A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Comlux the Aviation Group is presenting this week at MEBAA 2018 an EASA-certified, executive-configured Sukhoi Superjet, marking the model’s debut appearance at the biennial event. Delivered last year to Kazakhstan’s Kazakhmys Corporation, the cabin outfitting was performed at Comlux Completion in the U.S., and it’s now operated by Comlux Kazakhstan.
“Doing a Russian plane in America to be certified by EASA, it’s quite a complex exercise,” Richard Gaona, executive chairman and CEO of Comlux said of the completion project. “It shows our ability to work on any plane in any condition.”
The 19-passenger interior, done in a muted gray palette, is outfitted with a two-zone cabin. The forward lounge has a four-place seating area and flanking two-place club arrangement with wide, comfortable seats; the rear business class cabin has a three across (two-one) configuration, with all seats berthable. The cabin retains the airliner version's overhead luggage storage compartments. The SuperJet has fly-by-wire flight controls and a modern flight deck.&nbsp;
The owner worked with Comlux (Static 13/14) on the interior design, visiting Comlux Completion to choose materials, review designs, and approve work in progress.
“The jet business is very well developed in Kazakhstan, so people know business jets and fly a lot,” Alexandr Kachurin, CEO of Airline Comlux-KZ, said through an interpreter. “In comparison with Gulfstreams and Embraers—all the narrow ones—this is a widebody. It’s very similar to Airbus, but it provides this comfort for less than an Airbus.”
Soundproofing installed during the completion brings the cabin noise level down to about 57 dB from 62 dB, providing a much quieter cabin than a standard Superjet. With a range of some 4,400 km (2,375 nm), the Superjet doesn’t have the legs of large-cabin business jets or competing corporate airliners, but provides plenty of comfort and capability for shorter-range missions. The jet is&nbsp;currently&nbsp;used for corporate transportation and charter&nbsp;and flies 15 to 25 hours per month, according to Comlux. 
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<div style="margin-bottom:5px;"><img alt="Sukhoi Superjet cockpit" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="784f3b24-38f4-4b91-bb34-7965cd6ea459" src="/sites/default/files/5dwm2028.jpg" width="2100" height="1400" loading="lazy"></div>
<figcaption style="font-size:1.5rem;line-height:1.2;font-style:italic;">An instrument panel featuring seven display screens and a pair of sidesticks are just some of the details visible in this image of a Sukhoi Superjet‘s cockpit. </figcaption>
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Four Sukhoi Superjets in VIP configuration are currently in operation—two in Kazakhstan and two in Russia—but this is the only one with an interior from a Western completion facility. (The other Kazakhstan-based Superjet is owned by the country’s National Security Committee, according to Comlux.)
Now offered for sale through Comlux, this SuperJet is registered in Kazakhstan, but with its EASA certification could be registered in Europe.
Comlux Kazakhstan, celebrating its tenth anniversary, offers management, charter, crew training, and “we are absolutely developed in terms of certified line maintenance,” Kachurin said. With EASA Part 145 approval for work on Embraer&nbsp;and Bombardier Challenger and Global models, the company is seeking authorization for Airbus platforms. The company has facilities in Almaty and Astana&nbsp;and a large hangar at each location.

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