Military Aircraft Videos

The Antonov An-22

Antonov An-22 Антей (Ukrainian Antaeus) (NATO reporting name "Cock") was the world's largest aircraft, until the advent of American C-5 Galaxy and later the Soviet An-124. Powered by 4 contrarotating turboprops, the design remains the world's largest turboprop-powered airplane. It was first appeared outside the Soviet Union at the 1965 Paris Air Show.The An-22 has the general appearance of an enlarged version of the earlier Antonov An-12 except that it is fitted with a twin tail. This gives the An-22 better engine-out performance, and reduces height restrictions for hangars. Also of note are large anti-flutter masses on the top of each tail. Being designed as a strategic airlifter, it has the capability to takeoff from austere, unpaved and short airstrips. This is achieved by four pairs of contra-rotating propellers, similar to those on the Tupolev Tu-114. The engines generate significant thrust, and produce a slipstream over the wings and large double-slotted flaps. The landing gear is ruggedized for rough airstrips, and, in early versions, tire pressures could be adjusted in flight for optimum landing performance, although that feature was deleted in later models. The An-22 follows traditional cargo transport design with a high-mounted wing allowing a cavernous cargo space of 33 m in length and a usable volume of 639 m³. The forward fuselage is fully pressurized and provides space for 5 to 8 crew and up to 28 passengers, but the cargo space is pressurized to only 3.55 PSI allowing the for a lighter airframe. The door equipped pressure bulkhead located at frame 14, that separates the cargo attendant's compartment from the main cargo compartment, allows the rear cargo doors to be opened during flight for paratroops and equipment drop. Like the An-12, the aircraft has a circular fuselage section. The An-22 has set a number of payload and payload-to-height world records.