In the mid-80s, the Beriev Design Bureau worked on the world's largest anti-submarine amphibious jet A-40 "Albatross" (product "B"). The possibility of creating a conversion version for passenger transportation, fighting forest fires, patrolling the coastal zone, as well as commercial and ice reconnaissance was considered. However, the impressive size and take-off weight of the "Albatross" of 55 tons did not allow it to be effectively operated in the civilian sector: the machine had no market prospects. This is how the project of the younger brother of the Albatross appeared, which received the name A-100 (not to be confused with the A-100 Premier AWACS aircraft based on the Il-76MD-90A, which is also being developed in Taganrog). The plans for the A-100 had a takeoff weight of 21-22 tons and promising TV-117S turboprop engines, each of which developed 2500 hp. Also, the six-bladed SV-34 propellers, distinguished by a low noise level, were borrowed from the Il-114 aircraft, which was fresh at that time. Actually, the A-100 itself was largely based on the components and assemblies of the Il-114. At the stage of developing the layout of the aircraft, it turned out that the future amphibian was very similar in tactical and technical parameters to the deserved old fireman Canadair CL-215 (now it is a modernized Bombardier CL 415), and this raised questions about the feasibility of creating a novelty. On the other hand, if the A-100 had been brought to its logical conclusion at the end of the 80s, now Russia would have an aircraft in service that creates real competition for the CL 415. This aircraft currently reigns supreme in its segment and is not expected on the horizon. no replacement, no worthy competitor.
As a result, the chief designer of the OKB, Alexei Kirillovich Konstantinov, decided to increase the takeoff weight of the new aircraft to 40 tons and install water tanks by 13 tons. The main customers of the amphibian, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Aviation Industry and the State Forestry Committee, approved the idea. The new amphibian was developed under the code A-200, which was later transformed into the familiar Be-200. The baton for the development of a flying boat in 1990 from the hands of Konstantinov was taken over by the new chief designer of TANTK Gennady Sergeevich Panatov. It was he who made the important decision to build the first full-scale model of a winged machine. On December 9, 1990, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to assemble four prototypes (two for static tests and two for flight) with the Zaporozhye D-436T turbofan engines in 1991-1995, and in 1996 put the aircraft into serial production at the site of the Irkutsk Aviation Production Association - IAPO. A little later, the Russian Federation was already interested in a multipurpose amphibian, and on July 17, 1992, by a government decree, it confirmed the plans of the Council of Ministers.
The most interesting thing is that already in 1991 for the development of the Be-200 an international consortium was created under the name of CJSC "BETA IR", which stands for "Beriev - Taganrog - Irkutsk". The plant in Irkutsk had a 35% stake, the Beriev Design Bureau - 20%, the Swiss financial group Ilta Trade Finanse S. A. - 20%, the company "Prominvest" from Ukraine - 5% and the Taganrog aircraft plant - 25%. Viktor Anatolyevich Kobzev became the General Director of the CJSC in 1992, who would later become the General Designer of the Aircraft Company named after G. M. Beriev. In many ways, the creation of such a collaboration was a forced measure - there was no money, everyone looked to the West with hope. It was impossible to directly introduce foreign investors into a defense enterprise. It was important to work with TsAGI specialists, who helped to create a fuselage with a sufficiently low frontal resistance for its class. The Be-200 also favorably differs in take-off and landing characteristics - the machine is capable of operating on a runway with a length of 1800 meters.
The development of the aircraft in Russia was in accordance with the FAR-25 airworthiness standards (the Be-200 was one of the first here), which made it possible to certify the aircraft according to the standards of the American and European aviation registers. Even then, everyone understood that for the production of such a specific Be-200, it was necessary to enter the international market - domestic consumption would not be enough.
Be-200 prepares for flight
The Be-200 flying boat has incorporated many innovations of both domestic and world-class seaplane construction. The glider of the aircraft in the part of the nose and tail sections of the wing, rudders, ailerons, flaps, spoilers, tail sections of the keel and stabilizers, hydraulic shields, floats received a compositional design. In many ways, this was a measure to combat corrosion - the main enemy of hydroaviation. Basically, the fuselage is made of anti-corrosion aluminum-lithium alloys. Additionally, units and structural elements of the amphibian undergo anti-corrosion treatment and coating. Eight huge water tanks were placed under the cockpit floor, which was a unique solution at the time. Also, for the first time for domestic amphibians, the cockpit was made sealed - this made it possible to fly at altitudes up to 12 thousand meters. The boat-fuselage Be-200 for the first time in world practice received two steps.
The Ukrainian design bureau Progress was responsible for the development of engines for the Be-200, and Motor Sich CJSC was responsible for production and assembly. The result was a marine version of the three-shaft turbofan gas turbine D-436 with a take-off thrust of 7500 kgf, to which the TP index was added and the anti-corrosion properties of the structural units were improved. The motor was ready only by 1995, and on the Be-200 it was installed at all in 1998. D-436TP received a type certificate from the Interstate Aviation Committee in 2000, and in 2003 for noise. The engine also received approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency, which largely ensured the aircraft's entry into the international market. The D-436TP is installed on short pylons above the wing root of the aircraft, which forms the characteristic recognizable profile of the Be-200.
For the machines of the Beriev family, for the first time on the Be-200, the three-channel electro-remote control system EDSU-200, which was created in Moscow, at the Avionika Scientific and Production Association, was used. It is noteworthy that in the cockpit they abandoned the steering wheels and equipped them with the modern control sticks from the Su-27 fighter at that time. The latest technology at the beginning of the 90s was the ARIA-200 flight and navigation complex, which became a product of the joint work of Russian design bureaus and US Allied Signal Aerospace. The complex was based on an Intel 486 processor, all information for the pilots was displayed on LCD displays, and the open architecture made it possible to flexibly customize the equipment for the customer. "ARIA-200" provided the crew of only two people with the ability not only to operate the vehicle, but also made it possible to automate the flight from the basing point to the fire site.
The machine in the fire-fighting version could immediately take 12 tons of water from an open reservoir on board in just 14 seconds. According to the design requirements, the aircraft for water intake must glide over the water surface at speeds of 0.9-0.95 from the take-off speed. It is in this case that the loads on the fuselage-boat will be minimal. At the same time, a decrease in the gliding speed to 0, 6-0, 85 from the take-off one threatens a catastrophe from the destruction of the glider. If we imagine that a forest fire broke out 10 kilometers from a reservoir suitable for the Be-200, then an amphibious firefighter at one gas station will be able to throw 320 tons of water on the fire. The tests of the future water intake system for the Be-200 were carried out at the Be-12P-200 flying laboratory. The transport version of the jet amphibious, due to the large cargo hatch (2050x1760 mm), is able to quickly unload and load standard containers and cargo on pallets. It also envisaged a passenger version of the Be-200 for 64 people and an ambulance for 40 wounded on a stretcher.
The first copy of the Be-200 under the serial number 7682000002 in the version for extinguishing fires was laid down in Irkutsk in 1992. And three years later, it was planned to start flight tests of the amphibian, but a chronic lack of funding pushed these optimistic dates back.
