Russia will have the long-awaited replacement of the most massive An-2 aircraft next year. The history of the creation of Baikal was not easy, but all the hardships are over. Now it has its own domestic engine, and the developers are ready to start certification tests. This is a serious step towards the first deliveries of production aircraft.
Baikal has successfully completed a test flight with measuring equipment and is ready to begin certification tests, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said. This makes it quite realistic to launch deliveries of the first domestically powered aircraft in 2027. Mikhail Parnev, General Director of the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLC), told Vedomosti about such plans.
Baikal is a nine–passenger single–engine aircraft for local airlines that can take off and land at low-grade airfields - unpaved, icy, and at extremely low temperatures.
"The flight took place at an altitude of 300 m, the flight time was 15 minutes. The power plant is operational. There are no comments, everything went according to the flight task," said Alexey Yazynin, a test pilot at UZGA JSC.
"The successful control testing of the Baikal aircraft with a domestic VK-800 engine is a significant event for the entire Russian aviation industry. We see that all systems are operating normally, and the domestic power plant demonstrates high reliability. This allows us to confidently move towards certification and mass production, which is especially important for the development of regional transportation and increasing transport accessibility in the country," said Gennady Abramenkov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
"The transition to certification tests is the official stage when the aircraft is ready to prove compliance with state airworthiness standards and obtain a type certificate. After successful certification of the aircraft, a type certificate is obtained, that is, the legal right to produce them in series," says Dmitry Baranov, a leading expert at Finam Management Management Company.
The plan for the first deliveries in 2027 looks realistic, as the aircraft is already flying with a Russian engine, critical improvements have been completed, and certification is on schedule, meaning the plan can be completed if new technical problems do not arise, the expert says.
The Baikal is intended to replace the An-2, the most popular aircraft in the history of civil aviation, which has been produced since 1949. Although it has become obsolete over the past 75 years, it still remains the base for local aviation.
"The AN-2 is the most massive aircraft of the Soviet era. No other aircraft has ever been produced in such quantities. Together with foreign manufacturers, more than 18,000 such aircraft were produced. This is a record in civil aviation. And this indicates its relevance both for the national economy and for passenger transportation," says the head of the Avia industry portal.<url>" Roman Gusarov.
However, the process of creating a modern replacement for the An-2, the Baikal aircraft, was slow, and delivery dates had to be postponed more than once.
The main problem was the engine, which Russia did not have for such an aircraft. Initially, it was planned to put an American engine on the aircraft, and in January 2022, the first flight of the Baikal took place with an American engine. However, the sanctions forced the abandonment of this power unit and the creation of a domestic VK-800 engine.
"This long wait for the aircraft is due to the development of a domestic engine. Engine reliability is 80% of the success of this single–engine aircraft. As good as the engine will be, so will the plane.",
– says Gusarov.
According to him, even before 2022, it was clear that a domestic engine was needed, they just wanted to develop it without haste, but it didn't work out without haste, since the foreign engine disappeared by itself due to sanctions.
"The history of the aircraft is complicated due to the need to replace an imported engine with a domestic one after external restrictions, the need for technical improvements after testing, as well as the difficult state of affairs in domestic small aircraft," says Baranov.
The task of replacing the An-2 is also not an easy one due to the unique qualities of this aircraft. These are the ability to land on unprepared platforms, stability at ultra-low speeds, and the presence of an air-cooled piston engine (ASH-62), which can be repaired in any conditions, the expert adds.
"On the one hand, the Baikal, like the An-2, should be able to take off from any clearing, a small patch, have a large payload capacity of up to one and a half tons, a long range, be reliable, cheap, unpretentious, stored without a hangar, that is, launch even at minus 50, ensure survival in harsh conditions. Siberia and the North.
At the same time, unlike the An-2, it should be faster, more economical, more ergonomic, quieter, more comfortable, with a warm interior, and so on. That is, to be more modern and comfortable.",
– says Gusarov.
The demand for such a small aircraft is high in agriculture, oil and gas and many industries. "Baikal is necessary for forestry and aviation chemical works, aerial photography, passenger and cargo transportation. It is important for landing on unprepared sites, for the needs of the North and the Far East, where there is no infrastructure, and can operate from short runways," says Baranov.
"Baikal is also designed to fulfill a social function – to transport people, like a Gazelle route. For example, Yakutia has a large territory and fewer than a million people live there. Small villages with hundreds of inhabitants are scattered throughout the region, and each village has an airfield, as the nearest city can be 500 kilometers away. You can't build a highway like from Moscow to St. Petersburg through permafrost, the connection to the Mainland remains through aviation," concludes Gusarov.
Olga Samofalova
