It is obvious that at present the creation of new aircraft models is impossible without partnership with foreign companies. Any project of the Russian civil aircraft, thus, becomes international and requires the interaction not only of industrial partners, but also of certification authorities.
On November 29, 2007, Alexey Fedorov, President of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), said in an interview to Aviasoyuz magazine: "We are convinced that Russia and the European Union should become strategic partners in mutual technological exchange and the most effective unification of the huge intellectual reserve and potential, the synergistic effect of the use of which will allow to achieve industrial and technological superiority in the world." At the same time, the cooperation of partners does not exclude the presence of own interests of each of the participants. Determining the role of Russian companies in such a Union and the distribution of shares in the revenues from cooperation in the Russian and international markets remains an important issue in the organization of cooperation with European partners. As might be expected, genuine equality in cooperation with European partners has to be fought for.
The most important type of "weapon" of the struggle for the distribution of shares of the international aviation market is the certification of aircraft types. In recent years, the Russian Aviation Register of the International aviation Committee (IAC AR) has certified and, thus, allowed for operation in the CIS countries almost all types of aircraft of Boeing, Airbus and several others. The oncoming flow of Russian aircraft certified by American and European certification bodies is much more scarce. The process of certification of Russian aircraft coming with great difficulty and last for years. Features of the passage of such processes, causes and effects can be traced to the example of certification in Europe amphibious aircraft Be-200.
On November 6, 2008, the European aviation safety agency (EASA) issued a Declaration of compliance of the D-436TP engine with European certification requirements and environmental protection requirements for installation on Be-200ES-E and Be-200E aircraft. Earlier EASA confirmed the compliance of aircraft characteristics with the noise requirements.
On November 19, 2008 in Taganrog scheduled meeting was held to consider the promotion of validation/certification projects in EASA amphibious aircraft Be-200ES-E and Be-200E, with the participation of the General Director of the IAC A.V. Donchenko and the head of the EASA group of experts Henry Wildegans. The meeting confirmed the possibility of completing the process of transfer and approval by the European Agency of certification documentation in March 2009.
Thus, Beriev Aircraft Company after Tupolev company came close to the time of obtaining the European type certificate for its products. Simultaneously with the Be-200, European certifiers are studying the certification documentation for Russian Be-103, Superjet 100 and other aircraft.
The validation/certification processes in EASA of Be-200ES-E and Be-200E amphibious aircraft are not limited to specific aircraft types, but have features that contribute to the expansion of cooperation between Russia and Europe in the aviation industry. These technical and organizational features were laid down by the heads of Irkut (currently the heads of UAC) and Beriev Aircraft Company, taking into account the history of the development of relations between Russia and the United States in the field of certification.
As you know, in the early 90-ies in the USSR acted "Uniform airworthiness standards" (ENG), in its structure and presentation of the requirements are significantly different from those used in the United States and Europe. Given that there were only three main certification systems in the world - American, pan-European (built on the same principles and very slightly different from the American) and Soviet, the most logical step to join the single world system was the harmonization of the norms of Russia and most countries that arose in the place of the USSR, in accordance with American norms.
The work of 20 joint groups of Russian and American specialists over several years using the process of "shadow" certification of Il-96T and Il-103 aircraft led to the signing of an Agreement between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the United States of America on improving flight safety. As a result of joint work in 1994, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), to which 12 States parties to the Minsk Agreement on civil aviation and on the use of airspace in 1992, delegated the rights and responsibilities of the certifying body, adopted new certification standards, called " Aviation regulations". They conforming to the American norms regarding structure and level of requirements, nevertheless, contain the differences connected with preservation of continuity with the previous domestic experience which is based on unique operating conditions in our countries. The Russian-American Agreement and the procedures for validation of Russian aircraft type certificates developed in accordance with it allowed to obtain type certificates for such aircraft as Il-96T, Il-103, Be-103 in the United States.
However, the agreed procedures were not complete. They apply only to Russian aircraft whose engines and equipment have been certified in the United States. These engines and equipment were installed on the Il-96T and Il-103, used to compare American standards and methods of compliance with the Russian in the process of "shadow" certification. As a result, the Russian documentation with airworthiness requirements for engines and equipment has not been "verified" with Western standards and has not been corrected like the normative documentation containing the requirements for the aircraft (AR-23, AR-25).
In fact, the adoption in Russia of airworthiness standards, agreed with Western standards only for aircraft in General, has created regulatory discriminatory measures against domestic developers and manufacturers of engines and equipment, including when installed on Russian civil aircraft. Practice clearly confirms this. Rolls-Royce engines are installed on the EASA-certified Tu-204SE-120 aircraft, and the promising Russian SSJ and, it seems, MS-21 aircraft rely exclusively on foreign equipment and engines (in the case of SSJ, however, the participation of the Russian side is provided).
Taking into account that all new Russian civil aircraft are intended by their creators for delivery not only to the domestic market, but mainly (Superjet 100) - to foreign markets, the Russian aviation industry is turning into a developer and manufacturer of flying "platforms" for the installation of foreign engines and equipment.
First of all, this situation is not economically advantageous. Budget financing at the stage of aircraft development largely goes to foreign developers of engines and equipment. When supplying aircraft to foreign airlines, Russian manufacturers will get no more than 20% of the sale value of the aircraft. Moreover, when delivering aircraft to the domestic market, the money earned by Russian airlines in the country will largely be paid to foreign companies.
Deprived of cash flows from the sphere of civil aviation, Russian companies that create engines and equipment have to rely on the support of customers of military aviation, which creates an additional burden on the budget to maintain the necessary resources for the defense of the country.
An indirect sign that such a distribution of work between Russian and foreign companies in the field of creating Russian civil aircraft in our country at some stage of development was unofficially adopted, are the structures created in recent years, associations of companies: UAC and separate associations of engine and instrument makers. UAC unites the creators of civil aircraft, focusing on the supply of engines and equipment, mainly from abroad.
And just a few years ago, during the rapid development of relations with the European aviation industry, formed on the basis of the EADS - Irkut agreements, an equal partnership between the parties was assumed. The Be-200 amphibious aircraft was chosen as a pilot project of such cooperation, promoted jointly by the Russian and European sides. The parties established a joint venture and defined organizational schemes. AR IAC and EASA have jointly developed and adopted special Working procedures for cross-validation / certification, providing for the use of processes similar to "shadow" certification, allowing to complete the harmonization of Russian airworthiness standards with European standards in terms of engines and equipment.
Unlike other Russian projects declared for certification in EASA, the Be-200 amphibious aircraft is presented in two versions. Applications to EASA have been issued:
on the fire-fighting version of the be-200ES-E amphibious aircraft with an English cabin with an integrated set of modern electronic equipment of domestic production;
on multi-purpose amphibious aircraft Be-200E with equipment of foreign production.
On both presented types of amphibious aircraft the engine of the Russian-Ukrainian production D-436TP is established.
The presentation of the aircraft in two versions, on the one hand, expands the opportunities for potential customers to choose equipment manufacturers and, thus, promotes the aircraft to the domestic and foreign markets.
On the other hand, Russian creators of engines and aircraft equipment remain full partners of the creators of aircraft for deliveries to the Russian market and, having passed together with the aircraft through the European certification process, will additionally receive prospects for promoting their products to foreign markets.
The integrated approach to the presentation of the Russian aircraft for certification in General fully meets the task set by the country's leadership to support domestic manufacturers. Obtaining a Declaration of conformity for the D-436TP engine is the first major success on the way of EASA recognition of compliance of domestic (CIS) engine products with European airworthiness requirements.
With regard to electronic equipment, the process of European certification of the be-200CHS-E amphibious aircraft revealed, first of all, the backlog of the Russian regulatory framework for ensuring airworthiness confirmation, methods and equipment for testing complex integrated systems using software and mathematics to perform critical functions, such as the electronic remote control system of the aircraft. Proof of compliance of electronic equipment of domestic production with European standards requires considerable effort, but here you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Intensive joint work of AR IAC experts, aircraft and equipment developers fills the gap in establishing trust between the European and Russian sides to ensure airworthiness in this area.
The difficulties of certification of Russian aircraft in EASA, in particular, due to the fact that in accordance with the internal procedures of EASA certification of a particular type of aircraft indirectly takes into account the certification of organizational processes of its creation. The most important feature of the European certification system of aircraft created by" their " European companies is a prerequisite for the applicant to obtain a certificate of type of aircraft - the presence of EASA approval of the applicant's design organization. European certification authorities rightly believe that no technological improvements, modern equipment, materials will be able to provide the necessary quality of the created samples of aviation equipment without the introduction of formalized methods and procedures for the aviation equipment design, agreed with the certification authorities.
A similar requirement for a certificate for the right to design aviation equipment is imposed on the design organization in Russia. However, as in the case of engines and avionics, text and structure of the Russian regulatory requirements for the approval of the design organization differ significantly from the relevant EASA documents.
In order to overcome differences in the organization of designt processes, the practical accumulation of European experience in this area, to increase the degree of confidence in the products of Russian companies from the European certification bodies and operators, in accordance with the agreement between EADS and JSC "Irkut" in Toulouse (France), unique design organization BISP (Beriev Irkut Seaplane) was established, that was owned by Russian companies. Structurally, BISP is a single geographically distributed design organization with units located in France, Russia and Ukraine. The principles of operation of the BISP meet the EASA design organizations requirements. EASA is currently conducting an audit of the BISP in the process of approval of the design organization DOA for compliance with the requirements of IR-21 Subpart J.
Established specifically for the implementation of the Be-200E project, BISP is currently expanding its scope of activities. Contracts have already been signed for certification support of design work between BISP and Airbus in the joint project of converting passenger aircraft A320/321 in cargo, as well as between BISP and Antonov Company in the An-148 project. In the stage of preparation for signing is the contract between BISP and Progress Company.
The receipt of EASA DOA approval by the BISP design organization can be used by the UAC as a basic document for the organization of the National aviation center in Zhukovsky in Russia. The experience of interaction of specialists of BERIEV Aircraft Company, Airbus, Progress Company with experts of EASA and AR IAC in the framework of a geographically distributed unified design organization will bring tangible benefits in the process of creating the MS-21 aircraft and other civil aviation projects, including participation in international projects of the A350 type. Beriev Aircraft Company is being audited by EASA as the design office of BISP. Once approved, the company will be able to participate in joint projects as a European design organization.
Unfortunately, recently the attention of the UAC leadership to the process of validation/certification of Be-200ES-E and Be-200E amphibious aircraft as a pilot project for the development of forms of cooperation with the European aviation industry and harmonization of airworthiness standards has significantly decreased. Responsibility for financing of all processes is assigned to Beriev Aircraft Company, which, of course, one company can not afford.
It would be desirable that the Russian aviation industry is not limited in the field of civil aviation only the manufacture of fuselages for foreign engines, systems and equipment.