OREANDA-NEWS. One of the AN-148 regional passenger aircraft of the initial batch, flew to Odessa to carry out tests on widening its operation conditions.

ANTONOV ASTC’s test team including test-pilots E.A.Galunenko and S.M.Troshin will research behavior of the aircraft on unpaved airfield. During the programme of certification tests which was completed in February, 2007, the AN-148 proved its ability to take-off and land safety from/to the runways with bad quality of pavement. It is provided, in particular, by aerodynamics scheme of high wing position and big distance between D-436-148 engines and runway surface. Due to these features the engines are protected against suction of foreign particles from the runways.

Study of the AN-148 behavior at the unpaved runways will provide considerably widening the net of airfields for the aircraft regular flights. Such a capability of the aircraft is demanded in countries of CIS, Africa, Latin America, in India. Ministry of Civil Aviation of China expressed its interest in use of the AN-148 within the State program of development the country’s western territories.

The main parameters to be determined in the result of the tests are: depth of the track the aircraft makes on the unpaved runway with different solidities of ground, characteristics of the aircraft moving off from the rest, behavior of the AN-148 while taxiing, taking-off and landing in the standard situations including simulation of various failures. Operation and main characteristics of the power plant, hydraulic system and landing gear under these conditions will be tested as well.

Results of these tests will allow to confirm experimentally the designed dependence between solidity of unpaved RW and weight of the aircraft. In such a way the customers of the AN-148 will be provided with clear recommendations on safety and effective operation of the aircraft from the unpaved airfields.