New Russian jet heralds carbon manufacturing shake-up

Russia's new jetliner, which conducted its maiden flight on Sunday, may have a hard time challenging the sales duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, but it does point the way to radical changes in how they could be building jets in the future. The MS-21, a new single aisle airliner produced by Russia's United Aircraft Corporation, is the first passenger plane borne aloft by lightweight carbon-composite wings built without a costly pressurized oven called an autoclave. The manufacturing process provides a test for a technology already being assessed by Western rivals, who are looking for cheaper and faster ways to build some of their aircraft with composites, according to aerospace executives and suppliers. Even as it sets up the world's largest autoclaves to make wings for its giant 777X, Boeing is exploring alternatives for its "New Midsize Airplane" (NMA), in the middle of the market between its big wide-body jets and best-selling 737. "There's a good chance part of the NMA will be built without autoclaves," a person familiar with the project said.<br/>