WATCH new Russian jet get fresh coat of paint ahead of airshow unveiling
The Russian-built Irkut MC-21-300 passenger jet is undergoing final preparations ahead of its official unveiling this week, with new video footage showing the craft getting a sparkling fresh coat of paint.
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) jet will be officially unveiled at this year’s Moscow International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS 2019), which kicks off on Tuesday.
The new jet is set to be one of the star attractions at the show and the video shows painters meticulously decking it out in shiny new livery, ahead of its debut.
At this week’s show members of the public and figures from the aviation industry will get to see the finished product, which was built despite production obstacles created by US sanctions.
Washington banned countries from selling composite materials to Russia and also forbade the delivery of titanium parts and other equipment necessary for production.
However, the restrictions failed to stop the MC-21 project, which is widely seen as Russia’s answer to the US plane-maker Boeing’s ill-fated 737 MAX line of passenger aircraft.
The third test aircraft completed its maiden voyage in March and the fourth will start test flights later this year. It is set to complete Russian certification tests by 2020 and European Union tests a year later. State-run UAC has already received orders for 175 aircraft.
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