Flight Impressions -An-2 Colt

The first impression of the aircraft is its sheer size. A biplane of unequal span, the upper wing has a span of 18. 18 metres, height is 6. 1 metres and length is 12. 4 metres. The nine cylinder radial engine designed by the Shvetsov design bureau delivers 1,000hp to a four bladed propeller.

Most of the preflight checks are carried out looking upwards. Just one example of the preflight – to check and top up the oil, you climb up the outside of the fuselage in front of the tail, walk along the top of the fuselage, over the cabin and sit on top of the engine while you see how much of the 90 litre capacity oil tank needs replenishing since the last flight.

Entry to the fuselage is by an inwards opening door two metres in front of the tail, followed by a walk up the sloping floor to a step up into the cockpit. Looking around, I was struck by the way the cockpit glass sloped out to the left, so I could look back along the outside of the fuselage to the tail whilst still inside the cockpit. Like the Yak-18Ts which we reported on in the last issue, all the placards were in Russian, so it took a while to work out what each item was. Indicative of the aircraft’s low level role were two electric rubber bladed fans, one for each pilot. Another curious piece of equipment was a print of a patron saint as a permanent fixture! Nobody seemed to be able to explain this oddity in what was officially an atheist nation.

With master switch on, and fuel pressure pumped up by a hand pump, the engine flywheel was energised, meshed to the engine and the huge radial very slowly came to life amid clouds of white smoke. We sat for a few minutes while the temperatures increased, released the air brakes and slowly increased power. After an appreciable delay the Antonov inched forward, I operated the air brake lever on the control column and it stopped. Like the smaller Yakovlev tourer, taxying was reminiscent of a Bristol Freighter – move the appropriate rudder pedal forward, squeeze the hand lever and air pressure activates the wheel brake.

After the usual pre-takeoff checks, we lined up, opened the throttle slowly, keeping straight with bootfuls of rudder and before full power was reached, we were in the air and drifting slowly upwards with hardly any forward speed at all. The ultimate STOL machine yet big enough to accommodate a new year’s eve party! The best description I can think of is that the lumbering Colt is a cross between a Tiger Moth and a DC-3, with a touch of ultralight thrown in.

As speed was held at 130 kilometres per hour (70 knots), I pressed the button on the pedestal to slowly retract the flaps on all four wings, retrimming with the electric elevator trim as I did so. Power was reduced from about 1,000 millimetres – indicating a degree of supercharging. RPM were reduced to 1,800 and we progressed in a stately fashion above Darwin at 165kph, or 90 knots. I found the elevators and rudders to be quite responsive, but the ailerons were heavy and the roll response was slow. Trimming was available on all three axis via electric motors, operated by toggle switches. The very large cowl gill flaps were operated mechanically by a lever to control cylinder head temperature .

After a period of formation flying for air-to-air photography, we returned for a landing. The pilot in command was Oleg Lyakishev – he is an Antonov specialist, having flown his first solo after 17 hours dual, on the Antonov. Most of his flying seems to have been on cropdusting and similar agricultural operations.

On the base leg, power was reduced and 15 degrees of flap lowered by pressing a button recessed into the throttle handle, with speed at 150kph (81 knots). On finals, speed came back to 130kph (70 knots), 30 degrees of flap came on, power was reduced to idle and a very steep descent to the threshold followed. At about 60ft roundout started, the aircraft was held off for a three point landing, with the full span automatic slats on the leading edge of the top wing popping out about 8 knots before the stall. Directional control during the landing run was no problem using rudder. Use of brakes reduced the landing roll to an incredible 150 metres. Oleg said that by applying engine power as speed reduced, the stall speed could be reduced to a very low value, resulting in a virtual parachute landing.

An interesting aside to this is that in South Korea the An-2 is one of the most feared aircraft in the inventory of the North Korean air force. It transpires that the radical North has more than 400 An-2s available and has developed a plan whereby every aircraft would be used to simultaneously infiltrate teams of up to 20 commandos per aircraft into the South. The lumbering Colt, flying at zilch feet through hilly terrain at night, would be virtually invisible on radar and would deliver its saboteur cargo precisely to predesignated points of crucial importance to the South. The theory that the North would thus be able to completely overwhelm all communication and transport links in the South’s heartland within minutes without being initially detected is something that is taken very seriously by those within the South Korean government. In fact it is largely the existence of the aged Antonovs that has prompted the South to approve an investment of nearly a billion dollars in an AWACS capability.

Meanwhile, I flew several circuits with touch and go landings and was starting to feel confident on the type when low fuel dictated a full stop landing. Oleg must have been reasonably happy with my flying, because after a session of taxying the aircraft he indicated that flying it was no problem. The difficult thing however was to be able to control it on the ground. Consequently he took my brand new Russian pilots licence and endorsed it for the An-2.