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Antonov An-180

Work on the Antonov An-180 began in the year 1989, starting with a high-wing design with engines on the wing. That is, the airplane was very unified with the An-70 (which then was still in the project stage). As it turned out later, the passenger fleet of this configuration was unprofitable (in any situation). The first details of this company funded program, and a model, were revealed to the West at the 1991 Paris Air Show. Original milestones were first flight in 1995 and entering commercial service in 1997, but it remained a paper airplane.

The project, unlike an-218 was not so far away. Because the an-180 was designed as a passenger aircraft, for which profitability along with safety and comfort is the leading factor, this task remained unresolved.

In the original version (immediately after the rejection of the high wing) the engines were to be placed on pylons in the rear fuselage. The horizontal tail was to be placed at the top of the keel. This version of the pylons were massive and simply "empty", that is their sole purpose was to support the engines. So the designers considered various options for layout engines at the rear. The configuration changed, with engines on tailplane tips, in 1992.

The airplane would possess high efficiency with fuel consumption of 14, 5 g per passenger-kilometer. The design featured low-mounted sweptback wings, circular-section fuselage and all-sweptback tail surfaces. Engines driven fans are located on the sides of the rear fuselage. Some pictures show An-180 with T-tail and raised wingtips, other - with normal wing and tail, while the engines are attached to toward-swept outer parts of a tailplane.

Designed to equal, or exceed, highest Western standards, burning less fuel per passenger-km per engine than equivalent Western aircraft; equiped for automated navigation at all flight stages, and for ICAO Cat. IIIa automatic landings. Airframe design life was 60,000 flying hours.

Ukrainian ZMKB "Progress" (Zaporozhye) D-27 engine develops a takeoff power 14,000 hp The world's first serial propfan engine, it was designed for the AN-70 and AN-180. The D-27 is coaxial propfan 4.5 m in diameter, with the front screw has eight, and the rear - six blades saber form. These engines have a superior specific fuel consumption, and can achieve a high cruising speed of M = 0.7-0.75. During the tests, the D-27 obtained by the specific consumption of 0.18 kg / hp.-H. According to experts, this type of engines can improve fuel efficiency of civil aircraft of more than 30%.