In the statement made by the Russian Advanced Research Fund, it was stated that the Russian laboratory aircraft Yak-40LL, equipped with an electric motor, made its first flight today as part of the test carried out at the international aerospace fair MAKS-2021.
The press service of the foundation said, “Just at the MAKS-2021 air show, a demonstration flight of the Yak-40 aircraft, equipped with a hybrid power plant based on a gas turbine engine and a superconducting electric motor, took place. During the flight, the plane turned on the electric power plant.”
The hybrid energy setup based on a gas turbine engine and a superconducting electric motor complements the two standard turbojet engines. It consists of a battery block, a 500 kW (680 horsepower) electric motor, and a turboprop engine that drives it, and an electrical generator attached to it. The motor is 5 to 20 percent more economical than its counterparts, thanks to the use of superconducting technologies and cryogenic cooling.
The tests of the hybrid installation as part of the aircraft began in February in Novosibirsk. Two AI-25 jet engines standard for the Yak-40 at the flying laboratory were replaced with more powerful Honeywell TFE731, the third tail was dismantled, and instead of a radar station, an experimental electric motor based on the technology of high-temperature superconducting platforms was placed in the nose of the aircraft.
The MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Fair, which started on the 20th of July at Zhukovskiy Airport, located just outside of Moscow, ends on the 25th of July.
