Antonov An-2
- Antonov
- Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze
The Antonov An-2 ( NATO code name Colt ) is a STOL multi-purpose aircraft with a wingspan of 18.175 m, the largest single-engine biplane one in use in the world. The An-2 was developed after the Second World War in the USSR and is used both for civilian and military use to this day. Due to the engine with 1,000 hp and the favorable aerodynamics the An-2 requires only extremely short takeoff and landing roll distances; The chassis allows landing and takeoff at all appropriate for aircraft surfaces.
Development
The An-2 was commissioned by the then Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in order. She was the first motorized draft of the designer Oleg Antonov, who until then deals with the construction of gliders and fighter planes and had just opened at the time of his own OKB.
The prototype of the An-2 flew equipped with a motor ASch -21, on August 31, 1947 for the first time. Pilot was N. P. Volodin. A second prototype was the engine Shvetsov ASch - 62, which was maintained for production. Series production took place from October 1948 Aircraft Factory No. 473 in Kiev Swiatoschino. She ran to about 1959, and consisted of 5,450 machines. By 1960, production from the Soviet Union was transferred to Poland, where incurred in PZL Mielec under the name WSK An-2 again 11,950 pieces. The products manufactured in Poland An-2 can be identified by the fiberglass panels for the two mounted under the fuselage antennas of the radio altimeter RW -UM and at the round inlet openings for the ventilation system under the upper wing. From the 60th series, the span of the horizontal tail of 6.6 m was increased to 7.2 m. The An-2 was equipped during their construction period with different propellers. Was this initially crescent-shaped W - 509A with a diameter of 3.60 m, then just wood and in later versions metal propellers were used by the type AW -2 with 3.35 m.
Even in China started from 1957 as Fongsu -2 or Yunshuji -5 ( Y -5) the license production of the An -2. In Nanchang ( until 1968 ) and Harbin, from 1970 also in Shijiazhuang total of 938 aircraft were produced. They are equipped with a ASch - 62IR license motor HS-5. North Korea bought 160 pieces.
It to 1992 about 18,000 An-2 were built. The An-2 was delivered to all the Warsaw Pact countries, including the GDR, which began 74 copies at GST, NVA and Inter flight. Other users are / were Afghanistan, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Cuba, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Sudan and Tunisia.
Current situation
Numerous specimens of the An-2 are still in airworthy condition, are considered generally safe and result in either individual or scenic flights by. Even in regular service between small places, the An-2 is still in use, such as between Sylt and Wyk.
The Institute for Aerospace Research " S. A. Chaplygin " ( SibNIA ) in Novosibirsk tested in February 2012, an An-2, in which the radial engine had been replaced by a turboprop engine type Honeywell TPE331 - 12am, which transmits its power to a five-blade propeller HC - B5MP of Hartzell. According to the pilot and the control of the aircraft has been facilitated in addition to improved performance. The main motivation for this conversion are expected savings in operating costs.
Already in the 1970s there was with the Antonov An - 3 is an An-2 with turboprop engine.
Technical structure
The fuselage of the An-2 is made of all-metal semi- monocoque construction and in the area of the cab has a rectangular cross -section, the back oval expires at the bow and stern. The elevators of the abgestrebten normal tail unit are covered with fabric.
Due to the reduced span of the lower support surfaces 14,24 of the m -2 will be referred to as sesquiplane. The wings are zweiholmig and planked from the leading edge to the first spar with metal, otherwise covered with linen cloth. They are waterproof impregnated by paint and form through two vertical I-beams and a double cross bracing a structural composite. Both wings have as buoyancy aids via electrically operated landing flaps and automatic slats and 20 ° lowered aileron, which allow the An-2 very short take-off and landing roll distances of only about 150 to 180 m.
The nichteinziehbare robust wide-track chassis allowing for the use of unpaved runways. Optionally, it can also be equipped with floats or skids.
The 736 kW (1000 hp) radial engine type ASch -62 IR with a Four Leaf Verstellluftschraube of type AW -2 consumes about 180 gallons of fuel and two to three liters of oil per hour. The fuel supply is a maximum of 1200 liters and is carried in six tanks in the upper wing.
Versions
Specifications
Others
The nickname of the An-2 with the NVA were " Anna ", " Aunt Anna " or " box kite ". The An-2 is the only aircraft of the East German Air Force, which was in service from its inception in 1956 until its dissolution in 1990. The big engine and its robustness have nicknamed her " air tractor " introduced.
In agricultural aviation of the Soviet Union, the aircraft (Russian " Кукурузник " of " Кукуруза " - maize) was temporarily nicknamed " Kukurusnik ". This reflects the massive use of the aircraft in the Soviet Union of the 1960s, with the implementation of Khrushchev's agricultural plans, which provided for the extensive cultivation of maize during intensive use of agricultural machinery.