An-148 - a new "workhorse" on the average highways

Aviation Design Bureau. OK. Antonova has its own unique style. Starting with An-8, An-12, and, of course, An-24 aircraft, it manifests itself in a rational layout, a high-mounted wing with a high degree of mechanization and a chassis that allows landing at any type of aerodrome, including ground ones.

These external signs, allowing at first sight to distinguish Antonovo aircraft from all the others, entailed such consequences as the rare for the aviation world longevity of cars that have become legends. High economy, technical and flight characteristics, far ahead of their time, excellent "volatility", expressed in the ability to continue to fly not with all engines running, economy and simplicity of maintenance - these are typical Anov qualities.

Apparently, the An-148 will also continue the traditions of this design bureau, becoming a workhorse on the medium-length airways.

From its predecessors, this aircraft is characterized by the fact that the engines of the 2 turbojets D436-148, applied in its power plant, have a reactive thrust, and are located above the wing, which significantly reduces the risk of foreign objects entering the turbines. The speed of the new airliner exceeds 800 kilometers per hour, the practical ceiling is 12 kilometers.

The aircraft gradually occupies that niche in passenger transportation, in which for almost four decades the legendary An-24 was the owner, that is, relatively short flights between the cities of the country and regional flights. The number of passengers carried by him is up to 80, the range of flight is up to 6 thousand kilometers.

The dashboard has an ergonomic display type interface.

The electro-remote control system is used, which again, in the best traditions of the design bureau, is duplicated by ARP and cable rods, which creates conditions for high survivability of the aircraft in the event of a power system failure.

Due to the rational layout of the passenger compartment, passengers' comfort was high when flying to An-148. Reviews of those who already had the opportunity to fly on it as passengers, show that in terms of noise and convenience, these machines meet all modern requirements, which is confirmed by the successful international certification.

Traditional for Antonov aircraft unpretentiousness and high flight characteristics have already attracted the attention of the leadership of foreign and domestic airlines, prompting to purchase An-148. The aircraft registry shows that they are successfully operated by International Airlines of Ukraine, North Korean Air Koryo, Cubana de Aviacion of Cuba, Rossiya, Angara and several other foreign air carriers.

On March 5, 2011, one of the aircraft was lost as a result of improper actions of the crew during the test-training flight. There were no other serious flight accidents with An-148.

The liner is a product of cooperation between Ukrainian and Russian aircraft manufacturers.

For its peculiar silhouette and characteristic shape of the tail emplacement An-148 has already received an unofficial nickname "swallow".