Antonov 2R

As far as Russian planes go, there are 3 manufacturers whose names stand above the rest - Antonov, Tupolev and Yakovlev.

The 1st and 3rd had representation at Festa al Cel this year, and Antonov's 2R biplane was the better known.

This remarkable aircraft is a derivative of the original An-2 which was manufactured in its model variants from 1946 until 1991.  It stood in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest production run of any aircraft, but was only recently overtaken by the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

The An-2 had many guises, but was better known as a crop-duster for which it was initially built.  It has also been used as a people and cargo carrier, firefighter and a parachute drop aircraft. 

The Fundació Parc Aeronàutic de Catalunya plane on display at Festa al Cel was a 2R which is a crop-dusting derivative of the An-2, and originally fitted with a large tank to hold the chemicals.

An interesting feature of the Antonov was that it had no stall speed - the speed at which aircraft stop flying and fall back to Earth.

The pilot's handbook said, "If the engine quits in instrument conditions (blind flying when you can't see the ground) or at night, the pilot should pull the control column full aft (it won't stall) and keep the wings level. The leading-edge slats will snap out at about 64 km/h (40 mph), and when the airplane slows to a forward speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph), the airplane will sink at about a parachute descent rate until the aircraft hits the ground."

Pilots also report that the aircraft is fully in control at 30mph - incredible! A modern-day Cessna has a stall-speed of about 50mph.

For more posts on the Barcelona Airshow, click on the Label "Festa al Cel" below.

Hispano Aviación HA-200 Super Saeta

When I first saw this jet at last year's Festa al Cel, I didn't know what it was.  Intensive online research revealed why - it's not an aircraft that was widely flown.  The HA-200 Super Saeta was only operated by 2 countries, (Spain and Egypt), and only 200 units were built - 110 for Spain and 90 for Egypt.  The Spanish airforce used their planes for both combat and as trainers.

Willie Messerschmidt assisted in the Saeta's design and, in 1962, Spain rolled out its first turbojet manufactured in the country.  Saeta means Arrow, and the plane is powered by 2 Turbomeca Marboré engines mounted side-by-side, with intakes in the jet's nose. Another design first for Spain was the development of the pressurised cockpit which seated 2 pilots in tandem.

Festa al Cel featured 2 Saetas in its 2010 display.  One is privately owned by Victor Lleó from the Club Acrobático Mediterráneo, and the other is owned by the Fundació Parc Aeronàutic de Catalunya.

For more Barcelona Airshow posts, click on the Label "Festa al Cel" below.

Planes from Fundació Parc Aeronàutic de Catalunya

With the Fundació Parc Aeronàutic de Catalunya based in Sabadell, just out of Barcelona, (and where some of the visiting planes to Festa al Cel were based for the week), it wasn't surprising that they would parade some of their working exhibits.

Unfortunately, some flew too far off the beach to get decent photos, so I missed getting the older biplanes and the T6 Harvard.

The Fundació's website is merely a placeholder as of now but, hopefully with time, they'll start populating it with information as they do have some wonderful aircraft with local origins.

I'll be covering the Antonov 2R and Saetas in separate posts.

The MBB 233 Flamingo is a rare bird these days.  It was built by SIAT (West Germany) in the 1960s in response to demands for an aeroclub training aircraft.  In 1970, SIAT was acquired by MMB which was the successor to Messerschmidt. (Willy Messerschmidt was a big influence on the development of planes in this area.) Production was later handed to CASA.  In 1986, the Flamingo was the test plane in the development of Porsche's aircraft engine.  At present, there are only 2 known MBB Flamingos still flying in the world.

MBB 233 Flamingo

Built in the 60s in Czechoslovakia, the 2-seater Zlin Z-326 Tréner Master was manufactured in large numbers and sold all over Europe.  It was one of the most highly successful acrobatic planes ever made, and won many competitions in its era.

Zlin Z-326 Tréner Master

Following on the heels of the Z-326, the Zlin Z-526 Akrobat was developed specifically for acrobatic events.  The single-seat plane boasted a 6 cylinder, 160hp inverted engine.

Zlin Z-326 Tréner Master

To read more posts about the Barcelona Airshow, click on the Label "Festa al Cel" below.