The regional jet An-158 created by Antonov design bureau in close cooperation with more than 200 companies from 15 countries has received the type certificate on February 28th 2011. The jet has proven its conformity to the requirements of certification basis by accomplishing a program of certification tests.

Antonov has done a great job on certification of An-158. The jet has received certificates of compliance with the aviation regulations AR-25, harmonized with the American regulations FAR-25 and European regulations CS-25, from IAC and State Aviation Authority of Ukraine.

The certificate of Aviation Register of Interstate Aviation Committee (AR IAC) was presented to President - Chief Designer of Antonov D.S.Keeva by the Chairman of IAC Tatyana Grigoryevna Anodina and the certificate of State Aviation Authority of Ukraine was handed to Mr. Keeva by the president of this organization A.A.Kolesnik.

T.G.Anodina said: "The jet is certified according to IAC certification system approved by 64 countries. Our airworthiness standards are fully harmonized with the American and European requirements, this fact is very important for the jet's export potential. An-158 meets the most severe requirements to regional jets, the highest demands on noise level and ecological compatibility. During testing of An-158 the jet has confirmed its capability of working in different conditions, for example, in a loaded airport, in the conditions of highland. The jet is capable of carrying out a landing according to the requirements of IIIA ICAO. I am sure that An-158 will successfully compete in the market".

The ceremony of certificate presentation has been attended by the Prime Minister of Ukraine N.Y.Azarov. During his speech he admitted that "the enterprise is developing in terms of science and modernization. We'll do our best to continue this process. Our jets are expected on domestic and foreign markets."

The regional jet An-158 is certified for carrying 99 passengers for 2500 km and 86 passengers for 3100 km. 12 variants of one-class and two-class configuration with the number of seats varying from 82 to 99 and the level of comfort similar to the long-haul aircraft has passed the certification to meet different needs of the customers. There is also a wide range of offered optional equipment.

An-158 has carried out 79 flights with an overall duration of 147 hours according to the program of certification tests. Among the accomplished tests are: test with high angles of attack, landing test according to the requirements of IIIA, takeoff and landing characteristics testing, noise level testing (environmental aircraft noise and noise inside the fuselage), stability and controllability testing, emergency escape test.

Besides the flight test program, a lot of ground testing has been carried out, for example fire protection system test, electrical generating system and lighting facilities test, water system test, air conditioning system test, oxygen dispensing equipment test, flight and navigation equipment test, automatic flight control equipment test, etc. Some tests have been carried out using Engineering-piloting stand, for example landing test according to the requirements of IIIA.

66 analytical evidential documents have been processed, verifying the jet's conformity to the requirements of Certification basis, based on the results of aircraft testing. 

An-158 is the modification of regional jet An-148. Combination of partners' experience, their know-how and modern technologies makes it one of the world's most high-tech jets.

D.S. Kiva at the presentation of the AN-158, April 20, 2010.

Achievements of aeronautical science are used in almost every system. As president of Antonov D.S.Keeva admits, "this is the family of high-tech competitive jets; they meet all the modern requirements, regulations on safety and ecological compatibility and the requirements of the potential operators. The best guarantee is combination of technological achievements of the world's leading aircraft enterprises taking part in this program and wide experience of Antonov design bureau in development of regional aircraft. "

One of this aircraft's main merits is comfortable saloon. More than 275000 passengers of An-148 have appreciated its comfortable chairs, pleasant microclimate, soft lighting and capacious luggage racks. Eight such jets are in operation at present. The aircraft performs domestic flights in Ukraine, Russia and also international flights. 2 An-148s are delivered to Myanmar.

An-158 incarnates all the best characteristics of An-148-100 and excels it in passenger capacity, volume of luggage compartment and carriage efficiency. Russian leasing company "Ilyushin Finance & Co." is the launch customer of An-158. Many of their clients consider An-158 as a logical continuation of An-148 and plan to acquire both models. First An-158s will be accepted for operation in 2011. Thus carriers will have the whole aircraft family at their disposal.

The passenger cabin of An-158

The costs on crew training and aircraft maintenance are moderate due to high degree of unification. At the same time, different aircraft may be used depending on route workload. An-148-100 with its passenger capacity of 68 - 85 chairs is effective on airlines with moderate workload. An-148 is more profitable on routes with high workload.

At present Antonov and its partners are working on development of new aircraft of the family. Particularly, cargo ramp aircraft is being developed for accomplishment of civil and military transport aviation objectives. It will be capable of carrying civil and military vehicles and cargo in containers or on pallets with overall weight of 13,5 -15 tons.

Alexander Rubtsov at the presentation of the AN-158, April 20, 2010.

CEO of "Ilyushin Finance & Co." A.I.Rubtsov said: "We are studying the aircraft's cargo version very carefully. We like it very much. We find the cargo aircraft interesting, because it has unification with the passenger version by empennage elements, wing and cockpit. I think there will be a good demand on both versions: the military transport version and the commercial one ".

The aircraft of increased comfort named Antonov Business Jet is also under development. It will be able to carry from 8 to 41 passengers. The aircraft's maximum range will be 7000 km. VIPs will have all the things needed for work or a good rest at their disposal on board of ABJ.

The D-436-148 designed and manufactured by Motor Sich

Antonov has started the construction of first experimental An-158 in October 2009. The aircraft has performed its first flight on April 28th 2010. Representatives of partners on this program, airlines and state leaders, including the president of Ukraine V.F.Yanukovich, took part in the events, dedicate to An-158's first flight. The president said: "It is an outstanding event! It is a holiday for all the participants of this program: 34 Ukrainian enterprises, 169 Russian enterprises and 13 partners from different countries. This program is not just profitable; it also shows that Ukraine is a highly developed country ".

The aircraft's flight test program has started the same day. An-158 has successfully performed on several air shows without any serious disbenefit to the certification process. An-158 has debuted on Farnborough air show, one of the world's biggest air shows, on July 16th 2010. "Aviation Week" has noted An-158 as one of the most impressive novelties of the air show and called it the "graceful Ukrainian ".

AN-158 at Farnborough Airshow 2010, July 18, 2010.

An-158 has attracted a great interest of visitors and participants of the air show during its flight and demonstration on a flying line. Another significant event in the An-158 program took place on July 20th. A contract with the Russian leasing company "Ilyushin Finance & Co." on delivery of 20 jets has been signed. According to CEO of IFC A.I.Rubtsov, "An-158 has a great future. At present we have an order on 10 jets and we plan to increase this number to 60 in the course of the year".

Presentation of An-158 was the main event of the 5th international exhibition "Aerospace Technologies, modern materials and Equipment" in Kazan in August 2010.

The presentation of the AN-158 in Kazan

After studying An-158 and learning the main areas of Antonov's activity, the Prime Minister of Tatarstan I.S. Khalikov said: "Antonov is one of a few enterprises capable of developing production, which is really competitive on the world market. I will recommend the airlines to study An-158".

An-158 has successfully completed certification testing in January 2011. Special expedition for the purpose of testing the next-generation regional jet An-158 in the conditions of highland took place in February 2011. The flights have been performed in Iran from airfields located at the height of 2100 meters above sea level. The purpose of these tests was the expansion of An-148 and An-158 operation conditions. Experts from State Aviation Authority of Ukraine, FSUE GosNII GA and Aeronavigatsiya (Russia) took part in the expedition besides the Antonov's specialists.

The manufacture of An-158 is being started on Antonov's serial factory. It is planned to deliver 100 jets by 2020.

Photo: GP Antonov, R. Gusarov, V. Karnozov