The Antonov An-2 is a Soviet mass produced single engine biplane aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau beginning in 1947. Its durability, high lifting power, and ability to take off and land from poor runways have given it a long service life. The An-2 was produced up to 2001 and remains in service with military and civilian operators around the world.
The An-2 was designed as a utility aircraft for use in forestry and agriculture, but the basic airframe is highly adaptable and numerous variants of the type have been developed; these include hopper-equipped versions for crop-dusting, scientific versions for atmospheric sampling, water-bombers for fighting forest-fires, flying ambulances, float-equipped seaplane versions and lightly armed combat versions for dropping paratroops.
The most common version is the An-2T 12-seater passenger aircraft. All versions are powered by a 750 kW (1,010 hp) nine-cylinder Shvetsov ASh-62 radial engine, which was developed from the Wright R-1820. The An-2 typically consumes 2.5 L/min (0.66 US gal/min; 0.55 imp gal/min).
Initial Soviet production was at State Factory 473 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, where the bulk of up to 5,000 units had been produced by 1960. Later Soviet production (after 1965, of model An-2M especially) was at State Factory 464 at Dolgoprudniy, Russian SFSR.
The An-2 was extensively used by Aeroflot in the passenger, cargo and crop dusting versions. The red paint scheme means the aircraft belonged to Aeroflot Polar directorate, which operated flights in the northern and arctic regions of the USSR. The red made it easier to spot the aircraft against the white background of arctic regions.
General characteristics
Crew: 1–2
Capacity: 12 passengers / 2,140 kg (4,718 lb)
Length: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
Upper wingspan: 18.2 m (59 ft 9 in)
Lower wingspan: 14.2 m (46 ft 7 in)
Height: 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
Empty weight: 3,300 kg (7,275 lb)
Gross weight: 5,440 kg (11,993 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,200 L (320 US gal; 260 imp gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-62IR 9-cylinder air-cooled supercharged radial piston engine, 750 kW (1,010 hp)
Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 258 km/h (160 mph, 139 kn)
Cruise speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn)
Stall speed: 50 km/h (31 mph, 27 kn) circa
Range: 845 km (525 mi, 456 nmi)
Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)
Power/mass: 0.136 kW/kg (0.083 hp/lb)
Fuel consumption: 185–200 L/h (49–53 gal/h; 41–44 imp gal/h)
