Superjet Designed for Armavia Made its Maiden Flight

First commercial Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) SN 95007 designed for Armenia’s national carrier Armavia airlines made its maiden flight, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company said, reports RIA-Novosti. 

“During the flight, a crew carried out a functional test of aircraft systems and equipment, engine, confirmed flight characteristics of the aircraft in an operational range,” the company said, adding that the aircraft is expected to arrive in Moscow soon, where in accordance with aviation regulations, its performance on typical routes will be tested.

The Superjet 100 is a family of medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with US and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.

The aircraft is capable of carrying 75-95 passengers up to 4,500 kilometers.

Currently, there are 17 SSJ 100 aircraft in production at different stages of completion.

The company plans to manufacture at least 700 Superjet 100s, and intends to sell 35% of them to North America, 25% to Europe, 10% to Latin America, and 7% to Russia and China.

Currently, Sukhoi has at least 122 firm orders for Superjet 100 airliners. The first aircraft are expected to be delivered to Armavia and Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot at the end of the year.