OREANDA-NEWS. November 19, 2012. In October the controllability test of the Tu-204SM aircraft (No. 64151) completed successfully under the Certification Special Test Programme of the PS-90A2-powered Tu-204SM in conditions of taxying, takeoff and landing on the wet and awash runway. Before that the airliner underwent the tests by frost in Yakutsk and heat in the United Arab Emirates.

Tests were conducted in the special purpose reservoir installed at the Gromov Flight Research Institute (Zhukovsky) aerodrome. Research pilots faced the following tasks: to determine the takeoff and landing performance of the Tu-204SM on the wet and awash runway, the stability and controllability performance of the aircraft in predetermined conditions as well as evaluate the operation of the engines, the APU and other systems of the aircraft.

The conducted tests involved the formation of water jets due to the interaction of landing gears with water on the runway. The purpose was to track the water trajectory, the probability of ingressing moisture into engines and the APU and evaluate their parameters. The operation of the engines was controlled by means of the ASK-90 airborne equipment and the PKNO-90А2, results of runnings were taken by videocameras both outside and onboard the aircraft. Specialists of Tupolev OJSC, the Gromov FRI, the Civil Aviation State Research Institute, Aviadvigatel OJSC and Perm Motor Plant OJSC took part in the tests.

In all, the Tu-204SM performed eight runnings on the wet runway and the runway covered with a layer of water and demonstrated scoring results on all parameters. The  PS-90A2 engines exhibited the stable operation in predetermined conditions. At the moment the processing and the analysis of the achieved data for the further certification of the aircraft is under way. In the nearest time the airliner will undergo the final test under conditions of real rain.

According to the Tu-204SM Chief Designer Oleg Alasheyev, at present ground tests for fail-safe performance on the Tu-204SM started. "This is one of key stages of the certification tests that is conducted for the comprehensive check and the objective assessment of the vehicle performance with different combinations of systems, assemblies and components," said the aircraft chief designer.