Antonov An-3

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Antonov An-3

Antonov An-3 at Zhukovskiy, 1997.
Type	Agricultural aircraft
Manufacturer	Antonov
Maiden flight	1980-05-13
Introduced	1990s
Status	Active service
Primary user	Private agricultural interests
Produced	1990s-present
Number built	Relatively few
Unit cost	US$500,000^[1]

The Antonov An-3 is a Ukrainian agricultural aircraft designed during the Soviet Union era. It is essentially an turboprop-powered development of the An-2 designed to upgrade or replace it. The first example flew as early as May 13 1980, but because of a lack of official interest in the project, work proceeded very slowly - flight testing was not complete until 1991. It is one of the few turbine powered biplane designs to date.

The project was revitalised in the late 1990s when it was taken over by Polyot State Aerospace Enterprise, and a marketing campaign began in earnest in 2000, although sales have been limited. It is available in two forms, the basic agricultural aircraft (An-3SKh - "Selsko-Khosiajstwenni", Agricultural) and a civil transport version (An-3T) able to carry 12 passengers or 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) of cargo.

Although it is designated An-3, this number is not assigned sequentially. Antonov assigned it to the plane because it was meant to replace the An-2.

Another attempt to replace An-2 on Soviet farms was made in 1970s with WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor, but failed.

[edit] Specifications

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General characteristics

Crew: 2-3
Capacity: 2,200 L (540 U.S. gal) of chemicals
Length: 14.0 m (45 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 18.2 m (59 ft 8 in)
Height: m (ft in)
Wing area: 71.6 m² (770 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,200 kg (7,000 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 5,800 kg (13,000 lb)
Powerplant: 1× Glushenkov TVD-20M turboprop, 1,066 kW (1,430 shp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 260 km/h (140 knots, 160 mph)
Cruise speed: 220 km/h (120 knots, 135 mph)
Range:
- With maximum fuel: 1,025 km (553 nm, 637 mi)
- With maximum load: 300 km (160 mm, 190 mi)
Service ceiling: 4,400 m (14,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 5 m/s (980 ft/min)
Wing loading: 81 kg/m² (16.5 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 180 W/kg (0.11 hp/lb)

[edit] References

^ Antonov. Aviation.ru (2006-05-24). Retrieved on 2006-07-01.

Самолет АН-3 (Russian). Russian Weapons and Military Technologies. CompActive Ltd. Retrieved on 2006-07-01. (Shortened version in English available here)