Antonov An-178 complete maiden flight

The new generation Antonov An−178 transport plane completed its maiden flight on Thursday, from Kyiv, Ukraine after being rolled out in ...

The new generation Antonov An−178 transport plane completed its maiden flight on Thursday, from Kyiv, Ukraine after being rolled out in April.

The successful maiden flight lasted 1 hour and was performed by Antonov test pilots, Captain Andrii Spasibo and co-pilot Sergii Troshyn along with test engineer Mykola Sydorenko.

 The new generation airlifter is intended to replace the four engined An-12 turboprop aircraft and is designed to carry out both commercial and military roles. The ageing Soviet era An-12 fleet currently operated by CIS, African and Asian countries was last produced in 1973. Antonov says the An-178 can also replace the C-160 Transal operated by European countries.

 

The aircraft design is based on the existing An-148 and An-158 passenger planes, with 50-60 percent airframe and onboard equipment commonality, reducing development costs. The An-178 has the typical airlifter design, consisting the high wing, T-tail. The aircraft is powered by two Ivchenko-Progress D-436 turbofan engines mounted on wing pylons.

The An-178 has a maximum payload capacity of 18 tons and a maximum range of 4000 km. The aircraft marks, one of most advanced aircraft developed by Antonov with parts supplied from 15 countries.

The most important feature of the An−178 is its ability to transport all the packaged cargoes existing in the world, including the large 1C maritime containers.