Maiden flight for first Mongolian modified Antonov An-2 set in April
The maiden flight for the first Mongolianbuilt TVS-2MS, a modified version of the Antonov An-2 biplane, will take place in April, Mongolian Airlines reported.
Through the Ministry of Roads and Transport’s initiative to develop utility aircraft use in Mongolia, two Soviet Antonov An-2 planes are being remodeled to be used for agriculture, firefighting, and emergencies.
The aircraft service station owned and operated by the state-owned Mongolian Airlines MIAT is conducting the remodeling with help from Russian engineers.
The TVS-2MS model is an upgraded version of the Antonov An-2 passenger biplane with an American Honeywell TPE331 engine. The Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute first developed and flew the reengineered model in 2011.
According to a report by Russian Aviation Insider, at the moment there are two aircrafts fully ready for installation of Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engines.
MIAT technical director T.Ayush told Russian Aviation Insider on the sidelines of the MRO Russia and CIS 2018 convention that MIAT has plans to upgrade five more An-2s this year, while the total plan includes 24 aircraft. He also said that the entire fleet is required for the airline, so it is not considering any external orders for the modernization just yet.
The aircraft reengineered in Mongolia will have a letter M added to their designation, TVS2MS-M, which stands for “modernized”. There are currently 23 MIAT Mongolian Airlines engineers involved in the project, but the airline intends to send 17 more to be trained in Novosibirsk.
MIAT’s service station was established in 2006 and began servicing and repairing aircrafts. Since then, the station has helped repair a multitude of aircrafts, including a SAAB340, Fokker 50, ATR-72, and Boeing 737 and 767 belonging to airline companies from Russia, Turkey, Thailand, and South Korea.
In 2017, the station has completed services on 11 Boeing 737 Next Generations belonging to South Korean airlines Eastar Jet, T’Way, and Jeju Air.