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An-72 COALER
An-74 COALER

The An-72 Coaler is designed as a short takeoff and landing aircraft which can operate from unprepared airfields. The An-72 originated as An-32, but was later fitted with jet engines. The first prototype flew on December 22, 1977, and the aircraft entered service in 1979.

The wings are high-mounted and back-tapered with blunt tips and a negative slant. Two turbofans are mounted in long pods mounted on top of the wings. Round air intakes extend from the front of the wings’ leading edges. The engines were placed on the leading edge of the wings to increase lift for STOL capability, with the jet exhausts blowing over titanium panels on the upper surface. The engine position also gives good Foreign Object Damage (FOD) protection. The fuselage is circular with round, solid nose, upswept rear section, and a flush cockpit. The rear fuselage has a hinged loading ramp with a rear fairing that slides backwards and up to clear the opening. Up to 7.5 tons can be airdropped, and there are folding side seats for 42 paratroops or 52 passengers. The swept-back, untapered fin features back-tapered flats high-mounted on the fin forming a T.

The An-72P is a maritime patrol variant with bulged observation windows, liferaft provision, cameras as well as offensive armament, including underwing rocket pods, a podded cannon on the undercarriage sponson and bombs that can be mounted in the rear fuselage and dropped through the open rear ramp. The An-74 derivative of the An-72 featured improved avionics and radar together with an extended wingspan and increased range. It was designed to operate in the polar regions where it can land on ice floes for resupply or rescue work. The An-71 AEW aircraft also featured the extended wingspan, along with a large radar dish on top of the tail.

Specifications

Country of Origin Russia
Builder ANTONOV
RoleMedium-transport, STOL
Similar AircraftC-160 Transall, G.222
Wing Span 84 ft, 9 in (25.8 m)
Length 87 ft, 2 in (26.6 m)
Height 8.2 m
Weight 26,500 kg takeoff weight
30,500 kg Max. takeoff weight
Engine 2 Lotarev D-36, 62.8 kN thrust each
Maximum speed
Cruising speed 720 km/h
Landing speed165 km/h
Airfield Takeoff roll: 400-450 m
Landing roll: 350-400 m
Range 3200 km maximum
1200 km with maximum payload
Ceiling 11000 m maximum
8000 m cruise
ArmamentNone
Payload 32 passengers or 5000 kg of cargo
Crew Three
Cost
User Countries

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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/an-72.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Saturday, June 17, 2000 3:09:30 PM