MAI and Tupolev engineers began developing the Tu-214 for two pilots

Specialists from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) and JSC Tupolev have begun work on changing the control system of the Tu-214 passenger aircraft. The main goal of the upgrade is to switch to a two—person crew instead of three. This was reported on October 13 in the university's press service.

The engineers plan to reduce the workload on the pilots and exclude the flight engineer from the crew. As explained in MAI, this solution is necessary to increase the commercial attractiveness of the medium-haul liner.

"Specialists have already started analyzing the complex of on-board equipment and identified those facilities that need to be optimized or replaced. At the same time, they strive to ensure that such optimization can be carried out with minimal costs for the performance of work and subsequent certification procedures," the university's website says.

In addition to technical changes, experts will consider the creation of a stand for ground and flight tests of upgraded equipment. The solution development program will last until the end of October 2026. Based on its results, the management of MAI and JSC Tupolev will assess how the proposed changes will affect the economic performance of the Tu-214 project.

The Tu-214 is a Russian narrow-body twin-engine aircraft. The liner is capable of transporting passengers up to 4.5 thousand km away.

Take-off course: four production MC-21s will go on flight tests before the end of the year

How Irkutsk Aircraft Factory accelerates aircraft production

Anton Alikhanov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, announced on June 4 that 11 import-substituted Tu-214 aircraft had been contracted for commercial operators. The Minister also noted that a program for the supply of special versions of the aircraft is being implemented. According to him, this is a priority task.