Photos from the personal collection of Konstantinos Panitsidis

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The flying test bed for the SaM146 engine.
Snecma has chosen the Gromov Research Institute (LII Gromov) for the development of a flying test bed and the performance of flight test campaigns for the SaM146 propulsion system.

The SaM146 propulsion system is developed by PowerJet, a joint-company of Snecma and NPO Saturn. Delivering 14.000 to 17.500 pounds of thrust, the SaM146 was selected in April 2003 by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company to power the Superjet 100 aircraft.

LII Gromov provides an Ilyshin 76 test bed, with one of its four engines being replaced by SaM146 propulsion system. LII Gromov also provides a dedicated crew for the performance of two series of tests campaigns in Zhukovski near Moscow, and in Istres, in southern France, at one of Snecma's dedicated flight test centers.

Flight test on the IL-76 test bed aircraft include airborne performance assessments, operability test, an exploration of the flight envelope, as well as establishing the in-flight restart envelope. 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

PHOTOS  Turbofan engine SaM146