An aerodynamic model of the new heavy transport aircraft “Elephant” was created and began to be tested by specialists from the Zhukovsky Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. Institute specialists note that the Elephant is intended to replace the Soviet heavy long-range transport aircraft An-124 Ruslan.
About it сообщает "Russian newspaper". It is clarified that outwardly the “Elephant” resembles the An-124, but there are a number of serious differences from its predecessor. The cargo compartment is almost a meter higher; rails for two hoists with a total lifting capacity of 30 tons will be laid along its ceiling. Above the cargo compartment is the passenger compartment. The Elephant can carry 400 paratroopers and 14 Tiger armored cars or five Sprut self-propelled guns. For ease of parking, the tips of the 88-meter wing are folded.
“We have new generation fighters, Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 bombers - the best in the world so far, at least definitely no worse than NATO models. But we don’t have such transport workers,” Honored Pilot of Russia Yuri Sytnik told the publication.
“Because there’s a problem with the An-124, it’s a Kiev development,” added the pilot. “And they want us to pay to use the trademark.” But our documentation is completely Russian, our production is completely ours, it turns out that they have to pay for the air, only for the fact that the plane bears their name. Therefore, there was a need to create our own domestic transport aircraft, and the design bureaus were tasked with making such an aircraft.”
The publication notes that TsAGI scientists had previously defined the concept of the future aircraft and designed the design of a promising aircraft. The next stage was the production of an aerodynamic model. In the near future, studies of the “Elephant” model will begin in a variable-density wind tunnel. Experts will study its aerodynamic characteristics in cruising modes. Research into aerodynamics in takeoff and landing modes is planned for 2020. It is also planned to visualize the flow around the model.
“Not counting the super-heavy An-225 Mriya, built by Antonov in a single copy, the two largest transport aircraft in the world are the same An-124 Ruslan and the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy,” the newspaper clarifies.
At the same time, the An-225 “Mriya” (translated from Ukrainian as “Dream”) with a carrying capacity of up to 250 tons was built in the USSR at the Kiev Mechanical Plant in 1984-1988. The first flight took place on December 21, 1988. Initially, two vehicles were laid down, but currently only one copy is in flight condition and is operated in Ukraine.