The second prototype of the Antonov An-70 propfan airlifter had its maiden flight on 24 April. The flight, from the Antonov test base at Svyatoshino, near Kiev, in Ukraine, lasted for a total of 31min.
The first An-70 prototype was lost in a mid-air collision with an An-72 chase aircraft during its fourth test flight in February,1995, killing the crew of seven.
The Ukrainian company has raised virtually the entire funding required to build the new aircraft itself, mostly through commercial operation of its An-124 freighters. Funds pledged by Russia and the Ukraine failed to materialise.
In spite of that, the aircraft is said to remain on the Russian defence ministry's list of priority programmes - the An-70's Russian rival, the turbofan-powered Tupolev Tu-330, is still a long way from its first flight.
Source: Flight International