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Old 19-10-2016, 16:28   #1
KnutW
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Oslo
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Default Sukhoi Superjet

Sitting in the «Pier Zero» elevated restaurant at Helsinki with a very large prawn sandwich and (also quite large) beer having just flown in from Warsaw on the SSJ, and watching Finnair’s afternoon Asia-rush hour, is the very nice backdrop for this report.
It is actually quite fascinating to see the afternoon Asia-rush out of Helsinki. The city itself has only around 575.000 people, but the airport handles 16 million passengers per year, around 35% of them in transit. During half an hour, a total of nine widebody jets leave, eight Finnair 330/350 (4+4) and one JAL B787. At the busiest time I counted a total of nine aircraft at holding, four of them widebody. Well done Finnair!


Anyway, back to the Sukhoi Superjet, or SSJ.
Representing an interesting change to your everyday booooring 737/320-family, the SSJ as well as the CS100, is a most welcome newcomer. So far only two of each type are operated by airlines in Europe. (Aeroflot doesn’t count as European in this context) As I have previously mentioned, I more or less stumbled across the Finnair flight being operated by CityJet. Flying from Warsaw to Helsinki was by far easier and cheaper than having to obtain a Russian Visa or going to Mexico, although it could have been funny to fly aboard a Russian jet into USA..!
During this report I will frequently compare the SSJ to the CS100. Fair or not, they are both new (well, the SSJ actually had its maiden flight in 2008 and has been in service for five years) in European operations, and I flew the CS100 only two weeks ago so it’s still fairly fresh in my mind. The two planes also look quite similar, same style nose with integrated cockpit windows, brings back memories of Caravelles and Comets for those of us old enough to remember them.

The SSJ is a bit smaller than the CS100, roughly 80% the size, apart from cabin width which is just 5 cms less. Weight wise it is about 10 tons less round bout and the range is just over 3000 kms compared to 5000 for the CS100.

The cabin is bright and light, CityJet has chosen a light grey panel and dark grey seats, very stylish and nice. Cabin height is 212 cms, just the same as CS100, 10 cms more than Embraer 190 and 27 cms more than the CRJ-series.
Seating arrangement is 2+3, same as the CS100, but all the seats are the same width. (The CS100 has a slightly wider middle seat.) The luggage racks are quite large and spacious, the inevitable drawback is a rather low ceiling/headroom over the seats, only 38 cms between the top of your seatback and the ceiling if you got the window seat on the right (3 seats) side. The windows are rather small, much smaller than the CS100. They are placed a bit further down on the fuselage than normal, giving a good view of the ground when airborne, but you have to bend down a bit to look out when the plane is on the ground. I suppose that’s only a nuisance for us aviation enthusiasts trying to keep an eye on things outside. The top part of the window is also cut by the sun shades protruding about 5 cms down from their mount.

The CityJet seats are much more comfortable and further apart than on Swiss CS100. Even I, measuring 195 cms, can easily stretch my legs! As for seating comfort the SSJ tops everything in this segment, you’ll have to get an exit row or move up to Economy Plus/Comfort on a larger airliner to match it. Having said that, the seat table is miniscule, about the size of an A4 paper. Well suited for today’s in-flight service standards? As opposed to the CS100 which had a rather elegant, albeit very small, info screen over each row, there is no such thing on the Sukhoi. Check Flightradar24.com history after landing.

The cabin and aircraft is very quiet until start-up, none of the whiiiining, brrrrrming and cloncking you have on the CS100, not to mention Airbus. After start the engines are emitting only a low pitch purr, not the big fan rumble you get on most other aircraft. Taxiing is also fairly quiet. CityJet is the only airline authorised to use reduced power for take-off (The Russians and Mexicans use TO/GA i.e. full throttle) and acceleration is nothing out of the ordinary. It takes us just over 30 seconds and 1500 metres of runway to reach rotation/lift-off speed of 132 KTS / 245 km/h. The climb rate is quite normal, four minutes to 10.000 feet, ten minutes to 25.000. The climb rate decrease notably after 30.000 feet and it takes us another ten minutes to reach a rather impressive cruising altitude of 39.000 feet. Against a 30 KTS headwind we are doing 440 KTS / 815 km/h. Both the SSJ and CS100 cruise at M0.78.

Compared to the CS100 which boasts 1463 metres for take-off at max weight, the SSJ needs 1731 according to the net. The SSJ will, as the CS100, be certified for operations into London City which has 1508 metres for take-off and 1411 for landing. (The landing threshold is set a bit in from the runway end)

The SSJ is more quiet than the CS100 which was a bit disappointing noise wise for a brand new aircraft. Albeit the noise increases at speed, the SSJ stays more quiet than the CS100 throughout every phase of the flight. There is not much difference in the noise level in the front and back of the cabin. The aft toilet is, as on the CS100, big, well-lit and spacious. The Russians have made a rather clever rack on top of the toilet bowl, very useful if you bring a toilet bag and/or need to change a baby nappy. Unfortunately the amenities are also Russian, making it rather tricky to use the sink and taps. The opening for pulling out paper towels is way too small and the waste disposal flap is also very small. Strange that a western airline hasn’t amended this to something a bit more practical. Not a big deal, but these small details just make life so much easier.

We descend with a rate of 3000 feet/min from 39.000 to 10.000 feet without any ear-popping whatsoever. The pressurasation systems are clearly up to their job. The approach is very smooth indeed, but we have the most fantastic autumn weather with no clouds, unlimited visibility and hardly any wind. Final approach speed is normally around 140 KTS / 260 km/h, obviously varying with weight, flap settings and available runway length. There is a very noticeable drop in airspeed when the gear comes down, power has to be increased quite a bit.

The SSJ is rather thirsty. Fuel flow is close to one ton per hour per engine. Our flight, 1:25 airborne and 1:45 block, consumed 2.7 tons or 3500 litres, nearly twice as much per passenger as a (full) 737-800. The CS100 use about 1.6 -1.7 tons per hour.
The captain said “It’s a brilliant plane with fantastic aerodynamics. But the Russian aircraft constructors think all pilots are stupid, so the plane’s systems doesn’t allow us to do anything wrong in here! Probably the best wings I’ve ever come across, they just keep flying..!” (I did not mention that sometimes Russian aircraft constructors have a valid point.) The wing is also amongst the only modern wing not to feature any kind of winglet or other tip adjustments. CityJet will however add winglets to their SSJ fleet.

So, all in all, the SSJ is a very pleasant experience. In my very private opinion on medium sized planes, it ranks only second behind the Embraer 190. As long as I’m sitting by the emergency exit in the 190 with plenty of legroom. If not I’m tempted to rank it first. Depends on the airline, seating and so on I suppose. Third is the CS100, followed by the whole family of Airbus narrowbodies and Boeing 737s. Last comes the CRJ-family which is actually only good looking. Viewed from the outside.

/Knut
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Last edited by KnutW; 20-10-2016 at 11:48. Reason: Editotrial
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