Aerospace |
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News Of The An-140 Commuter AN-140 GOES FLYINGThe new commuter from Ukraine's Antonov, the An-140, had a successful maiden flight on September 15. The event took place three days later than planned, due to a right-hand engine pump failure.
The An-140 is different than all existing CIS designs in that it is the only relatively large airplane that's development began after the USSR had collapsed. At first, the Ukrainian designers were tasked to make the plane as much Ukrainian as possible, in order to escape difficulties in getting sub-components from foreign (read - Russian) sub- manufacturers. The airframe would be made at the mass production Kiev and Kharkov, with engines at Motor-SICh and Progress enterprises, all based in the Ukraine. After first years of independent life, however, Ukraine and Russia came to the realization that they would both benefit from joining forces on promising aerospace projects. Among those Russian enterprises actively involved in the project are Samara-based Aviacor airframe manufacturer, Stupino propeller-maker and Arsenal equipment provider. There are some factors that make the An-140 attractive for Russia. The country's commuter fleet is now composed of outdated Yak-40 jets and An-24 turboprops, supplemented by relatively small number of Chech L- 410s. According to the Federal Aviation Service, Russian commuter inventory contains 328 Yak-40s and 333 An-24s. And there are 208 Tu-134 high-speed jets, which, on economical grounds, might be effectively replaced by high-speed turboprops (the An-140 can fly at 575 kilometers per hour). Ukrainian operators have 30 Yak-40s, 64 An-24s and 22 Tu-134s. These three types left production a time long ago, with some 30 percent of assigned lifetime remaining. The outdated CIS commuter fleet gives hope to Antonov in achieving a big production run for the An-140, up to a thousand units. To win the market, the Ukrainian aircraft would have to compete with another famous manufacturer - Ilyushin. The latter has its own project, the 60- seat Il-114. Conceived in the Soviet times as all-new high-tech design, similar in parameters to the British Aerospace ATP, the project, is almost 10 years behind its original schedule. The major problem for Ilyushin has been the 2,500-hp Klimov TV-7-117 engine, which needs considerable investments to overcome its teething problems. Initial operational trials with the Uzbekistan Airways and Arkhangelsk Air Detachment - commenced two years ago - have highlighted a number of design shortcomings. After logging some 400 hours each, the four "operationally-tried" Il-114s stay on the ground due to the expired lifetime of its engines. Due to their experimental nature, they need overhauling at specialized repair factories. Unfortunately, none of Russian engine overhaulers are ready to undertake the work. Antonov says the An-140 will not have problems with its propulsion system. Two 2500-hp Motor SICh TV-3-117VMA-SB-2s that power the An-140 are derivatives of the well-tried model in use on the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 helicopters. To escape competing with Ilyushin head-on, Antonov's commuter is made smaller, with a passenger capacity of 52 instead of 60 for the Il-114. According to Antonov general designer Piotr Balabuev, because the potential market is relatively big, both airplanes will have no problem finding customers. With high-mounted wings (Il-114 has low-mounted wings) and low-pressure tyres, the An-140 will be more attractive to provincial operators, using non-paved or semi-prepared airfields. Because of this merit, the plane is also being considered by Yakutia. This autonomous republic in frame of the Russian Federation has 40 aerodromes, with only nine having concrete runways. Another merit of the plane is its high payload/empty-weight ratio, which is 1.35. "The lesser the weight, the bigger the brain," said Piotr Balabuev, hinting at the high professionalism of his designers. Compared to the widely-known An-24, its successor is 15Db quieter and fully complies with the current European requirement with noise. At typical cruise, the An-140 uses 60 percent less fuel than the An-24. Its turnaround capability is two times higher as well. Piotr Balabuev says he pays much attention to making the An-140 affordable for CIS operators. The goal is to have the list price for standard "no-frills" airframe with rather simple avionics twice as low for local competitors. Earlier, Balabuev was quoted as saying that the price would be $7 million. "The air fare should match the salary of provincial people," Balabuev explained. According to him, the CIS market for the plane is estimated at 640 units. A considerable number of commuters can be sold to third-world countries, expressing a strong interest in the An-140. Last year, Antonov won Iranian tender for local production of a turboprop commuter at the factory in Isfahan. Balabuev claims that 12 world-famous aircraft manufacturers participated in the tender and that the Iranian found the An-140 a better solution than what the ATR, Fokker and Dash offer. The first airframe for Iran will be assembled in the Ukraine in the first quarter of 1998. Anatoly Dubovenko, chief designer at Antonov, says Iran has 60 An-140s on order. As part of the deal, Iran will participate in the financing of the An-140 project. Piotr Balabuev admits that there are some financial delays in Iran, but, in general, the program is on schedule. "The progress is measured by real financing," he said. Anatoly Dubovenko says 64 percent of funding for the An-140 development has come from the manufacturer's own resources, chiefly from operational revenues of its own commercial operator flying An-124, An- 22, An-12 and An-32 freighters. The rest is budgetary funding and commercial investments. AVIACOR CONTRACTS ATLAS ON AN-140On September 25, Lev Khasis, chairman of Aviacor joint-stock company,
and Peter Smith, Atlas Project Management chief executive officer, signed
a contract for the production, marketing and leasing of the An-140 commuter
Upon applying his signature, Lev Khasis said that he intends to use Atlas' rich experience in the area of aircraft financing and leasing. Gregory Gurtovoi, Atlas Management chairman, said the company is very proud to have been selected to work with Aviacor, the manufacturer of world-class aircraft for both civilian and military users. He continued, "We are all determined to ensure that the An-140, a desperately needed aircraft in the Russian market, is a great success." The An-140 is a high-wing turboprop with a maximum speed of 575 kilometers per hour, with fuel consumption at 20 grams per km/passenger flown. The aircraft will be available in two major versions: an all-passenger with 52 seats at 31" pitch and a combi for 20 passengers and 3.65 tons of cargo. Cruising at 7,200 meters at a speed of 520 kilometers per hour, the passenger aircraft can transport 52 passengers 2,100 kilometersor 34 passengers 3,650 kilometers with fuel reserves for 45 minutes. Provision is made for two baggage compartments - one of 6.0 cubic meters in the aft fuselage, the other of 3.0 cubic meters in the area under the front part of the passenger cabin. In 1996, Samara regional administration granted Aviacor its guarantees for Rbs300bn for converting its production lines for new aircraft types. Those are the 100-seat Tu-334 jet, the An-70 airlifter and the An-140. According to Vladimir Ryzhkov, Aviacor vice-president, the company's engineering department works seven days a week preparing the requisite manufacturing documentation. According to plans, the first An- 140 should be assembled in Samara and flown in the next year. "I am confident that the An-140 fill will be in demand in the Russian market," Lev Khasis said. Born in 1966, Khasis is known as a prominent financer for successful work as the director of Samara Trade House and vice-president of Avto-VAZ bank. This past August, Khisis became chairman of directors at Tupolev. Now, by teaming with Atlas Project Management, Khasis hopes to ensure commercial success of the Aviacor's restructuring plans. In the last few years, Aviacor suffered from shortage of orders for the 164-seater Tu-154M airliner currently in production. As a result, the work-force had been cut from 24,000 to 10,000. The cuts have been supplemented by restructuring of the enterprise. Khasis said, "We stopped practice of building 'white tails' a long time ago. Instead, we lay down a new airframe only if we have a firm order for it." Twelve new Tu-154Ms are in various stages of completion; those are ordered by Iran for Bonjad Air and Mahad Air for delivery by the end of this year. Khasis says that last year, Aviacor sold at least 10 airframes and that now the enterprise is the most financially-stable aircraft manufacturer in Russia. The latest Tu-154M aircraft took delivery in July 1997 - purchased by Ros-Shina (for "Russian Tyre") company, the aircraft went into service with Tumen Airlines. Khasis says that Aviacor is going to terminate Tu-154M production "by the turn of the century." This is partly caused by many second-hand Tu-154s on the market - over 1,000 units in all have been manufactured, flying with 42 companies. Whereas the factory offers the Tu-154M at $18 million, an airframe in good condition can be acquired on the market for about $9 million. According to the latest reports, OmskAvia has acquired a relatively new Tu-154M from the Nicaraguan government for just $3 million. |
in production at Aviacor. According to the terms of the agreement, Atlas
Project Management will assist in the structuring of the An-140 project
together with production and sales financing.