From September 22 to 26, 2015, Antonov’s AN-70 short take-off and landing military transport aircraft performed an international flight carrying a military cargo in an exercise designed to evaluate its transport capacity and widen its operational conditions.
Departing from Kiev−Antonov airport, Ukraine, the aircraft flew to Bangui, Central African Republic, in a flight lasting 9 hours 2 minutes. In Bangui, the AN-70 took on board a cargo weighing 23.6 tons. After that, the aircraft landed in Ndjamena, Republic of Chad.
“From Ndjamena airport, we took off under a temperature of +33°C with a take-off weight close to the maximum,” explained Viktor Goncharov, Antonov test pilot and the crew captain. “The aircraft confirmed designed data of the take-off parameters including length of the runway distance. AN-70 also showed good climb rate.”
After a six-hour flight, the AN-70 arrived at its cargo destination – Istres, France. The aircraft then returned to the Kiev−Antonov airport after an intermediate stop in Leipzig, Germany. In total, the AN-70 was in the air more than 20 hours, flying over 13,600km.
Throughout the journey the aircraft demonstrated its high flying, take-off and landing characteristics, as well as low fuel consumption. Onboard handling equipment was tested under actual operating conditions. All the tasks were performed successfully, according to the company.
October 8, 2015
