just above Ruble 1 billion (approx. 33 million US dollars). The Tu-214SR is, naturally, more costly because of the expensive onboard equipment."
Journalists further asked, is there any something special in the Tu-214SR that is meant to make this version luckier? “There is a whole lot of things that have been implemented into design of this version to achieve highest aviation safety standards, - Fedorov answered, - and the modern avionics in the first place. All onboard systems and equipment are made inside the country. Our designers have applied their minds in best way to provide multiply backup for all onboard systems so that to ensure the highest level of aviation safety. Earlier, Russia did not produce aircraft that would come any near to the Tu-214SR in terms of mission performance. Aircraft that fulfilled similar missions were in production before, but they are morally and physically outdated today. The Tu-214SR will progressively replace them, brining about a new level of mission and operational performance.
Prime minister of Tatarstan Republic Rustam Minnikhanov said: “Today is an important day in the life of Tupolev design house and the Kazan plant. I want to use this occasion to convey my most cordial wishes of prosperity to the team of Tupolev and Kazan plant, so that this pair of the new aircraft gives a head start for a large series of such aircraft to be built at Kazan plant! I wish the aircraft made here will operate successfully for a long time. I hope your team will prove up to the challenges that stand before the Russian aircraft manufacturing industry in the field of civil, military and special mission aviation.” Later on, he told the members of the media: “Some of you may think that the Tu-214SR is the same as the baseline version, yet with some sort of a hat bolted to the upper fuselage. And they are wrong. This new version is a completely different aircraft by way of special missions it is intended to carry out. This machine does carry out all these new functions that were specified by the customer. As per completions of the cabin, I can tell you: everything is made very nicely. I had a chance to see it with my own eyes when inspected the aircraft, its cockpit and cabin. The new aircraft is not merely a new toy for our customer. It is also the vehicle that brought together many companies and people working on the respective project. We contributed our hearts and mind to this project and become friends when working on this project – Fedorov and myself became friends on this project”.
Igor Shevchuk, UAC vice-president on strategic and special purpose aviation, Tupolev president and general designer said when addressing KAPO employees: “It is a great thing that newly built Tupolev aircraft continue being built and get delivered to their customers. Today, a new pair of these outstanding vehicles is being handed over to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. Sincerely, I am very grateful to all of those people who took part in development, construction and testing of these airplanes – workers, engineers, ground and flight crews. I wish these two airplanes will serve successfully for many-many years, flying high in the peaceful blue skies. Let me remind you that a month ago these airplanes proved their worth in a long-haul mission when they flew 13 hours non-stop, over the Far East, Extreme North, then Moscow and back to Kazan. That time everything worked well, and according to the specification. That was a result of our hard work. Many thanks to all of you, please accept my cordial wishes of good health and happiness”. Aleksandr Zuev, Head of special transportation operations department of the transport department of the Russian president administration said during hand-over ceremony: “Today is indeed a very happy day for both of us, the manufacturers and the customers. Let me remind you that these two beautiful aircraft are made under the state order, according to the contract with the Administration of the president of Russian Federation and in the interests of the special air detachment of GTK Rossiya. We have been closely following the work on these aircraft, by paying visits to the final assembly shop and other workshops of the Kazan plant, working hand-in-hand with Tupolev, KAPO and equipment suppliers. We always believed that this order is our small, but very much positive contribution into recovery of our aircraft manufacturing industry, into revival and strengthening of the Kazan aviation plant. It was hard and very intense work. And here, today, we are very happy to see the work done. We are convinced that the experience obtained during creation of the relay aircraft for the GTK Rossiya special air detachment will help you reduce lead cycles on aircraft that would follow and improve their manufacturing quality. Let us promise each other that the delivery ceremonies such as this one today will become of regular occurrence and a good tradition for KAPO and Administration of the President. I wish you every success. Thank you all for your work!” Vladimir Kochegarov, GTK Rossiya deputy chief engineer on new equipment told KAPO employees the following words: “Dear colleagues! Today is an important day for the plant, and also for us, the customer that takes delivery of these beautiful airplanes. The airlines have been waiting aircraft such as these for a long time. We all need speedy renewal of our fleets. This pair of new airplanes is just one small step in the right direction. We put our faith in KAPO, the enterprise with a history of over 70 years, the enterprise that has successfully solved many tasks set by the government and its customers. We remember well how difficult it was to create this new version of the Tu-214 aircraft. Today, on behalf of the intended aircraft operator, the State Transport Company “Rossiya”, let me congratulate the whole team of KAPO, from a worker to the general director, all of you who took part in that work, who contributed minds and hearts into creation of these nice airplanes. Nice-looking airplanes fly nicely, that’s for sure. Thank you once again”.
In his turn, KAPO general director Vasil Kayumov said: “Respectable guests, dear colleagues! That’s something we have been striving for three years. We do not always have enough time to rest, we sometimes get nervous and demanded too much from each other. But this moment, the delivery, has come, finally! The kind words that customers told us today are very much a reward for us. In our turn, we say “thank you” to all people who gathered today here, at KAPO the flight test station, you came to share our feelings of satisfaction. You have been with us in the hard times, and now, when we fell better. Let me assure you, that we will apply all of the experience amassed during creation of these two airplanes so as the follow-on orders will be fulfilled with high quality and on time. We hope the Russian government will render effective support to the domestic manufacturers. And we hope that the Tu-334, the new promising design from Tupolev, will enter mass production at our plant!” It is interesting to notice that the Tu-214 is the only type which did not suffer cuts in the revised UAC production plan that was proclaimed in the late April. Blaming the world-wide financial crisis that produced 14% decline in the Russian industrial output and expected 7-9% reduction in national GDP this year, the Kremlin revised its earlier plan for production of commercial airplanes. On 29 April, UAC council of directors at United Aircraft approved of a new industrial plan for 2009-2012. It calls for assembly of 9 Ilyushin-96 widebody quads, 58 Tupolev-204/214 narrobody twins and 118 large regional jets of Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) and Antonov-148 types, comparing to 12, 71 and 322 units respectively. A total of 196 civilian aircraft, including eleven Beriev-200 amphibians, is to be assembled in 2009-2012, representing almost twofold reduction to the before-the-crisis aspirations. The correction is necessary because of the impact of the global financial crisis, which led to reduc
tion in passenger and cargo traffic, and, subsequently, weaker demand for new civilian aircraft. At the same time, orders for military and special mission aircraft remain strong despite the crisis. And this is what makes the situation for Tu-214 more favorable
than that for other types.
In future, the two plants manufacturing Tu-204 series aircraft – Aviastar-SP in Ulianovsk and KAPO – will move onto a unitary platform, the Tu-204SM. UAC president Alexey Fedorov said the following on the theme: “The Tu-204 series will stay in production for quite a long time, until the next-generation aircraft, like the MS-21, will get ready. Today, we are working on a deep modification of the current baseline version that will have improved engines (PS-90A2), auxiliary power unit, onboard systems and a cockpit optimized for two cockpit crew members. The whole of avionics suite will be reworked as one of the measures to reduce operational expenses. We plan to introduce the Tu-204SM to the market in 2011. I believe we will be able to achieve profitability for the Tu-204 program with help of this new baseline model. Its introduction shall allow improve consumer merits of the aircraft and sell it for a higher price while cutting manufacturing costs.”
Introduction of the Tu-204SM will entail a broader industrial cooperation between Aviastar-SP and KAPO. Ulianovsk is likely to focus on manufacture of fuselages, while KAPO will concentrate on production of wing sections. In 2009 two plants combined shall assemble more than a dozen of Tu-204s and Tu-214s, with the figure rising twofold when the Tu-204SM completely supersedes earlier models.
Initial series is to be assembled at Aviastar-SP, that of Tu-204-100SM1 featuring Perm PS-90A2 turbofans. These engines will replace ordinary PS-90As. Experimental examples of the A2 have been tested for over a year at Perm Motors. They are developed to specific requirements of Iran Airtour airline acting launch customer for the Tu-204SM. The Persian specification also call for two-deck-crew operations, a new APU and conditioning system and less heavier wiring. Hydrollic actuators of flaps and leading edges will be replaced by electrically operated Electroagregat devices. Besides, the SM1 will have Lazeks INS-2000MT navigation system on Russian-made laser gyroscopes and double GPS/Glonass receivers.
At Farnborough’2008 UAC and Ilyushin Finance signed a firm order for 31 Tu-204SMs plus 30 options. That time the lessor expected delivery of the firmly ordered aircraft in 2010-12, all from Aviastar-SP. The core contract was estimated at US dollar 1.5 billion by catalogue prices. It is meant to be launch order for the SM version featuring improved Perm PS-90A2 turbofans, better avionics and onboard system. Initial series of these machines is intended for Iran Airtour. The deal also contained option for 30 more airframes. Until the Tu-204SM gets available, the Tu-214 remains the most advanced and competitive Russian jetliner. Preparations to series production of this version began in 1994. First KAPO built Tu-214 had its maiden flight on 21 March 1996. In May 1997 the Tu-204-200 achieved type certification for the all-up weight of 103 tons, same as for the baseline Tu-204-100 launched earlier at Aviastar-SP. Urged by KAPO, Tupolev launched an effort aiming at increasing all-up weight to 111 tons (110.75 tons at liftoff). With that, the structural weight would rise by a fraction, to some 59 tons, thus making Tu-214 the most weight efficient jetliner ever produced in Russia. The principal decision on that issue was made in March 1999. On 15 April 1999 the RA-64501 commenced flight trials to compliance to the AP-25 air worthiness requirements harmonized with FAR Part 25 and JAR 25 (the Tu-204-100 won certification to the NLGS, the Russian national set of rules written in the times of the Soviet Union). For compliance to the new airworthiness standards at all-up weight of 111 tons, a large number of structural members were strengthened, as well as the landing gears and tires. AP-25 type certification for Tu-214 was issued on
29 December 2000.
By May 2007 ten Tu-214s were delivered to airline customers, including three to GTK Rossiya, five to DalAvia (including first deliverable example RA-64502), one to KrasAir (RA-64508) and one to Transaero (in April 2007). In November 2008 Transaero took delivery of RA-64549.
Except for GTK Rossiya, all other deliveries went via Finance Leasing Corporation (FLC). Sadly, the crisis bankrupted DalAvia and KrasAir, and their Tu-214s, along with other items in their fleets, have been grounded. There is a plan to return DalAvia and KrasAir aircraft back to KAPO for upgrade work so that to bring these aircraft to latest production standard before offering to other airlines. Today, only Transaero maintains high utilization rate on the Tu-214s in active service. The airline awaits delivery of three more aircraft of the type in 2009-2010 timeframe. There are two versions of the cabin available, for 210 passengers in all-economy configuration and for 164 passengers in typical two-class cabin. In the first case the range is up to 7,200km. Longer distances are achieved through decrease in payload. The Tu-214D (engineering reference) with additional fuel tanks can cover over 11,000km or stay in the air for some 14 hours. Introduction of the NK-93 geared fan engines promises reduction in specific fuel burn from 18.3 (for the PS-90A-powered baseline version) down to 15 gram per km*passenger.
On KAPO production line, the Tu-214 replaced the Il-62, built in 281 copies between 1966 and 1995. Of those about a hundred were exported. Some of these aircraft were temporarily hired by Japan AirLines and Air France for trans-Siberian flights. Until March 2007, when Il-96-300 took over in that role, the Il-62M served the flagship and the main type that served the needs of the Russian government. Moving onto more technologically advanced Tupolev twin jet required KAPO to buy considerable amount of advanced manufacturing equipment in the West, including GEMCOR GSKE-4261 riveting machines (able to work with 30-m-long wing sections). Other imported items were G-5013T-XXG86/ 128 riveting facilitation machine, Deckel DMU 50V metal cutting machine tools and other equipment from Lorenz, Agie and other western makers.
At entry into service the Tu-214 experienced numerous teething problems.
Thanks for the courageous aviators of GTK Rossiya and DalAvia, the first customers for the type, the design has been rectified to such an extent that the best examples now amass over three thousand hours in the air annually. Now, with a large state order having been placed on special mission aircraft, the Tu-214 program gets a new lease of life.
Vladimir Karnozov Aircraft
