Posted on 07/18/2013 8:19:47 AM PDT by Sokol
I am writing a novel set in Russia and need some help with airplanes.
Does anyone you know the make of any Russian plane that would regularly fly into the coldest regions? I flew into Enta (Komi Republic) one time and landed on skis. (rear loading, about 15-20 pax) It was surreal. And cool, I mean cold! :-)
Thanks for any help.
/johnny
Thanks Johnny. The one I was on was a jet.
/johnny
Our neighbor in Minnesota put skis on his 1952 Cessna high wing every winter on the Prior Lake ice.
Check out the entire Antonov series.
Yep - Antonov AN-2 - that’s the one.
Thanks to all.
I am looking for a jet.
I think I found it: It is the AN-72
Interesting engine placement. Much safer for ground crews, much more immune to FOD from rough airstrips. Additional lift and low speed control from blowing exhaust over the top of the wing.
Probably quieter, too...
>>>I think I found it: It is the AN-72<<<
An-72 is a STOL military tactical airlift aircraft. Cargo only and none of them are in civilian use. An-71 is a AWACS version. Civilian version of An-72, specifically modified for extreme cold conditions is known as An-74 (a prototype was called An-72A until it went to serial production in 1986).
When I was in Korea ('89-'91), they had signs with an image of the AN-2, and a directive (in both Korean and English) to call police if you saw one. The ROKs were afraid of them, and rightly so. They were mostly wood framed, had cloth wing/fuselage covering, and the biggest chunk of metal was the engine. That, and the flew low enough to be hidden from Radar amongst the hills. The Norks supposedly had them in droves.
Actually, you probably want the AN-74, the arctic variant of the AN-72.
>>>Probably quieter, too...<<<
An idea is about to use it on a dirt runway without sucking objects into engines.
Proved to be a headache to serve it.
The most recent version (An-74TK-300) features underwing engines.
Colt is NATO’s name for the AN-2.
Okay, so I looked it up. The Norks had versions with wooden propellers and canvas-covered wings. So it appears not all AN-2s were built that way.
Every engineering decision is a balance between conflicting needs.
The high engine is more difficult to service, but needs less servicing because it isn’t ingesting as much runway crap.
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