The new LMS-901 "Baikal" aircraft for small aviation is unable to replace the Soviet An-2. Oleg Smirnov, Honored Pilot of the USSR and member of the public council of Rostransnadzor, spoke to Pervomu tekhnicheskomu about the project's drawbacks.
He recalled the assessment of "Baikal" by Russian presidential plenipotentiary envoy Yuri Trutnev regarding the non-compliance of "Baikal" with the original requirements. But at that time, the minister of industry insisted on continuing budget financing for its refinement.
When they started looking into it, it turned out that what had been shown at exhibitions was a plastic toy, exhibition material. Billions were spent, but it is exhibition material, unfit for daily operation.
Smirnov added that it is necessary to find out why Russia's small aviation still remains without a new aircraft and where exactly the billions of rubles went.
This problem still stands to this day, with the engine and components. Therefore, small aviation remains without an aircraft for now. It ["Baikal"] does not even come close to replacing the An-2. First, it carries three fewer passengers. The An-2 can land outside airfields on wheels, skis, and floats. It is certified for flights at temperatures from -50 to +50. Importantly, the An-2 needs only a 300-meter strip for takeoff, while "Baikal" needs 1,200 meters, which will require remote areas, where there are neither railways nor roads, to extend runways at airfields, which is very costly. And not a single local airline will be able to afford the announced price of "Baikal".
Senator Sergey Muratov stated that the Ural Plant of Civil Aviation had reached the final stage of production of the "Baikal", but the project needs financing to be secured.
According to the plan, the LMS-901 project is specifically intended to replace the obsolete An-2s. Designer Aleksandr Silin emphasized that the "Baikal" surpasses Soviet aircraft in speed and fuel efficiency.
Read more materials on the topic:
- OAK will take under its wing the projects of the manufacturer of the LMS-901 "Baikal"
- "Unfit aircraft": development of the LMS-901 "Baikal" has reached a dead end because of runway requirements
- "They can't build a \"kukuruznik\" for 20 years!": communist leader sounds the alarm over the state of the aircraft industry
