Will the An-2 return to the Arctic?
Will the An-2 return to the Arctic?
The Motor Aircraft Repair Company (Omsk) has completed the next stage of testing of the upgraded An-2 aircraft. Omsk residents have been working on the Soviet aviation veteran for several years as part of the Russian Arctic project.
Work is underway on an aircraft that first took to the air in 1989 (the car is relatively fresh, the last An-2s were assembled by Polish PZL-Mielec in 1991). After starting service in the DOSAAF of the USSR, the AN-2 reg. number RA-01149 changed several ownership companies, and after the 2014 accident (cowling during an emergency landing) it was bought by a private individual, restored and received reg. number RA-3085G (photo in the title). Most likely, the owner of the car became the owner of ARP Motor, which actively uses it for development. Which is welcome.
The factory An-2 turned from a biplane into a monoplane (the lower wing was removed, the span of the upper wing was increased, respectively, its design was strengthened). At first, it was used to test the chassis with large-diameter wheels, and then it was converted into the "Arctic version". The car received a ski landing gear with reinforced struts (landing on snow can give an increased load – the pilot does not see what is under the snow). In addition, the on–board electronics have been upgraded (navigation in high latitudes is a task of increased complexity, and communication there often "behaves somehow").
Despite the fact that the AN-2 has only one engine, which implies low fault safety, it was widely used in the Moscow State Aviation of the USSR, including beyond the Arctic Circle. Unlike many popular (or rather populist) projects involving the remotorization of the An-2, ARP Motor relies on the "good old" ASH-62IR. Over many years of production and operation, the engine has been, as they say, polished to a high gloss and, subject to the rules of its maintenance, demonstrates high reliability. The repair of the ASH-62IR has never stopped, and as far as I know, the production of repair kits for it has been mastered.
Interest in this program is caused by problems with the development of aircraft for local lines LMS-901 Baikal. Despite the visible achievements of the program – for example, the first flight with a domestic VK-800 engine – its position remains "unstable." There is talk in the industry that the Baikal development program will eventually be closed – and this is not the only program of the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) that is being talked about.
In such circumstances, the carriers' interest in the "moderately" upgraded An-2 is likely to arise. In the Arctic, he can patrol, solve search and rescue tasks, operate sanitary transport and carry "small" loads. And in other regions, the irreplaceable "annushka" will have a lot of work.
Source: Telegram "milinfolive"