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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 0030.PDF
HZSilZV SS-HWi) Mixing fire and water The Beriev Be-200 represents a valiant effort to build a modern amphibian PAUL DUFFY/MOSCOW MOST OF the world's aviation industry abandoned development of flying boats in the 1940s, when the increased range of land-based aircraft, plus the birth of tur bine engines, seemed to indicate the end of an era. A few manufacturers stayed with the flying boat - Canadair has continued to develop spe cial-purpose examples for a limited market, while one or two general-aviation types are still evident today. Another designer which has stayed loyal is Russia's Beriev Design Bureau which in 1930 began working on Hydro aviation (seaplane) projects for the then Soviet Union. Unlike its Western counterparts, however, it has contin ued its development into the turbine era, first with turboprop engines and then with turbofans. Beriev's general designer, Gennadi Panatov, sees a continuing need for modern flying boats to serve remote locations for military and civil purposes, and his bureau, working alongside the TsAGI (Central Aero and Hydrodynamics Institute), has amassed huge knowledge on the design and operational needs for them. In 1986, Beriev's A-40 Albatross had its first flight. With a take-off weight of 69.21, it was powered by two Aviadvigatel D-30KPV turbo- fan engines mounted above the fuselage behind the wing. Intended principally for long-range maritime patrol, it came just as the Soviet Union was running out of money, and its development almost stopped. Panatov and his team could see great potential in the design, however, and, looking at a future with sharply curtailed mili tary budgets, in 1989 he instructed Alexander Yavkin to begin work on a scaled-down A-40 for civil and military applications. Yavkin defined potential roles for the Be-200 (as it was numbered) to meet civil and govern ment needs to fight fires, for search and rescue, for pollution patrols, for air ambulance, and commercial passenger and cargo transport from remote regions with lake or coastal access, or with 1,800m (5,900ft) class 2 runways. COMMONALITY SAVES MONEY The powerplants selected were two Lotarev D-436T high-bypass turbofans each of 70kN (15,43 51b) thnist, which established a maximum take off weight in the 3 7-421 class. Scaling down the A-40 design had some advantages: it reduced the development of detailed aerody namic design by using the already proven A-40 shapes and characteristics, and (unusually in Soviet/Russian aviation) it allowed a level of commonality (and thus cost savings) in spare parts between the two. Reportedly, 70% of air frame and wing structures are interchangeable. Another cost-saving idea implemented was to build the prototype Be-200 at the chosen production factory - the Irkutsk Aviation Production Association (IAPO). In recent years IAPO has specialised in Sukhoi designs, and diis is the first Beriev aircraft to be built there. In 1996, this became a factor in Beriev becoming part of the Sukhoi Aviation-Military Industrial Complex, one of the first industrial groups set up to bring Russia's aviation industry into the future. By building the prototype there, instead of at the design bureau and then transferring production drawings to Irkutsk, time, produc tion tooling, training and the need for extra drawings were minimised. Within this group ing, the Be-200 project is managed by Beta Air (Beta Air combines BE from Beriev, TA from Beriev's home base of Taganrog and IR from Irkutsk). The programme was approved by the Ministry of the Aviation industry shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed, however, and, as with virtually every other project of the time, the resulting administrative and financial changes substantially delayed the project. Even this had some advantages, however. Opening Russia's borders to foreign industry has allowed Beriev to offer Western equipment such as engines and avionics as alternatives. Yavkin still sees Russian and CIS customers choosing local equipment, but the availability of the Western equipment can increase greatly the potential markets for the aircraft. One problem for Russia's aircraft designers has been the limited range of engines available. Now, Yavkin can look at engines ranging from the Allison AE2100 turboprop to the BMW/ Rolls-Royce BR710 family. For avionics, AlliedSignal agreed to work with Russian indus- 28 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 January 1998
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