An-10 Ukraine
Role	Airliner
Manufacturer	Antonov
Designed by	N. S. Troonchenkov & V. N. Ghel'prin[1]
First flight	7 March 1957[1]
Introduced	1959[2]
Retired	1972
Primary user	Aeroflot
Number built	104[1]
Variants	Antonov An-12

The Antonov An-10 Ukraine (Russian: Антонов Ан-10 Украина) was a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.^[1] The NATO ASCC reporting name was Cat.

Contents 1 Development 2 History 3 Operators 4 Variants 5 Specifications (An-10A) 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Development

Inspired by the Izdeliye N (Izdeliye - article or product) passenger version of the Antonov An-8 the Antonov design bureau developed the Izdeliye U, a four-engined aircraft with similar layout to the An-8, but with increased dimensions and a circular section pressurised fuselage.^[1] Early in the design process the choise of engines was between the Kuznetsonv NK-4 and Ivchenko AI-20 and despite superior performance the Kuznetsov NK-4 was eliminated and the Ivchenko AI-20 selected due in no small part to the 'Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Ukraine' which wanted as much as possible produced in the Ukraine, where the Ivchenko factory was.^[1]

The first prototype flew on 7 March 1957, revealing poor directional stability which led to a taller vertical fin, and later to hexagonal auxiliary fins at the tips of the tailplane. Enterring production at Zavod (factory) No.64, Voronezh in 1957 the initial three aircraft were delivered with Kuznetsov NK-4 engines due to the non-availability of the Ivchenko AI-20 engines. From 1958, production aircraft were delivered with the Ivchenko AI-20A engies which boasted a longer service life and comparable performance compared to the Kuznetsov engines.^[1]

Configured with 85 seats the cabin was spacious and wellappointed with comfortable seats widely spaced giving plenty of legroom, but due to the low cabin floor and wide diameter there was a lot of unusable space which limited baggage and cargo volumes. The inefficient use of cabin volume contributed greatly to the the low payload/TOW ratio which was much lower than the contemporary Ilyushin Il-18. Later production, of the An-10A, addressed some of the efficiency concerns by increasing the number of seats from 85 to 89 and 100 (in the two versions of the An-10A), then to 117-118 and finally 132 through reducing seat pitch and changing the cabin layout.^[1] Powered by Ivchenko AI-20K engines the An-10A demonstrated superior performance and an increased maximum payload of 14.5 Tonnes (31,970 lb). The auxiliary endplate fins eventually gave way to imptoved splayed ventral fins under the rear fuselage. The directional stability was now acceptable and the new ventral fins also improved longitudinal stability at high g and on landing approach, as well as delaying the onset of Mach buffet to M0.702. Due to being sited in an area of flow separation the new ventral fins also caused unpleasant vibrations. Following results of flight tests and at least two fatal crashes an effective tailplane de-icing sytem was retro-fitted to all remaining aircraft.^[1]

[edit] History

104 aircraft were built including the prototype and static test airframes, enterring service with the Ukrainian Civil Aviation Directorate of Aeroflot from 27 April 1959, proving popular due to large cargo volume(when fitted with reduced seating) and excellent field performance making the aircraft suitable for use on small undeveloped airfields. The Antonov bureau simultaneously developed and produced the An-8 medium military transport, An-10 civil airliner and military paratroop transport, as well as the An-12 military cargo transport.^[1]

On 22 April 1962 an An-10A pilotted by A. Mitronin gained a world record 500km closed loop speed record averaging 730.6 km/h (437 mph).^[1]

The performance of the An-10 and An-10A was relatively good and was shown to have lower seat/mile costs than the contemporary Tupolev Tu-104 jet airliner but continued to exhibit control and stability problems, culminating in a fatal crash on 16 November 1959 when CCCP-11167 dived into the ground while on approach to L'vov airport, due to reduced stability, abrupt nose drops at low airspeeds and reduced elevator authority at low airspeeds. On 26 February, again at L'vov, CCCP-11180 crashed at the same location due to reduced longitudinal stabilty and control authority caused by icing of the tailplane.^[1]

Military use of the An-10 was fairly extensive with 45 An-10TS built for the VTA, 16 flown exclusively my military units and the remanining 38 loaned to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as well as the flyable aircraft remaining after withdrawal from Aeroflot service.^[1]

The An-10A continued in service as a popular airliner until the type was withdrawn from service in 1972, after an accident revealed fatigue cracking of the wing centre-section stringers on many of the remaining aircraft. After withdrawal from Aeroflot service 25 An-10A aircraft which were in good condition were transferred to the VVS (Soviet Air Force) and other MAP (Ministry of Aircraft Production) units.^[1]

[edit] Operators

 Soviet Union

• Aeroflot

[edit] Variants

• Izdeliye U - The in-house designation of the four-engined passenger aircraft derived from the Izdeliye N An-8 project.^[1]
• An-10 - The designation of the prototype and initial production versions fitted with Kuznetsov NK-4 or Ivchenko Ai-20A engines.^[1]
• An-10A - Production aircraft from December 1959 with increased seating, decreased empty weight/increased payload and Ivchenko AI-20K engines.^[1]
• An-10AS - several aircraft modified for small package cargo transport with no seats.^[1]
• An-10TS - (Trahnsport/Sanitarnny - transport/ambulance) 45 Aircraft ordered for the VTA (Voyenno-Trahnsportnaya Aviahtsiya - transport air arm), with 38 loaned to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.^[1]
• An-10KP - (Kommandnyy Poonkt - command post) A single aircraft (CCCP-11854) modified as an airborne command post for use at Sperenburg air base, near Berlin in the DDR.^[1]

[edit] Specifications (An-10A)

Data from Tayyareci.com^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Capacity: 100 passengers
• Length: 37 m (121 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 38 m (124 ft 8 in)
• Height: 9.38 m (30 ft 9 in)
• Wing area: 121.73 m² (1310.33 ft²)
• Empty weight: 30,500 kg (67,241 lb)
• Gross weight: 55,100 kg (121,475 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Ivchenko AI-20 turboprop, 2980 kW (3996 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 680 km/h (423 mph)
• Range: 4075 km (2532 miles)
• Service ceiling: 12000 m (39,370 ft)

[edit] See also

Related development

• Antonov An-12
• Kamov Ka-22
  

Related lists

• List of airliners
• List of civil aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS
  

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Antonov An-10

• Airdisaster.com

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