This car had many opponents in the first post-war years. The An-2 plane seemed outdated even then, the high aviation authorities had their own idea of ​​what modern equipment should look like. The biplane with a “blunt” nose and braces seemed to be a relic of the pre-war past, it reminded of plywood U-2, and the insulting nickname “corncracker” “stuck” to it immediately (it teased a small training airplane that had been fighting for all of its difficult four years at the front). Who knew that this plain aircraft would outlive its critics, and for a long time ...
Antonov idea
Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov was engaged in the development of air vehicles. This topic went to him on the basis of exclusion. During the war, attackers, bombers and fighters were concerned about designers who had rich experience in creating military equipment, the basis of civil aviation was licensed PS-84 (they were Li-2, documentation and equipment for their production were purchased in the United States in the thirties). Antonov, a young man (a little over 30), was engaged in airborne gliders of different carrying capacities. A year before the war, he was offered a prototype of the An-2 aircraft. The technical characteristics did not arouse the interest of the management, the biplane seemed slow and inconsistent. Oleg Konstantinovich returned to the design of amphibious assault, but did not forget about his idea.
Implementation
In 1945, the USSR government realized the progressiveness of agri-processing carried out by air tools. Pollination and chemical processing with the help of aviation was a common thing in the USA, and all the advanced technologies in the conditions of the post-war devastation were urgently needed, there was a food crisis in the country. In addition, a small airplane capable of carrying a dozen and a half passengers or a ton or two of cargo was needed by mail and almost all sectors of the economy, especially for servicing remote areas. The basic requirements for the new car were formulated in the terms of reference: it should take off from unprepared sites, be able to operate in a wide climatic range. Its maintenance should not require special technologies. And, of course, reliability and ease of management should take place. An-2 aircraft fully met all these requirements, the first copy of which took off from the Novosibirsk test field in 1947. The idea of ​​seven years ago has found application.
Made in USSR
For five years, the airplane was produced in relatively small (at least for the USSR) quantities, only a few hundred pieces. After the death of the “father of the peoples,” N. S. Khrushchev, who led the party and the country, launched the increase in the output of this machine. The An-2 airplane was fully in line with the concept of universal chemicalization and agricultural development, which was faced with the ambitious task of “catching up and overtaking” the main world competitor of the USSR - the USA. The production base was originally the Kiev aircraft plant No. 437. An agricultural specialized modification with an index of "M" was also built in the city of Dolgoprudny. To the surprise of O.K. Antonov, passenger transportation became almost the main purpose of the An-2. The technical characteristics of the aircraft did not imply comfort in flight, and the cargo "clutter" due to the low "ceiling" is not an obstacle. The salon was equipped in the simplest way; rather narrow benches were placed along the sides. The designer was commenting on this popularity of his brainchild quite caustically, calling it a "tin can with wings." Nevertheless, the photo of the An-2 with aeroflot “wings”, sometimes with skis near the Chukchi yurts, then against the backdrop of high mountain pastures, or simply on a rural field, were often found in the Soviet press of those years. The price of the ticket was modest, sometimes it was possible to fly to a neighboring district center for three rubles, comfort was also not exacting, but people spoke very warmly about Annushka.
Made in ...
Until 1963, the An-2 was exclusively a Soviet aircraft. In 1958, the NDP handed over the documentation for its production as part of socialist international cooperation, and the production by Soviet factories began to be phased out. The Polish company PZL-Mielec delivered “on the wing” almost 12 thousand biplanes, which were mainly purchased by the Soviet Union (more than 10 thousand). Terms of delivery to the “historical homeland” were agreed in advance, and the remaining devices were used in socialist countries and other regions of the planet, where this unique aircraft was also rated.
Antonov Design Bureau machines were recognized in China. They mass-produce under the license of An-24 (which received the index Y-7) and An-2 (Y-5). The total number of Annushka copies made in the world exceeded eighteen thousand; in 2012, 2300 of them were in technically sound condition. According to the Guinness book, the An-2 airplane is a long-lived record holder, it has been produced for over six decades.
At the helm of the Annushka
All pilots with experience in piloting this biplane (by the way, the largest) note its unique “volatility”. The large relative area of ​​the bearing surfaces almost eliminates such an unpleasant phenomenon as “stallability”. With a headwind of 50 km / h, the An-2 can practically “hang in place”, hovering over a fixed point on the ground. This leads to the ability to plan in the mode off or faulty engine. Simple, but very well-designed brakes, similar to those used in trucks, reduce run-down after landing, and the requirements for the runway are extremely arbitrary. The An-2 cockpit does not differ in special comfort, but is nevertheless convenient, the two pilots are not crowded, there is enough space. Glazing has protrusions in order to improve visibility.
Additional options
The chassis is not retractable, which, of course, from an aerodynamic point of view, is bad, but ideal in terms of reliability. You can pump pneumatics without leaving the cab, there is a built-in compressor. In addition to conventional wheels, skis for mounting in winter or polar conditions or special floats resembling kayak boats are mounted on standard mounts, thanks to which the plane turns into a hydroplane.
The device is refueled autonomously, without a refueling tank ; a fuel pump is provided that can pump gasoline from barrels directly into tanks.
The use of An-2
Such structural and operational simplicity made this aircraft indispensable in many cases. It was used as a flying laboratory, air ambulance, winged fire engine. The popularity of the An-2 in flying clubs was huge, many skydivers made their first jump by stepping into the open door of the biplane. For meteorological exploration, a version was created with an additional survey cabin in front of the horizontal tail. If necessary, this aircraft can be turned into an ultralight attack aircraft by hanging NURSs and bombs on it. He, of course, will be slow, but the accuracy of the hit will provide.
Characteristics
The flight and operational qualities of this machine are such that, in some cases, there is still no replacement for the An-2 aircraft. Its technical characteristics, in our time, are quite good for the class of light vehicles. Take-off weight - 5.5 tons with a payload weight of 1.5 tons. The space allocated for cargo is limited to a height of 1.8 m, a width of 1.6 m, a length of 4.1 m. Normal passenger capacity is 12 people. A 235-meter long dirt pad is enough for take-off, and 10 meters less for landing. The ceiling is 4200, but usually the flight takes place at lower altitudes. The cruising speed of the An-2 is 180 km / h, the maximum reaches 235 km / h (with full load). In this case, the car can fly non-stop almost a thousand kilometers.
Contemporary issues
Any, even the most successful example of technology, becomes obsolete over time. The An-2 aircraft is no exception. Its characteristics are good, but in our time the requirements for the power plant have changed. At a time when a conventional gas pipeline was more expensive than gasoline, little attention was paid to its consumption. This trend continued for a long time, but the rise in price of oil products forced it to reconsider.
An-2 engine is carbureted, thousand-strong, very reliable, but ... Gasoline requires a special, aviation, it is expensive. Yes, and its consumption is also considerable. In some countries, in particular in Canada and the United States, the operation of this type of aircraft is prohibited. However, collectors willingly acquire An-2 there too. The price of one and a half million rubles and higher does not stop those who want to get real pleasure from piloting a “vintage airplane”.
The second youth of the An-2
Design Bureau of O.K. Antonov was one of the first to install turbine engines on screw transport and passenger aircraft. There are many advantages: fuel - kerosene, high reliability, efficiency, noise reduction. In the fifties, the design bureau proposed to carry out the An-2 version equipped with a turboprop propulsion engine (turbo-screw engine), but the aviation industry management preferred to focus efforts on priority projects of medium-haul comfortable airliners designed to replace the IL-14 and Li-2, which were working at that time all regional routes. In addition, there were no motors of suitable sizes at that time. But in the late 70s, engine crews from Omsk constructed the TVD-20, which was quite suitable for Annushka. In 1990, the An-3 was ready, with a glider almost completely inherited from the An-2, but with a different power plant. He did not go into the series then; economic difficulties prevented him. The project was resumed in 1997, adding modern avionics. The most promising direction of modernization of the Annushki is considered to be “remotoring” of aircraft with at least half the motor resource remaining.
Work in this direction is also being carried out in Ukraine, where the MS-14 Motor Sich engine is used there. There is another option (Novosibirsk) of the modernization of the famous biplanes, which involves the installation of a modern American motor company Honeywell. This modification was named AN-2MS.
In all these cases, installing a turbine solves the problem of noise, excessive fuel consumption and guarantees the rejection of expensive “100” gasoline. In all other respects, the An-2 is just a wonderful machine. There is reason to believe that she will have a long life in the sky above forests, fields and cities.