AN2 Over Worcestershire Today
 

On the ground at Shobdon, am 17 June. Later seen in the air going really really slow, to the point of being overtaken by helicopters.https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...e9c2ce1ad4.jpg

Its being used by the newly restablished parachute Club at Shobdon. I believe they used it for a para drop display in Worcester recently.

I just love AN2s , one was based near me when I lived in Sweden and my son lives in Czechia (as its now called) and the local airfied has one.

Seems to take off and land in its own length - can fly incredibly slowly but still carry quite a few people or a lot of 'cargo' (I use the quotation marks since AN2s must have carried everythign from Spetznatsz troops to Pigs in their career). There are still a good few about trundling along below the glinting metal and snowy contrails of todays world but they are one of those things that is just a design classic. despite it being ugly, ungainly and old fashioned the day it first flew
Ok so bi planes were history before it was built but that was the right configuration for this flying tractor, cum 4x4 , ambulance, military transport, pseudo helicopter , pipeline surveyor and just what the tundra and frozen wastes of USSR/Russia needed-The AK47 of the air -Urrah!!

Antonov was (and is) based in Ukraine. The earlier ones were built there, probably all gone now, and the more recent ones subcontracted to PZL in Poland. The "fabric" wing skins are actually plastic rather than canvas.

Have jumped out of OM-UIN, which was in the UK in the 1990s. 45kts para-drop speed.