Antonov An-24 Explained

Antonov An-24 should not be confused with Antonov An-124 Ruslan.

An-24
Type:Regional airliner / military transport
National Origin:Soviet Union
Manufacturer:Antonov
First Flight:29 October 1959
Introduction:1962
Status:In service
Primary User:Aeroflot (former)
Produced:1959–present (in China as Y-7)
Number Built:1,367+
Variants:Antonov An-30
Antonov An-26
Antonov An-32
Xi'an Y-7
Antonov/Taqnia An-132

The Antonov An-24 (Russian/Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24; NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop regional airliner designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau. Later variants saw other uses, such as military transport and aerial cartography. The aircraft was manufactured by the Kyiv, Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude Aviation Factories. It is still license-produced in China as the Xi'an Y-7.

The An-24 was the first of a future family of turboprops by Antonov. The first variant was the An-30, which came equipped with a cartographic configuration. It was then followed by the An-26, which was a more militarized version of the airliner. The final variant was the An-32, which was given more modernized equipment and powerful engines. The An-132 was the result of a joint venture between Antonov and Saudi Arabia's Taqnia to develop a modernized version of the An-24 family, but Taqnia left the project and the only prototype was destroyed, which led to the project being cancelled.

Design and development

First flown in 1959, the An-24 is powered by two Ivchenko AI-24 turboprop engines, and was produced in some 1,000 units of various versions; in 2023, 93 were still in service worldwide, mostly in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Africa.[1]

It was designed to replace the veteran piston Ilyushin Il-14 transport on short- to medium-haul trips, optimised for operating from rough strips and unprepared airports in remote locations. The high-wing layout protects engines and blades from debris, the power-to-weight ratio is higher than that of many comparable aircraft, and the machine is rugged, requiring minimal ground-support equipment.

Due to its rugged airframe and good performance, the An-24 was adapted to perform many secondary missions, such as ice reconnaissance and engine/propeller test bed, as well as further development to produce the An-26 tactical transport, An-30 photo-mapping/survey aircraft and An-32 tactical transport with more powerful engines. Various projects were envisaged such as a four-jet, short- and medium-haul airliner and various iterations of powerplant.

The main production line was at the Kyiv-Svyatoshino (later renamed "Aviant") aircraft production plant, which built 985, with 180 built at Ulan Ude, and a further 197 An-24T tactical transport/freighters at Irkutsk. Production in the USSR was shut down by 1978.

Production continued at China's Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, which made licensed, reverse-engineered, and redesigned aircraft as the Xian Y-7 and its derivatives. Manufacture of the Y-7, in civil form, has now been supplanted by the MA60 derivative with western engines and avionics, to improve performance and economy, and widen the export appeal.

Total production

Variants

Prototype

An-24
  • These were the first production aircraft, with a total of six built between 1959 and 1961. They were primarily used for testing the aircraft's instruments and landing gear, and also for ground tests and de-icing tests.

    Produced aircraft

    An-24
  • Seventeen were built. This was the first production model, separate from the prototypes built between 1959 and 1961. It was approved for production on 19 August 1961, and test engineering flights with passengers took place in September 1962. It entered service between Kiev and Kherson on 31 October 1962. Later, it was decided to replace them with improved models, and all of them were exported to Cuba and used as military transports by the Cuban Air Force. After being used as transports to replace the An-2, two were released to civilian airlines.
    An-24A
  • 200 were built (9 in 1962, 191 in 1963) of this improved version, delivered directly from the Kiev factory. It seated 44 passengers and had a larger interior volume. In addition, the APU exhaust was moved to the tip of the starboard nacelle. This was the second time the designation was used.
    An-24B
  • 400 aircraft were built in the second production version. A passenger version with seating for up to 52. Maximum takeoff weight was increased to 21 tonnes, a window was added on each side, the double slotted flaps were replaced with single slotted flaps, and the centre chord was extended to compensate for the poor performance of the flaps. Some aircraft were delivered with four additional fuel bladders in the centre wing. Production began in 1964.
    An-24T (Transportnyy – transport)
  • This is the second time this name has been used for a tactical transport aircraft. It is equipped with a ventral loading hatch, a cargo winch, and an escape hatch behind the nose landing gear, and its mission is to transport airborne troops and infantry to frontline bases.
    An-24RT (Reaktivnyy [Uskoritel'] Transportnyy – boosted transport)
  • Similar to the AN-24T, fitted with an auxiliary turbojet engine.
    An-24PRT (Poiskovo-spasahtel'nyy Reaktivnyy [Uskoritel'] Transportnyy – SAR boosted transport)
  • The An-24RT was the basis for the search and rescue aircraft, of which 11 were manufactured, and was fitted with rescue equipment and exploration devices in the cabin. Both were considered important due to their ability to stay in the air.
    An-24RV (Reaktivnyy [Uskoritel'] V – boosted V)
  • Turbojet boosted export version, similar to the An-24V but fitted with a 1,985-lb (8830 N) thrust auxiliary turbojet engine in the starboard nacelle.
    An-24ShT (Shtabnoy Transportnyy – Staff/HQ transport)
  • A tactical Airborne Command Post for use by commanders, also capable of forming ground-based communications and HQ.
    An-24TV (Transportnyy V – transport V)
  • The export cargo version of the An-24T.
    An-24V
  • An export version of the An-24B, equipped with an AI-24T (SrsII) turboprop engine, available in early and late models. The early model has narrow in-chord wings, double slotted flaps, and a single ventral fin. The later model has a single slotted flap, twin ventral fins, and a modified interior to allow cargo to be carried in addition to passengers. Production began in 1964.
    An-24VSR
  • A navigation trainer aircraft that was operated in 1965 by modifying a single An-24V aircraft and was intended to train pilots in radio communication.

    Special mission aircraft

    An-24ALK (Avtomatizeerovannaya [sistema] Lyotnovo Kontrolya – automatic flight check system)
  • A single retired passenger An-24A was converted into a satellite observation aircraft for use in navigation satellite calibration missions. It was renamed An-24LR "Toros" for air defense surveillance, but was later modified again and redesignated An-24ALK. The aircraft was equipped with a phototheodolite and a powerful light source for optical sensors.
    An-24LL (Letyushchaya Laboratoriya – flying laboratory)
  • A single An-24A, decommissioned from passenger transport duty, was converted into an airborne experimental aircraft. The generic suffix LL can apply to any testbed, but in the case of the An-24, it stands for metrology (the science of measurement), which is used to test the airworthiness of production aircraft.
    An-24LP (LesoPozharnyy – forest fire fighter)
  • Three An-24RV aircraft converted into fire bombers/cloud seeders by installing a tank in the cabin, optical smoke and flame detectors, provision for a thermal imager, racks for carrying flare dispensers and the ability to carry firefighters for para-dropping.
    An-24LR-1 'Toros' (Ice Hummock)(Ledovyy Razvedchik – ice reconnaissance)
  • At least two An-24Bs converted to carry the 'Toros' SLAR (sideways looking airborne radar) either side of the lower fuselage, for ice reconnaissance, guiding icebreakers, convoys and other shipping.[3]
    An-24LR-2 'Nit' (Thread)
  • An observation aircraft type for surveying the natural resources of the earth and oceans of the world, modified from a single An-24B in 1978. Equipped with a large "Nit" SLAR pod on the side of the lower fuselage.
    An-24PS (Poiskovo-Spasahtel'nyy – SAR)
  • A single An-24B aircraft converted for search and rescue duties, rejected after acceptance trials in favour of a derivative of the An-24RT.
    An-24PRT
  • A search and rescue aircraft built from 12 modified An-24As. Some equipment was omitted to reduce production costs, but this did not hinder rescue operations.
    An-24R
  • It was a prototype photo reconnaissance aircraft created by modifying a single An-24A, but since the An-30 was superior overall, it ended up serving as a test aircraft and was used to test the photographic cameras to be installed on the An-30.
    An-24RR ([samolyot] Radiotsionnyy Razvedchik – radiation reconnaissance [aircraft])
  • Four aircraft converted as Nuclear, biological and chemical warfare reconnaissance versions of the An-24B, carrying RR8311-100 air sampling pods low on the forward fuselage and a sensor pod on a pylon on the port fuselage side.
    An-24RT (Retranslyator – relay installation)
  • A few An-24T and An-24RT aircraft converted to Communications relay aircraft. Sometimes referred to as An-24Rt to differentiate from the An-24RT.
    An-24T 'Troyanda' (Ukrainian – rose)
  • An experimental aircraft created in 1968 by removing the winch and measuring equipment from an An-24T.From the 1960s the Soviet Union was faced with nuclear submarine threats that were virtually undetectable with the technology available. To assist in the development of advanced optical, chemical, sonic, infra-red and electromagnetic detection systems, several aircraft were built or modified as test-beds. One significant aircraft was the An-24T 'Troyanda' which was built new, for the development of sonobuoy and infra-red detection systems. As well as equipment inside the cabin, sensors could be mounted in large teardrop fairings either side of the lower forward fuselage, and extra equipment could be carried in extended wing centre-section fairings.
    An-24USh (Uchebno-Shturmanskiy (samolyot) – Navigator training aircraft)
  • Seven An-24Bs were converted to An-24USh navigator/air traffic controller trainers with five training stations and four standard rows of seats for trainees in waiting. Outwardly the USh was distinguishable by the bulged windows at each training station.
    An-24AEW
  • In the early 1990s, North Korea installed N-019 Topaz pulse-Doppler radars on at least one of its An-24A aircraft in an attempt to achieve a rudimentary Airborne Early Warning capability.[4]

    Ended as a plan only

    An-24A
  • The aircraft was originally intended to be produced using the Kuznetsov NK-4 turboprop engine, but production was halted when the NK-4 was cancelled. The name was later reused for a production version using a different engine.
    An-24D
  • A projected long-range airliner version of the An-24B with a single RU-19 booster jet engine in the starboard nacelle, stretched fuselage with seating for 60, strengthened structure and increased fuel capacity.
    An-24K
  • An 18-seater civilian transport aircraft that was supposed to be operated by a private company's management design department, but it never reached the concept stage.
    An-24AT
  • A 1962 project for a Tactical transport with rear loading ramp and powered by Isotov TV2-117DS coupled turboprops.
    An-24AT-RD (RD – Reaktivnyye Dvigateli – jet engines)
  • The An-24AT tactical transport project with two turbojet boosters pod-mounted under the outer wings and a wider loading ramp.
    An-24AT-U (Uskoriteli – boosters)
  • A projected Tactical transport from 1966 with three or five PRD-63 (Porokhovoy Raketnyy Dvigatel – gunpowder rocket engine) JATO bottles, wider cargo ramp and provision for up to three brake parachutes.
    An-24T (Transportnyy – transport)
  • (first use) Tactical transport version, rejected due to poor field performance and range, together with inability to load or air-drop vehicles during acceptance testing.

    Advanced

    An-26
  • Tactical transport with cargo ramp.
    An-30
  • Survey/photo-mapping aircraft.
    An-32
  • Designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the standard An-26.
    An-34
  • The initial designation of the An-24T production tactical transport.
    An-44
  • Projected cargo aircraft developed from the An-24. Ice reconnaissance and transport versions were also planned.
    An-50
  • A mid-1960s project for a jet-powered An-24, with four Ivchenko AI-25 turbofan engines in podded pairs, pylon mounted forward of the wings. Not proceeded with due to competition from the Yak-40.
    Xian Y-7
  • The Y-7 is a Chinese built derivative of the An-24/An-26 family.
    MA60
  • Upgraded and Westernised Y-7.

    Operators

    Military operators

    : Royal Cambodian Air Force – 2
  • : Korean People's Army Air Force – 1 (converted to a rudimentary airborne early warning aircraft)

    • Civil operators

    As of July 2018, 86 An-24s were in airline service.[5]

    Following fatal incidents in July 2011 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed the accelerated decommissioning of An-24s,[6] which resulted in a ban for this type from scheduled flights inside Russia.[7] However, later the ban was cancelled and, as of 2023, An-24 are still in limited commercial service in Russia.

    Former civil operators

    Civil operators have included:

    +An-24 operators within Aeroflot and post Soviet countries
    UGA – (Oopravleniye Grazhdahnskoy Aviahtsii
    - Civil Aviation Directorate)    		OAO – (Otdel'nyy Aviaotryad – independent flight detachment)LO – (Lyotnyy Otryad – flight squad) / (Aviaeskadril'ya – squadrons)Home baseCIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Airline
    Arkhangelsk2nd Arkhangelsk392ndArkhangelsk-VaskovoAVL Arkhangelsk Airlines
    AzerbaijanBaku360th / 1st & 3rd squadronsBaku-BinaAZAL (no An-24s)
    BelorussianGomel105th / 1st squadronGomelGomelavia
    1st Minsk353rdMinsk-Loshitsa (Minsk-1)Belavia
    Minsk-Avia
    MogilyovMogilevMogilev-Avia
    Central RegionsBelgorodBelgorodBelgorod Air Enterprise (no An-24s)
    BryanskBryanskBravia (Bryansk-Avia)
    Bykovo61stMoscow-BykovoBykovo Avia
    IvanovoIvanovo-Yuzhnyy (Zhukovka)IGAP (Ivanovo State Air Enterprise)
    KostromaKostromaKostroma Air Enterprise
    KurskKurskKurskavia
    RyazanRyazanRyazan aviatrans
    Tambov169thTambov-DonskoyeAviata (Avalinii Tambova)
    Tula294thTulaTula Air Enterprise
    Voronezh243rdVoronezhVoronezhavia
    VladimirVladimirVladimir Air Enterprise / Avialeso'okhrana
    East SiberianBobaidoBobaidoBobaido Air Enterprise
    Chita136th / 1st SquadronChitaChita Avia
    Irkutsk134thIrkutsk-1Baikal Airlines
    Ust-IlimskUst-IlimskUst-Ilimsk Air Enterprise
    Ust-KutUst-KutUst-Kut Air Enterprise
    Ulan-Ude138thUlan-Ude / MukhinoBuryatia Airlines
    Far EasternSakhalin CAPA / Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk UAD147th / 1st SquadronYuzhno-Sakhalinsk / KhomutvoSakhalinskiye Aviatrassy
    1st Khabarovsk289thKhabarovskDalavia Far East Airlines Khabarovsk
    KazakhChimkent158thChimkentKazakhstan Airlines
    Chimkent-Avia
    Guryev156thGuryevKazakhstan Airlines;Atyrau Air Ways
    Karaganda14thKaragandaKazakhstan Airlines
    Kostanay155thKostanayKazakhstan Airlines
    Tselinograd239thTselinogradKazakhstan Airlines;Air Astana
    Kirghiz(dissolved by 1987)
    KomiSyktyvkar366thSyktyvkarKomiavia;Komiinteravia
    KrasnoyarskAbakan130thAbakanKhakassia Airlines (Abakan A.E.)
    LatvianRiga106th / 2nd SquadronRiga-SpilveLatavio
    LeningradPskov320th / 2nd SquadronPskov
    LithuanianVilnius277th / 4th SquadronVilniusLithuanian Airlines
    MagadanAnadyr'Anadyr'-Ugol'nyyChukotavia
    Chaunskoye6thChaunskoyeChaunskoye Air Enterprise
    1st Magadan185th / (1st or 3rd Squadron)Magadan-SokolKolyma-Avia
    MoldavianKishinyov407thKishinyovAir Moldova
    North CaucasianAstrakhan'110thAstrakhan'-NarimanovoAstrakhan' Airlines
    Krasnodar241st/ 3rd SquadronKrasnodarALK Kuban Airlines
    Makhachkala111thMakhachkalaDaghestan Airlines
    Stavropol'Stavropol'SAAK (Stavropol' Joint Stock AL)
    TaganrogTaganrogTavia
    TajikLeninabad292nd / 2nd SquadronLeninabadTajikistan Airlines
    Training Establishments DirectorateKVLUGA (Kirovograd Civil Aviation Higher Flying School)KirovogradUkraine State Flight Academy
    TurkmenAshkhabad165th / 1st SquadronAshkhabadTurkmenistan Airlines/Akhal
    Krasnovodsk360th / 1st SquadronKrasnovodskTurkmenistan Airlines/Khazar
    Mary Composite Independent Air SquadronMary
    TashauzTashauz
    Tyumen'SalekhardSalekhardTyumen' Avia Trans
    Surgut358thSurgutSurgut Avia
    UkrainianDonetskDonetskDonbas – East Ukrainian Airlines
    Kyiv86th / 2nd SquadronKyiv-ZhulyanyAir Ukraine / Avialinïi Ukraïny
    KirovogradKirovograd-KhmelyovoyeAir URGA
    Lviv88thLvivLviv Airlines
    Simferopol84thSimferopolAviakompaniya Krym / Crimea AL
    VoroshilovgradVoroshilovgrad
    UralsIzhevskIzhevskIzhavia
    KirovKirovKirov Air Enterprises (no An-24s)
    MagnitogorskMagnitogorskMagnitogorsk Air Enterprise
    1st Perm'Perm'-Bolshoye SavinoPerm Airlines
    1st SverdlovskSverdlovsk-Kol'tsovoUral Airlines [Yekaterinburg]
    UzbekSamarkand163rdSamarkandUzbekistan Airways
    Tashkent160thTashkent-YuzhnyyUzbekistan Airways
    VolgaCheboksaryCheboksaryCheboksary Air Enterprise
    CheboksaryNizhnekamsk Independent air SquadronNizhnekamskNizhnekamsk Air Enterprise
    GorkyGorky-StriginoNizhegorodskie Airlines (sic)
    TatarCAPA / 1st Kazan408thKazanTatarstan Airlines
    Orenburg195th / 2nd SquadronOrenburg-Tsentral'nyyOrenburg Airlines
    Penza396thPenzaPenza Air Enterprise
    SaranskSaransk
    SaratovSaratov
    Ufa415thUfaBAL Bashkirian Airlines
    Yoshkar-OlaYoshkar-Ola
    West SiberianKemerovo196thKemerovo
    KolpashevoKolpashevo
    Novosibirsk6th(?)Novosibirsk-Severnyy2nd Novosibirsk Air Enterprise
    Tolmachevo448thNovosibirsk-TolmachevoSibir'
    Novokuznetsk184thNovokuznetskAerokuznetsk
    Omsk365th / 2nd SquadronOmskOmsk-Avia
    Tomsk119trhTomskTomsk Avia
    YakutianYakutsk271stYakutskSakha Avia
    MirnyMirnyAlmazy Rossii – Sakha (Alrosa)
    GosNII GVF ("state scientific test institute for civil air fleet")Moscow – Sheremetyevo-1

    Accidents

    See main article: List of accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-24.

    References

    Bibliography

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: AeroTransport Data Bank .
    2. Web site: Антонов Ан-24 . 2019-08-22 . russianplanes.net.
    3. The An-24 incident at Gambell, Alaska occurred 27 February 1974, when a Soviet Antonov An-24LR "Toros" (CCCP-47195) ice reconnaissance aircraft, low on fuel, carrying three crew members and twelve scientists, landed at Gambell Airport.
    4. Bermudez . Joseph S. Jr. . April 2011 . MiG-29 in KPAF Service . KPA Journal . 2 . 4 . 2.
    5. Web site: World Airline Census 2018 . 2018-08-22 . Flightglobal.com . en-GB.
    6. Web site: Odynova . Alexandra . 15 July 2011 . Medvedev's Impossible Airplane Ban . 3 January 2024 . The Moscow Times.
    7. Web site: 11 July 2011 . Во исполнение поручения Президента Российской Федерации Минтрансом России рассматривается возможность вывода самолетов Ан-24 из эксплуатации на регулярных воздушных линиях . 12 February 2013 . press release . The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.

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