TsAGI develops a concept of an advanced extended range and airspeed aircraft

25 June 2019

One of the key challenges facing scientists of the Zhukovsky Central AeroHydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI, a member of the National Research Center “Zhukovsky Institute”) is the conceptual design of the next-generation aircraft. Under the government contract with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, specialists have developed the concept of an advanced extended range and speed civil aircraft. The aircraft can be used for a passenger-carrying and other operations for the distance of up to 9, 000 km.

For the exploratory research TsAGI designed a thematic model with a standard circular cross-section fuselage. Different wing options will be tested there. The two wing types were tested at the first test stage: the first wing with the angle swept of 30°, designed for the cruise Mach number = 0.83-0.84; the second one with a bit higher sweep for the cruise Mach number =0.84 — 0.85.

“Currently, we can see the worldwide growing interest to new aircraft of a reasonable seating capacity (200-250 seats), capable of overcoming distances over 8, 000 kilometers and flying from Europe to the East coast of the United States,” commented Head of Division of TsAGI’s Department of aerodynamics of Plane and Rocket, Doctor of Science Anatoly Bolsunovsky. “This aircraft will be in demand in our country, with its vast territories. The significant improvement of its aerodynamic performance in the comparing to previous generation aircraft is possible due to new design methods. And taking into account the progress in materials and engines, the fuel consumption can be reduced in 30-35 %.”

TsAGI transonic wind tunnel testing confirmed the preliminary calculated data. It allows recommending the designed layout for the further studies in domestic design bureaus.

The next series of tests is planned for the end of 2019.

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