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Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 11/97 ANTONOV AN-70 MOVES AHEAD DESPITE LACK OF FUNDS by Karl Schwarz Since the success of the An-8 in the fifties, the Antonov Design Bureau has been established as a leading Soviet design company for military freighter aircraft. It was not a surprise that the scientific technological complex, which, today, is headed by Pyotr Balabuyev, was ordered to design a new midsize transport as a replacement of the An-12. Without the break-up of the former Soviet Union, the An-70, which was designed to meet the needs of the transport air force's needs, would probably be already in service today. However, the program got in the turbulences generated by the political changes in Russia which had lead the formerly centrally controlled aerospace industry into a serious crisis. Today, there are only few government funds available for the development and testing of new aircraft in the CIS. The progress of the work depends entirely on the available budget. "Over 90 percent of the money that was invested into the An-70 was earned by ourselves", Antonov employees say. The main earnings come from charter flights with the five An-124 freighters that the design bureau own. Along with the chronical lack of funds, Antonov has to fight a another special problem. Since the company is based in the Ukrainian capitol Kiev, Russia, as the main market and location of many of the suppliers, is now a foreign country - with all the consequences, such as different currencies. Customs can delay the delivery of important parts by weeks. Only few orders are accomplished without payments in cash. Under these circumstances, it was almost a miracle that the first An-70 prototype left the assembly hall at the company's Svyatoschino airfield on January 20, 1994. Another year went by until all systems were delivered, installed and checked. On December 16, 1994, the aircraft was piloted by test pilot Sergej Maksimow to its 28-minute first flight. The flight was completed at the close-by Gostomel airport where Antonov's flight test center is located. Reportedly there were some problems with the transmission of the D-27 propfans during the flight, not allowing for a second flight before February 8, 1995. A third flight was accomplished the day after and a fourth followed on 10 February. Chased by an An-72, the An-70 conducted several flight maneuvers to evaluate the performance at various speeds and with different flap settings. A collision of the two aircraft resulted in considerable damage to the An-70. The vertical fin and parts of the horizontal stabilizer were torn off. The aircraft entered a spin and crashed from an altitude of approximately 3200 meters into a forest. All seven crew members were killed. The An-72, which had also been damaged in the fuselage section, managed to execute a forced landing at Gostomel. Although there were voices that did not exclude a flaw in the An-70's fly-by-wire flight control system, the official accident report concluded that the collision was due to uncoordinated maneuvers by the two pilots. The crash was a drastic setback for the program. Along with losing the crew, the costs of the accident are said to be in the range of approximately $30 to 50 million. Still, Antonov went back and pushed the assembly of a second prototype, using parts which originally were supposed to be used for ground tests. It was not until December 24, 1996, that the second aircraft left the assembly line in the presence of the Ukrainian president Leonid Kutschma. Antonov used the occasion to thank its partners "who did their best and delivered most parts on a credit basis". Furthermore thanking the Moscow Electro Automation Establishment, the Leninets Holding, and the Moscow company Aeroelektrik. The second An-70 prototype accomplished its first flight on 24 April of this year. The aircraft was piloted by Antonov's chief test pilot Alexander Galunenko, while Anatoli Andronov from the Russian forces was second in command. The aircraft logged approximately 40 flights until its public debut at the Moscow air show in Schukovsky. The presentation at the Moscow air show was an ideal opportunity to highlight the significance of the program to high-ranking Russian officials, including President Boris Yeltsin. The deputy chief of staff, Jury Klischnin, again confirmed that Russia's air forces are still very much interested in procuring the An-70. Still, it remained unclear how reliable the projected number of aircraft on the procurement list really is (400 for Russia and 100 for the Ukraine). Antonov general designer Pyotr Balabuyev wants "to sell his last shirt" to successfully complete the An-70 program. He has no choice since, without the freighter, the future for the Ukrainian aerospace industry looks dim. Since the majority of the equipment comes from Russian companies, the aircraft is important for these also. Should the companies, which have joined in the "midsize transport aircraft consortium", manage to start the production in the Aviacor plant in Samara and at Aviant in Kiev, the An-70 has good chances on the world market. The freighter is convincing in respect to its concept and its technology. Furthermore, the price of approximately $50 million per aircraft (not much more than a C-130J Hercules) is very attractive. Only questions concerning the maintenance and the supply of spare parts would need to be answered. From page 56 of FLUG REVUE 11/97 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 11/97 Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated October 16, 1997 FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany