The world famous aircraft giant An-225 "Mriya", created by the Design Bureau named after OK. Antonov, took off on December 21, 1988. This event is considered one of the most significant in the aviation world, but what happened before the development of this super-heavy aircraft? Today we will carry out a short historical excursion and tell you about the Antonov Design Bureau and its founder - the great Soviet aircraft designer Oleg Konstantinovich. The journalists of the aviation broker ACS will tell you how it all began.
How it all began: gliders
Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov from his youth began to seriously get involved in aviation and already during his studies at the institute (1930) designed his own training gliders. After graduating from the institute, the aircraft designer was sent to Moscow, where he received the position of chief designer and continued the manufacture of gliders. Interestingly, some of Antonov's glider planes have set world records.
After the Moscow glider plant was closed in 1938, Oleg Konstantinovich began his cooperation with the leading designer A. S. Yakovlev. During the Great Patriotic War, he established the production of landing gliders. Antonov also devoted a lot of time to work on improving the Yak fighter. And already in 1946, Oleg Konstantinovich was appointed head of the Yakovlev subsidiary design firm. In the future, this company became the Design Bureau. Antonov.
The first aircraft released
The very first aircraft created by the Design Bureau, which was headed by Antonov, was the An-2 (popularly known as the "Kukuruznik"). At that time, the aircraft designer was given the goal of designing an aircraft capable of operating at 730 horsepower. The new aircraft turned out to be such a successful development that already in 1952 Oleg Konstantinovich, together with the design team, was awarded the Stalin Prize, and the An-2 aircraft in the Soviet Union was not withdrawn from production for 20 years. At the same time, the An-2 was produced in Poland until 2002, and in China they are still being produced.
This is how the famous designer continued to successfully create all new flying devices. And although the aircraft building enterprises of the Soviet Union were often scattered with their design firms, Antonov managed to create original prototypes, the production of which was carried out at factories in the region. Among them are the An-26 military transport aircraft, An-30 air surveillance aircraft, and An-32 multipurpose military transport aircraft.
The year 1955 was marked by the beginning of work on the design of the An-12 turboprop aircraft, which promised a significant breakthrough for Soviet aviation. The new An-12 made its first flight in 1957, and in 1962 received an honorary Lenin Prize. In turn, Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov was awarded the title of General Designer. Since the An-12 is a universal cargo aircraft, it is still being produced.
In the middle of the last century, the Antonov Design Bureau developed the An-24 turboprop passenger aircraft. It was actively used for passenger flights to the USSR. The technologies that were applied in its creation were then used in the development of the modified An-26 aircraft.
Air Charter Service uses An-26 to transport a single heavy cargo. Thus, the developments of the aircraft designer Antonov do not lose their relevance in 2019.
