Hi! When Oleg Antonov created An-2 there was an idea to make it as cheaper as possible in goal of mass production, easy maintenance and also as it is a biplane there is more distribution of loads on two wings.
What is the main plus of the fabric rotting? It allows to remove problems and carry out a revision of the entire power wing set. There is no such opportunity on any plane of this class. In order to repair a rivulet, determine the element of structure damaged by corrosion or fatigue stress it is necessary to reach it. If take any other plane with a metal rotting then this is basically impossible. Therefore it is one of main advantages of An-2 aircraft.
Today fabric rotting is replaced by synthetic fabric rotting. It already has completely different terms of service. We are now watching some planes with synthetic rotting they have been in operation for over 12 years and no problems. The design of the An-2 is unique and this razor makes it possible to have such a weight gain that did not dream of any other aircraft. In terms of take-off mass limits for An-2 they were dictated mainly by the power of the power plant Shvetsov ASh-62.