OREANDA-NEWS. A modern modification of the famous AN-2 biplane, being designated as AN-2-100, performed its maiden flight. This new aircraft was named “Henrih Ongirskii” after H.H. Ongirskii (1939-2012), Deputy General Designer of the ANTONOV Company, who made a great contribution in the AN-2 and AN-3 program development.

In the first flight the AN-2-100 was piloted by a crew of the ANTONOV Company test pilots: Sergii Tarasiuk, commander, and Valerii Epanchintsev, co- pilot. The flight, within which the aircraft passed first tests, was continuing over an hour.

The AN-2-100 is intended for passenger, cargo and mixed cargo-passenger transportations on local airlines. It can be operated autonomously at small airfields with low sub-soil strength, including ice and snow-covered ones, in a wide altitude range, under good and adverse climatic and weather conditions.

The main difference between the AN-2-100 and its predecessor is in a power plant with MC-14 turboprop engine, made and produced by Motor Sich stock company (Ukraine). One of the advantages of this replacement is substitution of the aviation gasoline that now is not being produced in CIS countries, for aviation kerosene. Thus, the aircraft profitability rises significantly. Besides, the AN-2-100 is equipped with the AV-17 reversible propeller (instead of the AV-2). The operational empty weight of AN-2-100 is 200 kg less than that of the AN-2.

The AN-2-100 production will be realized by reequipment of the AN-2 being in operation. It will let the AN-2 operators continue working with this aircraft. So, there are 135 AN-2 on the territory of Ukraine today, and only 54 aircraft have airworthiness.

Obtaining orders on realizing such reequipment from foreign operators is also planning. Taking into account unique performance and all-airfield operation of the AN-2, modernization and reconstruction of the airworthiness these aircraft fleet becomes the most important task for development of north and east regions of Russian Federation. There are 1580 such aircraft in Russia today, only 322 of which having airworthiness. The AN-2 is also the main aircraft of Russian agricultural aviation.

290 AN-2 are being operated in Kazakhstan, 143 - in Uzbekistan, 89 - in Turkmenistan, 82 - in Belarus, 63 - in Azerbaijan, 30 - in Kirgizia, 13 - in Moldova and 4 -- in Armenia. The AN-2 modernization and its life cycle extension is one of the important current tasks.