An-2 The plane than can fly backward

[Night Hunter]

                                  

                                 The two sets of wings An-2 generate much lift, allowing the takeoff in a very short distance.

 

In early April, North Korea revealed a new plan camouflage for some of its most important military aircraft: the Soviet Antonov An-2 biplane.

 

But in 2015 these aircraft are more like something out of a movie Indiana Jones of the first military line of a country border alert.

However, this archaic-looking Soviet model, which first flew in 1947, after World War II, has unique abilities.

Perhaps that is why thousands of these aircraft were manufactured and exported worldwide, and now, after decades of production, still in operation.

In addition to its remarkably short takeoff and landing, the An-2 has a capacity that seems impossible can plan like a helicopter and even fly backwards.

 

Tailored

 

The AN-2 was designed to meet the needs of the Soviet Ministry of Forests, both for spraying crops to transport.

Its designer, Oleg Antonov, created a large biplane, single engine, with an enclosed cab that could carry 12 passengers or a ton of merchandise.

As the AN-2 would have to operate from rough terrain, amid sparsely populated wilderness, was designed in a simple and robust way, so he could take off and land in very small spaces.

So they created a lot easier to maintain aircraft helicopters, which are mechanically more complex.

More than 19,000 were built in the Soviet Union and later in Poland, until 1991, and thousands more in China under license.

 

Uncomfortable and noisy, but unique

 

"The reason why the An-2 is still used in aviation is because there really is no other aircraft like him," says the writer on aviation Bernie Leighton, who traveled in An-2 in Belarus.

 

                                   

                                           This archaic-looking Soviet model, which first flew in 1947, has unique abilities.

 

And the secret of going backwards?

The two sets of wings An-2 generate much lift, allowing the takeoff in a very short distance.

If you have a wind strong enough, say 15 or 20 knots, you can plan like a helicopter

Bill Leary, manager of the British club UK flight An-2

In fact the minimum airspeed of this biplane is remarkably low: a pilot can fly with full control only 40 km / h.

By comparison, the engine of a Cessna means can not fly within 80 km / h.

So the An-2 are particularly popular in schools of paragliding and skydiving.

This capability also means that this plane can glide like a helicopter, a trick they love to do the pilots of the An-2 during the air show.

To achieve this, the pilot flies into a headwind, and if the current is strong enough, this maneuver can cause the plane to fly back slowly, while the pilot remains in control.

 

Source:BBC News

 

 

 

[ajnl]

Sounds like an interesting and pretty shitty airplane , never heard of it. Thanks for posting.

 

I've heard stories of Cessna 152 and Rallye 100 aircraft taking off vertically and landing backwards, but those are smaller planes.

[gibson66]

Breaking news: North koreans have finally achieved atmospheric flight. The world stands in awe at their unparalleled ability to be 100 years behind the curve.