Overview

For decades, the global skies have been dominated by two names: Boeing and Airbus. Their single-aisle workhorses-the 737 and A320 families-defined modern air travel, setting the standard for efficiency, reliability, and global reach. Into this entrenched duopoly came a bold new entrant: the Irkut MC-21, Russia's most ambitious civil airliner project since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Irkut MC-21: Russia's Composite Challenger traces the full story of this groundbreaking aircraft, from its conception in the wake of Russia's fragmented post-Soviet aviation industry, to its first flight, and on through the turbulence of sanctions, supply chain upheavals, and the relentless march toward technological independence. Built with advanced composite wings and powered by both Western and Russian engines, the MC-21 is not only an engineering achievement but also a political statement-an assertion that Russia would not be excluded from the twenty-first-century aviation industry. Drawing on the industrial, political, and economic forces behind the program, this book explores how the MC-21 became both a machine of flight and a symbol of resilience. It places the aircraft within the broader context of global aviation history, alongside Boeing, Airbus, and China's COMAC C919, and shows how the MC-21 embodies the intersection of technology, sovereignty, and ambition. For aviation professionals, historians, and enthusiasts alike, Irkut MC-21: Russia's Composite Challenger offers a definitive account of how one aircraft came to symbolize a nation's determination to remain aloft in a divided world.

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9781923593954

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