Antonov A-2

A-2
Role Training glider
National origin USSR
Designer Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov
First flight 1936
Number built ca. 2,300


The Antonov A-2 and related designs were a family of two-seat training gliders produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 40s, all derived from the single-seat Antonov A-1 family.[1] They were produced in large numbers, with at least 2,300 built by 1937, and together with the single-seaters, production exceeded 7,600 by the same year.[2]

Like the A-1, the A-2 was a minimalist primary glider, with a conventional tail mounted on a boom and a strut-braced monoplane wing mounted parasol-fashion. However, while the single-seat primary gliders featured wings of constant chord, the two-seaters used the longer-span, tapered wings that had been developed for the soaring versions of the single-seat family (P-s1 and P-s2).[3] The other major difference was the design of the cockpit gondola. The single-seaters had featured an aerodynamic fairing that slid on and off to provide access to the pilot's seat.[4] The two seaters, however, had a permanently fixed cockpit pod that seated the pilot and instructor in tandem, open cockpits, each with a small windscreen The rear cockpit was located directly beneath the wing and was accessed via a door on the portside of the gondola.[3] Apart from the change in gondola, all other components remained interchangeable with the Ps-2[5]

Variants

In each case, the "s" stands for serii (серии – "series")

Uchebnyi (Учебный – "Trainer")

Specifications (U-s5)

Data from Shushurin 1938, 67

General characteristics

Performance


Notes

  1. ↑ Sheremetev 1959, 44
  2. ↑ Krasil'shchikov 1991, 143
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheremetev 1959, 45
  4. ↑ Sheremetev 1959, 40
  5. ↑ Shushurin 1938, 67

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antonov aircraft.