Role Agricultural, utility aircraft and
military transport aircraft
Manufacturer Antonov
Designer Oleg Antonov
First flight 31 August 1947
Status Series production may still continue in China as the Shijiazhuang Y-5; engine refitting project began in 2013
Primary users Soviet Union (historical)
North Korea
China
Produced 1947–2001
Number built 18,000+
Variants Antonov An-3
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 (other than the An-3 and the An-2-100) 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
The Antonov An-2 was designed to meet a 1940s Soviet Ministry of Forestry requirement for a replacement for the much lighter, largely wooden-airframed Polikarpov Po-2, which was used in large numbers in both agricultural and utility roles. Antonov designed a large single bay biplane of all-metal construction, with an enclosed cockpit and a cabin with seats for twelve passengers. The first prototype, designated SKh-1 and powered by a Shvetsov ASh-21 radial engine, flew on 31 August 1947. The second prototype was fitted with a more powerful Shvetsov ASh-62 engine, which allowed the aircraft's payload to be significantly increased from 1,300 to 2,140 kg (2,870 to 4,720 lb), and in this form it was ordered into production.
Initial Soviet production was at State Factory 473 in Kiev , 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 . After 1960, most An-2s were constructed at Poland's WSK factory in Mielec ; it is believed that over 13,000 aircraft were built in Poland before principal manufacturing activity ended during 1991.Ceiling
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An-2G (a.k.a. An-2Geo) – During 1974 WSK-Mielec developed a geo-physical survey aircraft for the Polish State Geophysical Survey Agency (Państwowe Przedsiębiorstwo Poszukiwań Geofizycznych), with equipment for measuring magnetic fields, radiation and other instruments for prospecting.
The PZL TS-11 Iskra (English: Spark) is a Polish jet trainer, developed and manufactured by aircraft company PZL-Mielec.
Recorded Nov. 14th 2009, I had the opportunity to fly with Dr. Wayne Clark in his PZL-WSK-Mielec TS-11 ISKRA JET