The LMS-901 "Baikal" project from the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) has become a long-term construction, and it is unknown when exactly it will take to the skies. Initially, the aircraft was positioned as a replacement for the Soviet An-2 biplane, but it is already clear that it is not suitable for this role, said "Pervy Tekhnichesky" Oleg Smirnov, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Commission of the Public Council of Rostransnadzor.
He reminded that this was confirmed by the head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Anton Alikhanov, in one of his recent speeches. The minister directly stated that "Baikal" is not intended to replace the An-2. Also, the LMS-901 will presumably be prohibitively expensive for small airlines.
First, we need to figure out where the billions allocated to UZGA went.
Smirnov added that there is no talk of certifying the LMS-901 yet.
Earlier, aviation expert Alexey Zakharov claimed that work on the LMS-901 has reached a dead end due to constant design changes.
"Pervy Tekhnichesky" conducted a direct comparison of the characteristics of the An-2 and "Baikal". The Soviet biplane won with a score of 2:1.