New airliner Tu-204SM to be introduced in Ulyanovsk Tue.

ULYANOVSK, April 6 (Itar-Tass) - The refinement of State support for
aviation and ways to raise the safety of flights will be discussed here on
Tuesday at a conference to be co-chaired by Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary
of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and Grigory Rapota,
presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Volga Federal District
(VFD), an Ulyanovsk Region government official has told Itar-Tass.
The governors of regions that are part of the VFD and the directors of
aircraft making enterprises in the Volga area will take part in the
conference. They will familiarize themselves with the operation of the
Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP aircraft factory, and tour the assembly plant.
A new model of Tu-204SM airliner with domestically manufactured
new-generation engines PS-90A2 will be introduced to participants in the
conference.
The Tu-204SM is an in-depth modification of the Tu-204 airliner. The
plane is up to present-day and potential international requirements for
the safety of flight. In most characteristics, the plane is up to Boeing
airliners of similar class and in some things even excels foreign
analogues.
The main difference of the Tu-204SM from other airliners of the Tu-204
family is that it is fitted out with PS-90A2 engines that have
characteristics that are up to world standards. The dependability of the
engines is 50-100 percent higher compared to the prototype (PS-90A) while
operating expenses are 35 percent lower during the entire length of
operation. The ecological parameters (noise, emission of harmful
substances) are up to potential international requirements.
Sergei Mochalov, head of the press service of the aircraft factory,
has pointed out, "Due to the newest avionics and structural solutions,
this airliner will be able to remain airborne without refuelling for about
nine hours". The first Tu-204SM will be handed over to the customer in
2011, he said.
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