Civil aircraft An-10 early version 1/144 Eastern Express 14484

Civil aircraft An-10 early version
1/144 scale plastic model kit
Eastern Express 14484

Manufacturer: Eastern Express (Russia)
Scale: 1/144
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box

The Antonov An-10 (NATO reporting name: Cat) was a four-engined turboproppassenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.Development of a four-engined airliner intended for use on routes from 500–2000 kilometers began at the end of 1955. Inspired by the Izdeliye N (Izdeliye– article or product) passenger version of the Antonov An-8 the Antonov design bureau developed the Izdeliye U (“U” for “Ukraine”), a four-engined aircraft with similar layout to the An-8, but with increased dimensions and a circular section pressurised fuselage. Early in the design process the choice of engines was between the Kuznetsov NK-4 and Ivchenko AI-20 and despite superior performance the Kuznetsov NK-4 was eliminated and the Ivchenko AI-20 selected due in no small part to the 'Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine' which wanted as much as possible produced in Ukraine, where the Ivchenko factory was.

The first prototype flew on 7 March 1957, revealing poor directional stability which led to a taller vertical fin, and later to hexagonal auxiliary fins at the tips of the tailplane. Entering production at Zavod (factory) No.64, Voronezh in 1957 the initial three aircraft were delivered with Kuznetsov NK-4 engines due to the non-availability of the Ivchenko AI-20 engines. From 1958, production aircraft were delivered with the Ivchenko AI-20A engines which boasted a longer service life and comparable performance compared to the Kuznetsov engines. The new aircraft was displayed to the public for the first time in July 1957, but the design was not approved for mass production until testing was completed in June 1959. Aeroflot began operations with the An-10 from 22 July 1959 on the Moscow – Simferopol route.A total of 104 aircraft were built, including the prototype and static test airframes, entering service with the Ukrainian Civil Aviation Directorate of Aeroflot from 27 April 1959, proving popular due to large cargo volume(when fitted with reduced seating) and excellent field performance making the aircraft suitable for use on small undeveloped airfields. The Antonov Bureau simultaneously developed and produced the Antonov An-8 medium military transport, An-10 civil airliner and military paratroop transport, as well as the Antonov An-12military cargo transport.

On 22 April 1962 an An-10A piloted by A. Mitronin gained a world record 500 km closed loop speed record averaging 730.6 kilometres per hour (454.0 mph).

The performance of the An-10 and An-10A was relatively good and was shown to have lower seat/mile costs than the contemporary Tupolev Tu-104 jet airliner but continued to exhibit control and stability problems, culminating in a fatal crash on 16 November 1959 when CCCP-11167 dived into the ground while on approach to L'vov airport, due to reduced stability, abrupt nose drops at low airspeeds and reduced elevator authority at low airspeeds. On 26 February, again at L'vov, CCCP-11180 crashed at the same location due to reduced longitudinal stability and control authority caused by icing of the tailplane.

An-10
An Aeroflot An-10A at Monino in 1992
Role	Airliner
Manufacturer	Antonov
Designer	N. S. Trunchenkov & V. N. Ghel'prin
First flight	7 March 1957
Introduction	1959
Retired	1972
Primary user	Aeroflot
Number built	104