The Antonov An-3 is a Soviet (later Ukrainian and Russian) civil multipurpose and

agricultural aircraft An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles, they are referred to as "crop duste ...

. It is essentially a

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

-powered development of the An-2, designed to upgrade or replace it. The basic transport version (An-3T) is supplemented by a cargo/passenger version (An-3TK), an agricultural version (An-3SH), a forest fire-fighting version (An-3P), as well as an ambulance version. It is designed to carry passengers and cargo, operating from paved or unpaved airfields, including snow covered surfaces up to deep (using a ski landing gear).

Upgrading

The upgrading consisted of replacement of the

piston engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion, reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a Circular motion, rotating motion. This article ...

with a TVD-20 turboprop engine, featuring a three-blade reversible pitch (type AV-17) propeller and a R-17 speed governor. The flight compartment was rearranged; a heating and ventilation system was installed as well as advanced electric and flight and navigation equipment; centralized warning system; a new fire extinguishing system; and an improvement of the external wide-spreading dispensing equipment for agricultural needs. The upgrades allowed the aircraft to be more reliable and to increase the cargo lifting capacity of the aircraft by 20%, as well as ensuring more comfortable conditions for the crew, including the lowering of the noise and vibration inside the cockpit. The

rate of climb In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...

was increased by 1.9 times, and the take-off and landing performance of the aircraft was increased. The upgrading allowed the use of kerosene and lubricants commonly used for other aircraft instead of gasoline. The take-off weight and payload was also increased and the upgrade allowed the landing performance to use ground strips long. The upgrading was arranged at both the "Polyot" Production Association in Omsk, Russian Federation, and at Antonov ASTC, Kyiv, Ukraine. The first example flew as early as May 13, 1980, but because of a lack of official interest in the project, work proceeded very slowly. Flight testing was not complete until

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. It is one of the few

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

-powered

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

designs to date. The An-3T received its Type Certificate on 31 August 2000. Supplements to the Type Certificate included version with ski landing gear and an agricultural version.

Variants

The project was revitalised in the late 1990s when it was taken over by Polyot State Aerospace Enterprise, and a marketing campaign began in earnest in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, although sales have been limited. It is available in four forms, the basic transport version (An-3T), the convertible cargo/passenger able to carry 12 passengers or of cargo (An-3TK)k the agricultural aircraft (An-3SH—"Selsko-Khosiajstwenni") and the fire-fighting version (An-3P). Another attempt to replace the An-2 on Soviet farms was made in the 1970s with the WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor, but it failed. From 2007, the "Polyot" Production Association aimed to start a series of modernization upgrades to ten An-2s of the Russian Airborne Troops to An-3T-10 standard. The overall requirement was estimated at approximately 200 aircraft. However, none of these An-3T-10s were ever delivered and the Russian Airborne Troops continue to use unmodified An-2s.

Specifications (An-3T)

Accidents and incidents

*On 13 October 2024 an Antonov An-3T operated by Borus Aircompany crashed near Olyokminsk Airport,

Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...

, Russia, killing one of the 5 people on board.https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/451524

References

* (Shortened version in English availabl
here

External links