Posted on 01/25/2006 10:28:11 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
Boeing may introduce a Soviet-era military transport jet as a new option for the US military's need for a new fleet of small airlifters, the airframer told Flight International in Washington, DC yesterday.
The Antonov An-72, a 70-seat jet with over-wing-mounted engines (pictured below in Aeroflot livery), is one of the options Boeing is considering to enter the US Army's pending Future Cargo Aircraft (FCA) competition, says George Muellner, Boeing vice president for Air Force Systems.
A Boeing evaluation team has visited Antonov headquarters in Kiev, the Ukraine, and both companies remain in active discussions, says Muellner.
The FCA competition is on hold for two months to allow army officials time to discuss blending the programme with a US Air Force requirement for a new light cargo aircraft fleet. Muellner says Boeing's plans will not be decided until the army unveils the final requirements for FCA.
As another option, Boeing also is in discussions to Alenia to join the Global Military Aircraft Systems team that plans to offer the Alenia C-27J Spartan. Raytheon and EADS CASA North America also plan to compete, offering the CASA C-295, CN-235, or both, depending on the army's final requirements.
The An-72, if Boeing were to offer it, would be the only jet-powered aircraft in the competition.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON, DC
What is interesting is that in the records we know of Tupolev Tu-154 accidents, just about all of them are caused by either pilot error or some external cause not related to a defect on the plane. I do know several Tu-154's crashed due to pilots not understanding the deep stall condition that afflicts T-tailed jet airliners and letting the plane fly too far below stalling speed. The Tu-154 has actually been a pretty good plane considering the rather extreme conditions the plane has to fly in under Aeroflot service.
The Antonov An-74--if fitted with a modern Western high-bypass engine such as the higher-rated version of the General Electric CF34--would be an excellent plane for operating out of rough airstrips. If the Antonov Design Bureau were to try to get US FAA or European JAA certification of the An-74 with the CF34 engine, that plane will sell like hotcakes, especially in parts of the world where a decent airport are luxuries.
Another one exists and Antonov (Ukraine) would like a third to be completed.
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