Seventy years after first flight of the original model, the first fully-composite version of the Antonov An-2 biplane airliner arrived at the MAKS air show less than a week after completing its own maiden flight.
The Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute (SibNIA) plans to certificate the new model – rebranded as the TVS-2DTS – within two years, then promote the aircraft to passenger and cargo operators, says Oleg Parfentyev, adviser to the chairman of SibNIA for aviation projects.
The cargo market offers the most potential for the aircraft type. Parfentyev describes how Russian carriers now fly four-engined Antonov An-12s from Moscow to Novosibirsk, where the payload is redistributed to smaller cities. A fleet of TVS-2DTS aircraft would allow the same operators to fly direct to the secondary cities, bypassing the hub stop at Novosibirsk, he says.
In addition to newly-composite structure, the TVS-2DTS features Honeywell TPE331-12 turboprop engines and new interiors. The latter two upgrades were originally developed for the metal TVS-2MS, which first entered service in 2011. About 25 of the latter model are now in service.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
