Week of March 10, 1997
KATO'S First TU-204 Flown
photo by Sergey Sergeyev (095) 457-9424 The Tu-204-120 serialled RA64027 - the first serial-built Rolls-Royce-powered Tu-204 being the first airframe for Egypt's Kato Aromatic - made its first flight from the Ulianovsk-based Aviastar factory on 6 March. Despite the acute cash shortage at Aviastar and Tupolev in late 1996 and an almost 10-month delay with governmental financial guarantees for the foreign investor issued only on 6 January, the program lacks behind the initial schedule by only three weeks (the RA64027 had to be flown on 15 February).
 photo by Sergey Sergeyev (095) 457-9424 In a exclusive interview with AeroWorldNet on 7 March, Dr. Ibrahim Kamel, chairman of Kato Aromatic, said, "I am delighted to know that we now have our first aircraft flying." Dr. Kamel added that the aircraft number 27 will be used to finish certification trials aimed at obtaining the Russian certificate. "Hopefully, the Russian certificate of type will be obtained in April," he said.
Speaking about the significance of the RA64027 first flight, Dr. Kamel said, "The Tu-204-120 project was repeatedly delayed and many people thought it would not ever see the light of day. But it has now seen the light of day." According to him, the "new life" for the project started in March last year, when Kato Aromatic placed a firm order for 30 airframes with another 170 on option. Kato Aromatic has ambitious plans to put the Tu-204-120 in service "initially in Russia and CIS, then in China and the Middle East, then in Europe and the USA." In March the company will make two presentations of the Tu-204 - one in Russia and one in Europe. However, Dr. Kamel said, Kato Aromatic will not launch an active marketing campaign unless the plane is certified. Upon receiving the Russian certificate, Dr. Kamel said, the aircraft will undergo certification to JAR and then to FAR. "It is my dream that Russian-made airliners will be flying in all corners of the world," he says. At the same time, Dr. Kamel noted that in a sense the Tu-204 "is not a Russian any more, but a part of international business." He explains that together with Russia's Tupolev design bureau, the Aviastar factory and Aviaexport agency, many foreign structures participate in the project, including Kato Aromatic and Bank of Cairo (Egypt), Citibank and Rockwell Collins (the USA), Rolls-Royce (the UK). Touching on the theme of employing his Tu-204s, Dr. Kamel stated that Volga-Dnepr and two other Russian operators have expressed willingness to accept the Tu-204 in cargo version, whereas Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines and Transaero are in the list of potential clients for passenger Tu-204s. The aircraft priced at US $36 million will be available in operating lease at US $310,000 a month. Speaking about plans for the future, Dr. Ibrahim Kamel announced his intention to establish a new charter operator, Air Cairo, with initial capital of Egyptian Pound 100 m. The new company, which will be registered in Egypt, may become the first foreign user for the Tu-204-120.
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The major part of the certification process on the Rolls-Royce-powered
Tu-204 has already been covered using the RA64006 development prototype.
First flown back in 1992, the prototype differs from serial-built airframes
in the design of pylons, aerodynamics and avionics. Oleg Alasheev, deputy
General Designer at Tupolev for civil programs, explains, "The development
aircraft is not of 'typical construction' and to complete the certification
process we need a plane with everything made properly."
