By request, a working An-2.
Two things have stopped me from getting one.
First, money. Can you imagine a recovering job on one of those things?
Second, Cessna lobbied the FAA to not let them be licensed in this country because Cessna feared that the An-2s would gut the marker for Cessna's Caravans. So they can only be flown under an Experimental/Exhibition license, which is a serious pain in the ass.
When Diplomacy Hits The End Of The Road
1 hour ago
5 comments:
That's a new one on me...what's the mission overlap between Caravans and An-2's?
I wondered why they weren't allowed to fly here. I did see one at Oshkosh a few years back. There is one slowly rotting
away at the Kenosha WI (ENW) airport. I could see why Cessna would be worried. Certainl y would draw a lot more attention arriving in the ANT.
The mission overlap is that the AN-2 can do everything a C-208 can do, and more, but more slowly and for a shorter distance. Take useable load, the AN-2 almost doubles the C-208B’s (7,300 to 4,200). In range, the AN-2 goes about 450 miles, while the C-208 does 1,232.
Overall, the AN-2 is a massively superior backcountry aircraft, but since only the PZL manufactured versions can fly for profit in most of the world, Africa and Eastern Europe/Asia are the most common spots.
Now, Wikipedia is just Wikipedia, but it does have this little nugget, attributed to a published book on the AN-2:
“The An-2 has no stall speed, a fact which is quoted in the operating handbook. A note from the pilot's handbook reads: "If the engine quits in instrument conditions or at night, the pilot should pull the control column full aft and keep the wings level. The leading-edge slats will snap out at about 64 km/h (40 mph) and when the airplane slows to a forward speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph), the airplane will sink at about a parachute descent rate until the aircraft hits the ground."
AN-2 or Cirrus-Lite?
Per a retired Boeing engineer friend, some 70%+ of an AN2 was copied from DC2/3s.
WSF is correct. And no, Cessna didn't want the competition... sigh
Post a Comment