MC-21-300 composite wing withstands maximum flight load

The strength of an experimental power wing torsion box of a domestic airliner was confirmed experimentally. These are the results of the next phase of static tests carried out at the beginning of December at TsAGI. The developer and manufacturer of the aircraft is PJSC Irkut.

Specialists of the Zhukovsky Central AeroHydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI, a member of the National Research Center “Zhukovsky Institute”) loaded the torsion box, made of polymer composite materials, for tests of upward flexing. They gradually increased the load to the torsion box until it failed.

The work was a follow-on of static tests of the first version of the full-scale power wing torsion box which was also tested until its destruction. The scientists prepared their conclusions on the structural integrity of the airplane with the limitations of various flight modes. It provided the scientists with sufficient data to prepare for the first flight. The second improved version of the torsion box is now in the hands of the scientists. Their task is to test it in all flight modes and determine the actual strength under maximum flight loads of the MC-21-300 within the parameters required for certification.

Scientists discovered that the critical breaking load was significantly higher than the load accepted by PJSC Irkut for design. The tests give the Russian aircraft an additional margin of safety. As a follow-on, TsAGI and the PJSC Irkut Corporation will continue testing in accordance with the plans of the development and certification of the MC-21-300.