First flight of the SaM146 engine on a flying test bed
On 6th Dec 2007, the SaM146 engine has started its flight test campaign on LII Gromov’s Il-76 flying laboratory. This is the first of the two scheduled steps of engine flight tests: the tests mandatory for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 maiden flight will take place in Zhukovsky, Moscow area. The second part of the tests will be carried out in Snecma flight testing center in Istres, in the South-East of France.
The flight test campaign objectives are: engine performance and operability, engine system operations under various flight conditions, engine start within the range of expected operating conditions and engine control systems.
The SaM146 is the only propulsion system designed specifically for the regional jet market. It is jointly developed by Snecma and its partner NPO Saturn within their common joint-venture, PowerJet. In April 2003, the SaM146 was selected by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft to power its Superjet 100 new regional aircraft.