Antonov An-30

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-30

The Antonov An-30 (NATO reporting name: Clank), is a development of the An-24
designed for aerial cartography.

The Antonov An-30 is a derivative of the An-24, fitted with an entirely new
fuselage forward of frame 11. The fuselage nose is extensively glazed,
reminiscent of the Boeing B-29. Housed within the new nose section are the
navigator and precise navigational equipment, including an optical sight for
ensuring accuracy of aerial photography. To enable accurate and repeatable
survey flights, standard equipment for the An-30 included computer flight path
control technology. This additional equipment replaced the radar. The
positioning of the new navigational equipment required the flightdeck to be
raised by 41 cm in comparison to the An-24, giving the aircraft its other main
feature, a hump containing the cockpit, similar to the Boeing 747.

The radio operator and flight engineer sat in the first cabin aft of and below
the flightdeck. The mission equipment was located further aft, in a cabin
featuring five camera windows in the floor. Each camera window could be closed
with covers to protect the glass panels. The covers were located in special
fairings protruding from the fuselage underside. In the normal aerial
photography role, four or five cameras were carried aboard. Three cameras were
mounted vertically, intended for mapping purposes. The remaining two cameras
were pointed at an angle of 28° on each side of the aircraft, for oblique
photography. The same fuselage compartment contained workstations for two camera
operators and a crew rest area.

The aircraft's cameras could be used between 2,000 and 7,000 m (6,500 and 23,000
ft) and the scale of the resultant photographs was between 1:200,000 and
1:15,000,000. The aircraft was supplied with four or five cameras.


Role
Aerial cartography Aircraft and reconnaissance and transport

Manufacturer
Antonov

Designer
Beriev

First flight
21 August 1967

Introduction
July 1968

Status
Limited service

Primary users
Ukrainian Air Force
Bulgarian Air Force
Romanian Air Force

Produced
1971–1980

Number built
123

Developed from
Antonov An-24

As well as its principal use as a survey aircraft, it has also been used by
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and Ukraine to carry out surveillance
under the Open Skies Treaty.

The An-30 has also been used as a weather control aircraft as the An-30M. Some
have been fitted with frozen tanks of carbon dioxide to be ejected into the sky
to form artificial rain clouds. These An-30s have also been put to use to avoid
crop-damaging hailstorms and also to maintain good weather for, as examples, new
airplane maiden flights, important parades like the 1st of May and the 850th
anniversary of Moscow in September 1997.

Between 1971 and 1980 a total of 115 aircraft were built and 23 were sold abroad
to Afghanistan, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Mongolia and Vietnam.

An-30s completely mapped Afghanistan in 1982, with one shot down by a MANPADS
during an aerial photography flight in the Kabul area south of the Panjshir
Valley on 11 March 1985. Cuban An-30s saw active service in Angola in 1987.

Specifications (An-30)

Crew: seven
Length: 24.26 m (79 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 29.20 m (95 ft 9½ in)
Height: 8.32 m (27 ft 3½ in)
Wing area: 75 m² (807 ft²)
Aspect ratio: 11.4:1
Empty weight: 15,590 kg (34,370 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 23,000 kg (50,706 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × ZMKB Progress AI-24T turboprops, 2,103 kW (2,803 ehp) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 540 km/h (291 knots, 335 mph)
Cruise speed: 430 km/h (232 knots, 267 mph)
Range: 2,630 km (1,420 nm, 1,634 mi)
Service ceiling: 8,300 m (27,230 ft)

Avionics
5 positions for large cameras. Other survey equipment can be fitted.




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