Yes, I know, I know, it’s ANOTHER An-2……. February 3, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft, ships.Tags: 'Anna', 'Anushka', Abingdon, Aero Troika, Air Show, An-2, An-2T, Antonov, Aviation, Cologne, F-4, Flight Training Cologne, German Air Force, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, LSK, Luftstreitkrafte, Luftwaffe, Mielec, North Vietnam, Phantom, Poland, PZL, South Vietnam, torpedo, USS Long Beach, Vietnamese War
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An-2, D-FKMA
I may have said this before but I REALLY like the An-2. The ‘Anushka’ is big, bold and burly….and makes a statement on the flightline. Thanks to the German Air Force, who declined this PZL-built former LSK (Luftstreitkrafte) East German machine (LSK-440), it came onto the open market. Here seen in the markings of ‘Aero Troika’ on the flightline at GVFWE Abingdon, it is now operated by Flight Training Cologne, and gives pleasure flights, mostly operating out of its home base. This An-2T (nicknamed ‘Anna’) was not built – at Mielec in Poland – to any agreed international civilian standard, so the CAA would have a problem with allowing that kind of operation in the UK.
I went inside this aircraft and found it typical of the breed. The cockpit had an almost ‘agricultural’ feel to it; almost like a flying tractor – and about as tough, too! Difficult to think of this as being in any way belligerent, but, during the Vietnamese War, some North Vietnamese An-2s were fitted with two torpedoes slung underneath their wing, in an attempt to attack South Vietnamese coastal shipping. One of these North Vietnamese An-2s was shot down by an F-4 Phantom, under the control of USS Long Beach!
Alright, I confess, I REALLY like the An-2…. January 26, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: 'Annushka', 'Colt', aircraft, An-2, Antonov, Aviation, B-17, China, DC-3, EGHP, Hampshire, Hungary, ICAO, Li-2, Lisunov, M-25 engine, Mielec, NATO, Poland, Polikarpov I-16, Popham, PZL, Russia, Shijiazhuang, Shvetsov ASh-62 engine, Soviet, Wright R-1820 engine, WW2, Y-5
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- Antonov An-2
Here is another example of that wonderful beast, the Antonov An-2 (NATO reporting name, ‘Colt’). This one is carrying an Hungarian registration, HA-MKF, and was, like the vast majority of the survivors, built by PZL at Mielec in Poland (over 12,000 were built there). From the first flight on the 31st August 1947, it was clear that the ‘Annushka’ was a winner. China also built this type as the Shijiazhuang Y-5, and it remains in service.
Lining up for departure January 20, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: Air Unique, aircraft, An-2, Antonov, Aviation, De Havilland, DeH 85, Empire Test Pilots' School, Gipsy Major engine, GVFWE, Hullavington, Leopard Moth, Mr & Mrs Gammons, RAF, Scottish Aviation, Twin Pioneer, Wiltshire
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- An-2, Twin Pioneer, Leopard Moth
Sometimes the line-up for departure at the end of each day of a Great Vintage Flying Weekend can get rather interesting. Here we can see Air Unique’s An-2 ‘Baltic Bear’, in front of Air Atlantique’s Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer in Empire Test Pilots’ School livery getting ready for departure from Hullavington, Wiltshire. The De Havilland DeH 85 Leopard Moth in the background belongs to Mr and Mrs Gammons, and is kept in beautiful working order. It was built in 1934, and its Gipsy Major 1c has kept it flying for more than 3,300 hours, a distance in excess of 400,000 miles – or 15 times around the Earth!
Rain and airshows; they really don’t mix! January 13, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, RAF, Royal Air Force.Tags: adverse weather, Air Show, aircraft, An-2, Antonov, Douglas DC-3, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Hullavington, Nimrod MR4A, Percival Pembroke, piston-engined aircraft, radar, Scottish Aviation, Searchwater 2000MR, Thales, Twin Pioneer
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'Heavy' piston-engined aircraft park, GVFWE
This was the scene at GVFWE Hullavington, shortly before a burst of heavy rain moved through. As you can see, we are in the midst of setting-up the ‘heavy’ piston-engined aircraft park, and a number of crew are pitching tents. In the line, you can see an Antonov An-2, Douglas DC-3 (with radar), Percival Pembroke, Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, a very interesting mix. All I can say is that the cost of insuring an outdoor event against adverse weather is so high as to make it prohibitive to do so (it would cost you around 30% of your gate monies, thereby more than wiping out any profit margin!)
As an interesting note, the DC-3, G-ANAF, was used to test the Thales Searchwater 2000MR radar, as fitted to the RAF’s Nimrod MR.4A aircraft. With the reduction in the number of Nimrods in that order, several of the already-built specialist radars are surplus to requirements.
Don’t you just love biplanes? December 7, 2008
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend.Tags: 'Baltic Bear', Air Unique, An-2, Antonov, Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE
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- Air Unique’s An-2 ‘Baltic Bear’ at GVFWE, Hullavington
Don’t you just LOVE biplanes? They don’t come much bigger and more bearish than Air Unique’s Lithuanian registered Antonov An-2, ‘The Baltic Bear’. This gorgeous piece of aviation retro-design was first flown as a prototype AFTER WW2, despite the biplane configuration. The ‘Anushka’ has been used for para-dropping, crop-spraying, metereological research, ‘feeder liner’, mineral prospecting and almost everything else. This particular example has a most luxurious executive interior. As you can see, sometimes the Commentary Box is the best place for photography, too!
