Published: 10/29/1997

On 17 September, the first prototype of the An-140 flew successfully from the airfield in Kiev. Eight days later Lev Khasis, chairman of Samara-based Aviacor factory and Peter Smith, chief executive officer with Atlas Project Management, signed an agreement pertaining to production, marketing and leasing of the aircraft. Atlas will help a joint Russian-Ukrainian team in financial management of the project. Configured for 52 passengers at 31-inch pitch, the An-140 is designed as a "no-frills" airframe for cash-strapped CIS operators. Its two 2500hp Motor SICh TV-3-117VMA-SB-2 turboprops are derivatives of the successful turboshaft engine in use on the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 helicopters. They can accelerate the plane to a maximum speed of 575km/h. When cruising at 7,200m at a typical speed of 520km/h, the An-140 can cover 2,100km with 52 passengers or 3,650km with 34 passengers. According to Antonov general designer Piotr Balabuev, the new commuter is economically and technically superior to its predecessor, the An-24. Its fuel consumption is 60% lower than its predecessor. Being 15Db quieter, the An-140 fully complies with the most stringent European requirements to noise. Balabuev says that his strategic goal is to keep the price per one series airframe at the level of $7m, twice lower in comparison with similar western designs. Much of the competition for the CIS market, however, will come from the 60-seat Ilyushin Il-114 in production at Tashkent. In a standard version with relatively new Klimov TV-7-117C engines, the rival is priced at $8m. A new "westernised" version with PWC-127s is expected to cost around $10m. Balabuev asserts that its low-pressure tyres, high-mounted wing with a span of 24.3m and reliable power plants will make the An-140 better suited to provincial air companies operating from semi-prepared or unpaved airfields. Antonov hopes to have a 1,000 production run for the An-140, including 640 for CIS. Aviacor and Kharkov State Aircraft Production Plant are busily converting their lines for the mass output of the An-140. Yearly production rate is planned to be 25-30 units. Elements of the propulsion system will be manufactured by Motor-SICh, Progress and Aerosila enterprises, with Arsenal being responsible for landing gears. Lev Khasis says that his factory plans to assemble its first An-140 in the first quarter of next year. In 1996, the Samara regional administration gave Aviacor its guarantees for Rbs300bn to be drawn from commercial financiers for converting the factory's production lines for the An-140, Tu-334 and An-70. Anatoly Dubovenko, from Antonov, says 64% of funding for An-140 development has come from the manufacturer's own resources, chiefly from operational revenues of its own commercial operator flying An-124, An-22, An-12 and An-32 freighters. Last year, Antonov won the Iranian tender for local production of a turboprop commuter at the factory in Isfahan. Iran may order up to 60 airframes. As part of the deal, Iran funds development of the An-140. Balabuev says that although the Iranian money comes with delays, the project remains on schedule.(IN1097.4) (VK)

Article ID: 57