The Latest Antonov

摘要

After its May 7 maiden flight, the first prototype of the new An-178 transport aircraft completed 12 test sorties before flying to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. There, the An-178 was on static display - it is too early in the testing schedule for it to perform displays. In Kiev, apart from two commercial service airports at Borispol and Zhulyany, there are two airfields that belong to Antonov, Svyatoshin, where the company has its production plant, is in the city. The runway is only 1,800m-long (5,900ft) and test flying is not conducted there. On its first flight, the An-178 took off from Svyatoshin and landed at Antonov's second airfield at Hostomel, 20km (12 miles) away, Antonov's test facility that has a 3,700m-long (12,100ft) runway. On May 19, when I visited, the An-178 was making its fourth test flight. The aircraft was still unpainted, showing natural metal and composite material colours. All test flights last several hours (the longest to date, on May 13, was 5hrs 20mins) and the aircraft performs several tasks. The operation of main systems, stability and controllability as well as basic performance are currently being tested. Flying the An-178 does not differ much from flying the An-158, according to the test pilots; despite the An-178's heavier weight the aircraft retains most of the features of its predecessor. The pilot of the An-178's maiden flight was Andrii Spasibo; subsequent flights were made by Sergii Troshyn and Dmytro Antonov.