The Strange and Rare
 

AN-2 still carries Aeroflot markings and no US registry.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...5/DSC_1082.jpg

Nice Seabee

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...5/DSC_1080.jpg


An increasingly rare sighting

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...5/DSC_1074.jpg

I always thought the AN-2 would be a blast to own. Put a nice exec interior in it and you have a nice, albeit slow, airplane.

I saw an AN-2 in McAlester, OK years and years ago.
Standing beside it certainly feels strange next to such a large bi-plane.

USMCFLYR

Two friends of mine had AN-2s and both said the same thing.. the radial engine was a thing of beauty and the flying characteristics were incredible.. BAD. Like trying to get a drunk clydesdale to dance. heavy on the controls.. very heavy. But both LOVED the machine.

A drunk clydesdale eh? Now I am thinking back to my farm days... Wishing i had tried that lol

A guy based out of KXFL just wrecked a uc-1 twinbee in a lake nearby attempting a glassy landing...caught a sponson first...now it's in pieces in the hangar

There was an An-2 based out of Ovid, NY near my home that would fly in to our pancake breakfasts. I swear you could takeoff and land in my backyard with that thing.

I wonder what the left turning tendencies are like with that beast of an engine up front?

Yep, a clydesdale. Don't know about the Shires, Percherons, Belgians and others but they all drink beer. I mean.. after all, that's why they call them 'draft horses', right?

Guy at PI used to have a few Percherons and he had a youngster he teamed with an older horse. He said you had to train them so they knew their strength but didn't know it.. at the same time. Because if they decided they wanted to so somewhere, you were not going to stop them. Small one was around 1500lbs and the big boy was well north of 2000lbs.

But back to one of the AN2 owners. He was contacted by the DOD and they had him flying his AN2 around the hills of Asheville. They wanted to get noise and radar signatures because the N. Koreans were using them to infiltrate the south (Korea that is) and in the hills they were hard to find.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxhSm...eature=related

Supposedly the North Korean version used more wood and fabric than other versions and was thus more stealthy, but there was still that 1200 pound lump of an engine and large prop disk(although they may have used a wooden prop) to reflect radar energy.

For variants and history see:Antonov An-2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lots of interesting stuff here on the joys of ownership: http://an2flyers.com/

This one remains a mystery, with the original markings(which appear to have been oversprayed and then cleaned up with a rag soaked in MEK-don't ask), some other marks spray painted out and though it is being cared for(note the toy chocks and tiedowns) it has rested in the same place for years. Perhaps someone knows the story.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...5/DSC_1077.jpg

well Jungle, if you happen to find out the owners, tell them there is a guy in the lower 48 that would take it off their hands in a heartbeat. lol

Steve, one of the AN2 owners, brought over a couple of AN2 mechanics and paid them to completely redo the fabric on the airplane. It was pretty.

I spent some time working some counterparts at Aeroflot and the Tu-154 Capt I drank with (don't try this at home) had started on AN2s and was the only one to walk away from a crash. Scar on his cheek looked like a dueling scar. Nice fellow but I learned to never try to keep up with an Aeroflot Capt with an affinity for Georgian brandies.

Who was it.. the Poles or the Czechs that came up with a turboprop version?http://www.wingweb.co.uk/wingweb/img..._turboprop.jpg

I think it would be a remarkable bush plane, and it is apparently a great crop duster as well. The AN-2 guys squawk that Cessna as well as the Ag plane building firms have "paid off" the FAA to keep them from certifying the maching in a category that would allow them to be worked.

Taking off my tin -foil hat now.

Also, to IIICorps - you are nuts to try to keep up with a Russian drinking.

That has been argued over a number of airplanes. Truth or fiction?? Who knows...

You think they are tough traffic. Try keeping up with the Swedes and their aquavit.

I thought the Russians would be slurping vodka but no... brandy. And no sips.. toss the shot down. True story... in St Petersburg in spring and we hammer down a few. I go back to the hotel and when I wake I figure the best thing is to do a few miles and try to sweat the hangover out. I go out jogging in St Petersburg and note that I am getting some odd looks. Why? That time of year you can read a newspaper in the ambient light at 3AM. So, here is the dumb American jogging at 3AM.. (I have to laugh at when I think of how many times I have been clueless and am still around)