The signals to the Russian-Chinese long-haul jet were not very clear recently. In February 2022, a Russian government spokesman said progress was slower than hoped, but work on the Craic CR929 would continue. In July there was speculation that Russia might withdraw from the project.
Now chief designer Wu Guanghui told the Chinese newspaper “Global Times” that the suppliers for the fuselage and tail unit parts had been selected and construction work had started. However, the schedule has shifted significantly.
“No one gave up on our project with China to develop a wide-body aircraft,” Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. “It will be implemented in one form or another. We are doing everything now to ensure testing begins by 2030.”
That’s a significant delay. Actually, the basic version CR929-600 with space for up to 280 travelers in three classes and a range of up to 12,000 kilometers should come onto the market between 2025 and 2027.
Later, the year 2025 was then at least targeted for the start of test flights. Now it will probably take about five years longer.
This article was written by Timo Nowack
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The original of this article “Chinese-Russian CR929 will probably not fly before 2030” comes from aeroTelegraph.
