Antonov An-2 Russian multipurpose aircraft, Aeroflot
Eastern Express 14443

The Antonov An-2 is a single-engine biplane utility / agricultural aircraft designed in the USSR in 1946. By 1960 the USSR had produced over 5,000 units. Since 1960, most An-2s have been built at Poland's WSK factory in Mielec, with over 13,000 made there before full production ended in 1991. Limited production from parts stocks, as well as spares and maintenance coverage continued until 2001, when 4 aircraft were produced for Vietnam. China also builds the An-2 under license as the Y-5.

The Antonov An-3 is a Soviet, then built in the Ukraine and Russia with few visible differences between both production lines: civil multipurpose and agricultural aircraft. It is essentially a turboprop-powered development of the An-2 designed to upgrade or replace it. The first example flew as early as May 13, 1980, but because of a lack of official interest in the project, work proceeded very slowly - flight testing was not complete until 1991. It is one of the few turbine-powered biplane designs to date.

The project was revitalised in the late 1990s when it was taken over by Polyot State Aerospace Enterprise, and a marketing campaign began in earnest in 2000, although sales have been limited. It is available in two forms, the basic agricultural aircraft (An-3SKh) and a civil transport version (An-3T) able to carry 12 passengers or 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) of cargo. [Wikipedia]