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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1732.PDF
Ukraine year after parliament passed legislation to support the longstanding project. The gov ernment has allocated $200 million for completion of flight tests and construction of the first batch of aircraft at Aviant. Under interstate agreements, Ukraine would take 65 An-70s and Russia 164. Russian air force commander Vladimir Mikhailov says that although $3.5 billion has been invested in the project, it is not enough to complete research and development. The Russian air force refuses to accept the type until the D-27A propfan engines are mature. Commercial investment is being sought to resume production of the Ruslan. Antonov is reworking the An-124-300, giv ing it an enlarged wing, strengthened cen tre-fuselage section and stretched fuselage, for production at Aviastar and Aviant. Operators are seeking funds for 50 new Ruslans to be built at Aviastar and Aviant, but they would prefer the An-124-100M model, one of which is operated by Volga- Dnepr (Flight International 7-13 September). A more advanced variant with the same designation has begun two months of flight tests. It is a mid-life upgrade of Antonov Airlines' An-124, with 150t payload capabil ity and a flightdeck crew of four. Antonov Airlines plans to upgrade all its Ruslans to the An-124-100M standard by 2007. Air transport Soon after becoming independent, Ukraine drew up a state programme for civil avia tion development that called for develop ment of the An-38 commuter and An-140 regional turboprops and An-218 and An- 180 160- to 180-seat turboprop-powered mainline airliners, and setting up a Tupolev Tu-334-100 production line at Aviant. Shortage of funds left these projects with only 10% of their required state funding during the 1990s. Efforts to attract corn- Iran plans to mercial investors failed and the An-218 and locally build An-180 were discontinued. Other projects 52-seat were funded mainly from revenues from Antonov upgrading Antonov aircraft worldwide (a An-140s total of 1,500 in 50 countries) and cargo transportation services using the design house's An-12s, An-22s and An-124s oper ated by Antonov Airlines. The 27-seat An-38 does not appear a good investment. So far seven aircraft have been built at Sukhoi's NAPO plant instead of the 60-100 forecast. The aircraft is avail able in two variants, the export version with Honeywell TPE331-14GR-801E engines and Bendix/King avionics and a "Russianised" model with Baranov TVD-20 powerplants. The US engines proved expensive to purchase and maintain because they have to go to the USA for overhaul and checks, while the Russian engine has a short lifespan. Conceived in 1993, the 52-seat An-140 received certification in 2000. In service Tvith Ukraine's Aeromost-Kharkov, Odessa Airlines, Motor-Sich Avia, Ilyich-Avia and Iran's Safir Air, the type is due to enter ser vice with Russia's Samara and Azerbaijan's Ukraine Azal later this year. A Westernised Pratt & produced Whitney Canada PW127A-powered variant the world's was dropped, with no plans for an alterna- largest tive to the Klimov/ZMKB Progress TV3- transport 117VMA-SB2 engines. Antonov hopes for aircraft, the 600 sales, including 400 in the CIS. An-225 Antonov is proceeding at full throttle with its An-148 regional jet, targeting the emerging CIS market for a 100-seater air craft. Passenger variants of the An- 74TK300 ramp-equipped freighter have been dropped. It is now marketed as a super mid-size business jet with a 5,200km (2,800nm) range. Integration plans The An-148 is often seen in Russia and Ukraine as a local alternative to used Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s for European ser vices. Of 90 Ukrainian aircraft operators, Aeroswit and Ukrainian International Airlines (MAU) operate 737s and Ukraine Mediterranean Airlines an A320. If govern ment plans to merge Aeroswit, MAU and Air Ukraine go ahead, Antonov could land a big order because the merged company would be more dependent on the govern ment when it came to fleet planning. The government is also planning to cre ate an Antonov group that would unite design house, manufacturing plants, repair stations and airlines operating Antonov transports. Kiev officials have also voiced the idea of putting more than 100 indus trial enterprises into four merged entities: aircraft-manufacturing, engine-manufac turing, aviation weapons and avionics, in an effort to improve the competitiveness of the Ukrainian industry. • • Aviasvit takes place on 18-20 September in Kiev. WWW.EXPOUA.COM www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14-20 SEPTEMBER 2004 41
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