Antonov An-10 Cat - Variants

Both production versions had the NATO reporting name Cat.

An-10A - In this modification, the passenger compartment was reconfigured by increasing the number of rows of seats and adding two compartments (16 seats). A total of 100 passengers can be accommodated on the plane. The geometric dimensions and appearance of the An-10A do not differ from the basic version. The commercial load is increased to 14.5 tons. The aircraft is equipped with four TVA AI-20A with a capacity of 4000 e. and AV-68I propellers.

In order to determine the level of flight safety with a single working engine, the pilot Yu.V. Kurlin on July 14, 1960 performed two flights on the An-10A: one - with an operating internal engine, the second - with the working external and zaflyugirovannymi screws of the disconnected engines. Thanks to the high power-to-weight ratio, the high aerodynamic qualities of the aircraft, the large stability margin and good handling, the crew managed to successfully conduct this experiment for the first time in the world.

April 29, 1961 on the An-10A set a world record for the speed of flight along a closed route of 500 km for aircraft with a theater - 730.616 km / h. An-10A was produced serially in 1959-1960. In 1969, 22 An-10A aircraft were converted to carry 112-115 passengers.

The so-called side washers on the stabilizer made the An-10 look like a three-keel. They were installed on a test aircraft (with an increase in the area of the forkill) during the factory tests because of the insufficient ground stability. However, on subsequent modifications of the aircraft, or rather on the most mass produced An-10A, these washers were removed. Then, in the process of their operation, they were removed for all An-10's. Instead, they installed two ventral crest (on the original machine, he was one), while maintaining a normal level of stability and reducing the mass and drag.

During the years of serial production (1957-1960), 108 AN-10 and An-10A aircraft were built at the Voronezh Aviation Plant. By 1971, these planes had transported more than 35 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo. Thus they took the first place in the USSR in terms of passenger turnover. But in May 1972 in the Kharkov area there was an An-10A crash, in which 115 people were killed. The investigation revealed that it was caused by fatigue cracks in the stringer of the lower centerplane, later found on some other machines. As a result, it was decided to terminate the operation of aircraft on the Aeroflot lines in 1973.

An-10KP (air command post) is an An-10A modification for combat control and communication with various interacting headquarters and command points when the aircraft is in the air and on the ground. The passenger cabin is equipped with operator workplaces. In 1970, by order of the Airborne Forces, one aircraft was modified.

AN-16 - modification AN-10 for the transportation of 130 passengers with luggage, mail and cargo with a total weight of up to 14 000 kg over a distance of 2000 km. An increase in the number of seats is achieved due to a three-meter cylindrical insertion into the fuselage of the base aircraft. The development of this option was carried out in 1957, but was not implemented in connection with the receipt of a new task to create another modification.

AN-10B - modification on the basis of An-10A, created in 1962 by re-equipping the passenger cabin of the base aircraft for the installation of 132 seats without changing the placement of domestic premises and the transfer of partitions between the salons. The increase in the number of passenger seats was achieved by setting seven seats in a row (instead of six) and increasing the number of rows in the middle cabin (nine instead of seven). New armchairs with folding back, installed in the front and middle salons, provide the necessary comfort for passengers. Changes have also been made to feathering. The washers on the horizontal tail were replaced by two ventral keels with a total area of 9.06 m2. The geometric data of the aircraft remained the same. (This modification was also carried out on An-10A aircraft.)

To increase the range of non-stop flight at a commercial load of 14,500 kg to 2000 km, tank-caissons in wing consoles and four tanks in the middle part of the wing are added. The weight of fuel with fully filled tanks is 15 200 kg.

Under this option, only one machine was modified.

An-10AS is a cargo variant designed to carry 16,300 kg of various cargoes, including animals. Re-equipment from passenger to transport was carried out by removing seats and partitions, installation of cargo flooring with mooring units on the floor. Such re-equipment was carried out directly in the operating units on many An-10A aircraft flying on the Aeroflot routes.

AN-10B is an An-10A modification for transporting 174 passengers for a distance of up to 1600 km or 128 passengers for 3000 km. It differs by the addition of cylindrical inserts in the fuselage in front and behind the center wing, which increases the length of the passenger compartment by 6 m. The development was completed in 1963, but the aircraft was not built.

AN-10TS (transport and sanitary) is an option for transportation of various military cargoes with a total mass of up to 14 tons, the overall dimensions of which allow them to be loaded into the cockpit of a plane through a cargo door measuring 1300x1500 mm located on the starboard side; transportation paratroopers (113-landing with paratroopers, 60-parachute dropping); transportation of the wounded (73 - on stretchers, 20 - on the seats) and 4 medical workers.

The cargo cabin is equipped with a system of forced opening of parachutes and mechanisms for cleaning their exhaust ropes. Loading and disembarkation of paratroopers, as well as the wounded, are carried out on a special gangway, installed at the rear entrance door. The paratroopers are reset into two streams: through the cargo door (on the right) and through the rear entrance door (on the left). According to the results of tests at the Air Force Research Institute of the serial machine AN-10 in 1959, it was decided to re-equip 11 aircraft in the An-10TS version.