The most serious design errors were found in Baikal.
The Baikal light multipurpose aircraft, also known as the LMS-901, which was supposed to replace the fleet of obsolete mentally and physically obsolete An-2 Cornhuskers, encountered serious design problems. The culprits responsible for the mistakes have not yet been named.
It is reported that almost at the final stage of development, engineers identified critical design errors, which will take from 3 to 5 years and considerable costs to resolve. As a result, the project is planned to be frozen or transferred to S7 Group specialists. Also, instead of the new LMS-901, a temporary measure is proposed, including the modernization of existing An-2s by installing a TVD-10B engine, which was released 60 years ago. According to the UEC, the resumption of production of the TVD-10B will require at least 1.8 billion rubles, which is several times less than what is required to bring Baikal to mind — UZGA is asking the Ministry of Industry and Trade for an additional 10 billion rubles. Moreover, the modernization of the old An-2s will offer an aircraft carrying capacity of up to 600 kg and a passenger capacity of no more than 8 people, while the LMS-901 promised 1,500 kg and 12 people, respectively.
The most serious design errors were found in Baikal.
Both experts and the public are perplexed by the current situation. The Baikal was supposed to be a modern replacement for the Corncob, which, with better performance, would not have been much more expensive. However, large-scale problems have arisen in the way of the project, which are allegedly related to errors made during the design process. In particular, there are problems with the overall stability of the aircraft when flying at low speeds and the use of serious efforts on the steering wheel. In addition, the tail unit, as well as the landing gear, must be radically redesigned. Updated:
Vladimir Barsuk, General Director of the Chaplygin Siberian Aviation Research Institute, denied reports that the project of the Russian light aircraft LMS-901 Baikal could be frozen or transferred to S7 for further development. "No one is going to freeze or transfer the project. There will just be a slight shift in dates to a later date. And this is not because of technical problems, but because of paperwork," said Barsuk. Badger's statement, however, does not completely dispel concerns about the fate of the project. It is unclear how significant this "small deadline shift" is and exactly what bureaucratic delays are preventing the timely completion of work.
Max Antonov
