Antonov An-3

Upgrading

The upgrading consisted of replacement of the piston engine with a 1375 shp 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 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 500 m 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 is one of the few turbine-powered biplane 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, 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 1800 kg 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)

| prime units?=met met(ric) first for all others. You MUST choose a format, or no specifications will show --

General characteristics

| max takeoff weight kg=5,800 | max takeoff weight note= Powerplant

| eng1 kn-ab= | eng1 lbf-ab=

| eng2 kn-ab= | eng2 lbf-ab=

| eng3 kn-ab= | eng3 lbf-ab=

Performance

| never exceed speed kmh= | never exceed speed mph= | never exceed speed kts= | never exceed speed note= | minimum control speed kmh= | minimum control speed mph= | minimum control speed kts= | minimum control speed note= | wing loading kg/m2=81 | wing loading lb/sqft= | disk loading kg/m2= | disk loading lb/sqft=

| power/mass=0.174 kW/kg | thrust/weight=

Armament

Accidents and incidents

• On 13 October 2024 an Antonov An-3T operated by Borus Aircompany crashed near Olyokminsk Airport, Sakha Republic, Russia, killing one of the 5 people on board.

References

• {{cite web |script-title=ru:Самолет АН-3 |url-status=dead

References

1. Military Parade 4-2007, page 33.
2. "AVIA - Associazione di Volontariato in Italia per l'Aviazione".
3. Elfving, Jörgen. (April 2021). "An Assessment of the Russian Airborne Troops and Their Role on Tomorrow's Battlefield". The Jamestown Foundation.
4. Gordon, Yefim. (2004). "Antonov An-2". Midland publishing.
5. "Accident Antonov An-3T RA-05884, Sunday 13 October 2024".
6. Antonov 3 (1998), Antonov Scientific/Technical Complex, specification card
7. Antonov-3 Family (2002), Antonov Scientific/Technical Complex, specification card
8. An-3 Light Multipurpose Aircraft, Antonov Aeronautical Scientific/Technical Complex, news release. n.d.