An-72 aircraft: specifications, features

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 18:37

A little more than a hundred years have passed since the first controlled flight of the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, but the history of aviation has been enriched by many aircraft models. Civilian and military, transport and passenger, huge and not at all big. In the article we will talk about the Soviet An-72, conceived as a military transporter, but far beyond the limits of its project.

Background

The idea of a transport aircraft that does not require special runways is as old as the history of the aircraft industry. Attempts to create a machine that combines high flight performance and low landing speed have been made repeatedly. In the 70s of the last century, the most successful project was Ar-242 "Arado" (Germany), which could transport cargo to unprepared sites.

In the Soviet Union in 1972, on the initiative of the chief designer, the Oleg Antonov Design Bureau began work on a project for a short takeoff and landing aircraft with a high payload. It was Oleg Konstantinovich who suggested using it to increase the liftingthe force of the Coanda aerodynamic effect (air jet sticking to the wing), which became the "highlight" of the military An-72, nicknamed "Cheburashka", and according to NATO codification - Coaler ("Coal Miner").

Start

The designers were faced with the task of creating a light transport aircraft designed to transport troops and equipment and perform the functions of supplying airfields where combat aircraft are concentrated. This machine was supposed to have a carrying capacity of up to 5 tons, not large dimensions, high rate of climb, the ability to take off on poorly prepared sites.

In the design documentation of 1972, the future An-72 was designated as the “aircraft 200”, the design of which was based on the Coanda effect, which gave an increase in lift by 20%. The wing, flap, engine (it was placed in front of the center section) took part in ensuring this increase.

The D-36 turbofan engine, which was manufactured at the Progress Design Bureau (Zaporozhye, Ukraine), made it possible to implement the Coanda effect in practice - it provided sufficient air flow, a “cold” exhaust gas jet directed to blowing the wing. It was a tested engine that had already been used on Yak-42 aircraft, and in terms of efficiency it was close to the best Western engines.

Optimal machine

Design progressed quickly. On the basis of the Antonov Design Bureau - the Kiev Mechanical Plant - the production of prototypes of the "product 72" was underway. Seven such models were made. An-72 aircraft with serial number 03 made its first flight on August 31, 1977 attest base in Gostomel. The feedback from the crew, commanded by Honored Pilot of the USSR and Chief Pilot of the Design Bureau V. I. Tersky, was enthusiastic.

In addition to ease of piloting, ease of control, thoughtful cabin ergonomics, the machine met the design requirements. She just "jumped into the sky", with a load of up to 3,5 thousand tons, the plane took off from the ground at speeds of the order of 185 km / h, making a run at only 450 meters. These were the excellent characteristics of the An-72; a new light cargo aircraft with a low landing and takeoff speed and the ability to take off on short and unsuitable runways.

Coming out

The end of 1979 - at the air show in Le Bourget, the light jet military transport An-72 performs incredible maneuvers for this class of aircraft: the very “jump into the sky” - takeoff with a very short takeoff and a steep climb, spot landing, even barrel and half-loop. The machine received rave reviews.

The serial production of this An-72 model was being prepared at the Kiev Aviation Production Association. But the production was assembling the An-32, which had great commercial prospects. After long negotiations, it was decided to transfer the launch of the production of the An-72 transport aircraft to Kharkiv, and the first serial aircraft took off into the sky in December 1985.

And then civil aviation became interested in him, and civil modifications of Cheburashka appeared. These copies had an increased flight range and an increased carrying capacity.

An-72: specifications

A jet transport aircraft has the following characteristics.

Engine	D-36, Zaporozhye MKB Progress
Takeoff thrust	2 x 6500 kgf
Wingspan	31, 89 m
Length	28, 068 m
Height	8, 65 m
Wing area	102 sq. m
Cargo compartment overall length	10, 5 m
Cargo compartment overall width	2, 15 m
Cargo compartment overall height	2, 20 m
Aircraft weight	19, 05 t
Normal takeoff weight	27, 5t
Maximum takeoff weight	34, 5 t
Fuel storage	12, 950t
Max commercial weight	7, 5t
Max/cruise speed	720 km/h, 550-600 km/h
Flying range at maximum load	1 thousand kilometers
Flight range	4, 3 thousand kilometers
Practical range ceiling	10, 1 thousand kilometers
Takeoff run	620 m
Run length	420 m
Crew	3-5 people

For clarity, see the image below.

Structural solutions

An-72 is a high-wing aircraft with heavily mechanized wings, a powerful keel and a T-tail. Above the swept wing are engines that are in a retractable gondola. It is this design that makes it possible to use the Coanda effect to increase lift. In addition, that is why the plane got its nickname - "Cheburashka". Bucket type reverse.

Chassis has five self-retracting legs, completely independent suspension of the main racks. The cargo hatch in the rear fuselage can be retracted under the bottom or lowered to the surface, which allows self-propelled vehicles to enter.

Modifications

Based on the basic model, a whole family of transport and at the same time light jet aircraft has been created. Flying in the sky today:

• An-72-100. Transport civil airliner.
• An-72-100D. Cargo passenger airliner. Convertedserial machines, 3 copies were produced.
• An-72V. The only export option for the Peruvian Air Force.
• An-72P. Military aircraft of the border troops. Patrol naval aviation. 18 vehicles built.
• The only An-72PS. Search and rescue vehicle.
• An-72R. Electronic reconnaissance aircraft. On the balance sheet of the Air Force - 4 converted production vehicles.

• An-720. Administrative (salon) liner.
• An-72A. "Arctic" aircraft, converted for the northern latitudes (developed as the An-74). Built in a single copy.

Cheburashka Achievements

An-72 set about 20 world records for aircraft of this class. Two of them in 1983:

• Max flight altitude is 13,410 meters.
• Horizontal flight altitude - 12,980 meters.

In addition, back in 1985, test pilot S. Gorbik on this plane managed to reach a speed of 681.8 km/h on a closed 2000-kilometer route.

In 1986, the "Arctic" plane rescued 27 polar explorers from the drifting polar station No. 27. It took off from a runway only 300 meters long.

In 1988, An-72A visited Antarctica. In addition to the usual work of communication and supply, he made an unscheduled flight to Argentina and took a sick polar explorer to the hospital.

But in 1997, 1998 (2 aircraft) and 1999 (4 aircraft), these transport workers took part in the Paris-Dakar rally.

Losses

8 accidents are associated with this aircraft, the largest of which were:

• 16.09.1991. The plane took off with an overload, mechanization collapsed in the air. The car crashed in the forest. 6 crew members and 7 passengers were killed.
• 1994-05-06, An-72 flight to Novosibirsk - Kyiv. Then the on-board equipment was de-energized in flight. The reason is the thermal runaway of the batteries. The plane made an emergency landing in Kurgan, while it skidded off the runway with the right rear pneumatic destroyed. The crew and passengers were not injured.
• 10.02.1995. An-72V with 3 crew members accompanied the An-70 prototype with 7 crew members on board. The planes collided in the sky over the Borodyansky district of the Kyiv region. An-72 survived and managed to land at the Antonov airport. An-70 crashed into the forest, all crew members were killed.
• 2000-07-06, flight Mozdok-Moscow. In the air there was a depressurization of the aircraft. From a height of 8.5 thousand meters, the aircraft began an uncontrolled descent, as the crew and passengers lost their bearings as a result of hypoxia. However, the crew managed to land the plane in Rostov-on-Don.
• 25.12.2012. Disaster near Shimkent. The plane of the border service of the Republic of Kazakhstan in bad weather fell to the ground from a height of 800 meters. The reason is crew error. 7 crew members and 20 passengers were killed.

In closing

By the summer of 1993, about 145 of these transport aircraft were produced. With the collapse of the USSR, the An-72 remained for Ukraine the only one being built on itsfactories. In the foreign market, this $12.5 million aircraft did not stand up to competition, and the only aircraft leased in the West was the aircraft leased by Columbia.

However, numerous orders came from the former Soviet republics. Relatively inexpensive An has replaced the old aircraft fleet of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The issue of the release of this model at the Russian factories in Omsk and Arseniev remains open.