WesWorld

So coming in conjunction with an pending news anouncment will be an anoucment from EMBRAER regarding a transport aircraft. This will be the historical
Antonov An-2. Stats are reproduced below (from wiki, additional stats here).


[SIZE=1]Image from here [/SIZE]

General characteristics
Crew: 1-2
Capacity: 12 passengers
Length: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
Wingspan:
Upper wing: 18.2 m (59 ft 8 in)
Lower wing: 14.2 m (46 ft 9 in)
Height: 4.1 m (13 ft)
Wing area: 71.52 m² (769.8 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,300 kg (7,300 lb)
Loaded weight: 5,500 kg (12,000 lb)
Useful load: 2,140 kg (4,700 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-62IR 9-cylinder supercharged radial engine, 750 kW (1,000 hp)

Performance
Maximum speed: 258 km/h (139 kn, 160 mph)
Cruise speed: 190 km/h (100 kn, 120 mph)
Stall speed: ~50 km/h (26 knots, 30 mph)
Range: 845 km (456 nmi, 525 mi)
Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,750 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (700 ft/min)
Power/mass: 140 W/kg (0.83 hp/lb)

The only change will be the substitution of a Gnome-Rhone radial of identical power, most likely a modified GR14M. I would like to have this aircraft fly in prototype from in mid to late 1942 with production beginning in early 1943. Is this a acceptable timetable?

I don't see an issue with the timeline. The technology for the design has been around for quite a while. And Brazil has a large area in which such a design would be quite useful.

Thumbs up from me.

I think your image link is broken, though.

How odd, it was only the other day I wondered if anyone would be cloning the An-2 soon.

Looks fine to me. Should be a very useful and rugged type. An export version with an American radial might do very well in the Americas.

I agree, but Gnome-Rhone has been kind enough to build a factory that will be ready to start producing engines soon hence the choice to use one of there engines. Got to keep the local people employed somehow.

American airlines are likely only to buy with an American radial (makes sense given P&W and Wrights parts distruibution etc and commoness everyhwere). I think Embraer could widen the engine choice as sales pick up and production gets under way. Still for domestic orders the Gnome-Rhone makes sense and in Europe they would be quite common and in French colonies etc. That's a fairly large market to tap.