United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the parent company of the country’s most important aerospace manufacturers, has recovered an old Tupolev Tu-214 for flight.
The 184-seat jet was stored in Kazan when it was brought into flying condition on September 22 and the following day was flown to Ulyanovsk, where it received a new UAC corporate livery.
The aircraft registration RA-64518 was manufactured in 2009 and flew until 2015 with Transaero, which ceased operations that year. After a brief hiatus, the Tu-214 returned to flying with Red Wings until 2017.
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The Tu-214 is an improved version of the Tu-204, a single-aisle jet similar to the Boeing 757 and the Airbus A321neo. It uses PS-90A engines and can fly up to 2,700 nautical miles (3,340 km).
Among the differences to the Tu-204 is the existence of a third passenger door ahead of the left wing root and the slightly higher maximum takeoff weight.
The Tu-214 was produced in Kazan by KAPO while the Tu-204 was manufactured by Aviastar in Ulyanovsk. The Russian government decided to resume production of the Tu-214 following Western sanctions caused by the invasion of Ukraine.
The plan is to manufacture at least 70 jets to meet the demand of Russian airlines while the more modern and capable Yakovlev MC-21 does not reach a higher production rate.
