11 April 2017
A single-engine biplane lifting a cargo weighing 3,202kg (7,059lb)? Yes, Antonov has flown its latest AN-2-100 with such a load, more than twice the payload of the original AN-2, now 70 years old.
The weight is a record for the aircraft’s class and it climbed to an altitude of 2,700m (8,858ft). It was flown by Antonov test pilots Sergii Tarasiuk and co-piloted by Valerii Yepanchintsev, at Antonov’s HQ in the Ukraine.
“Well, that went well.” Antonov’s test pilots smiling after the record flight.
The AN-2-100 is intended for passenger, cargo and mixed cargo/passenger transport. It can be operated at small airfields and over a wide altitude range, said the company.
The main difference between the AN-2-100 and its predecessor is the powerplant, now an MC-14 turboprop engine, made and produced by Motor Sich.
Antonov said the new aircraft has been named ‘Henrih Ongirskii’ after H.H. Ongirskii (1939-2012), Deputy General Designer of Antonov, who was a key player in the AN-2 and AN-3 development.
