Fuselage of An-70T civil variant of An-70 completed, according to Antonov

Published: 11/24/1999

According to Pyotr Balabuyev, Antonov's General Designer, the company has assembled the first fuselage for the An-70T. Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow on 23rd November, Balabuyev said that the fuselage has recently been "taken from the assembly jigs" and is now being fitted with wing sections. The maiden flight for the prototype is planned for the middle of 2001. The An-70T-100 is a civil version of the An-70, differing from the basic version by having two ZMKB Progress D-27 engines instead of the four required by the military version to deliver STOL capability. According to Antonov, the two engines will provide the aircraft with greater economy for high-speed cruise flights, while the four engines on the military version are installed to provide the required field performance, such as operations from 600m unpaved runways. Balabuyev further commented that the addition of the two-man crew An-70T would help broaden the An-70's client base by adding civil operators. According to Leonid Terentiev, General Director of the Medium Transport Consortium, which is promoting the AN-7X for the European MTA, it will also compensate for any potential failure to win the European military tender. So far, only Volga-Dnepr (VD) has expressed interest in the An-70T, pending confirmation of the aircraft"s fuel economy in flight tests. Antonov claims that the An-70T will be the most fuel-efficient freighter available, when it enters service in 2004-2005.

Article ID: 1124