Antonov An-74

Antonov · Soviet Union · first flew 1983 · transport aircraft

The Antonov An-74 is a Soviet-designed STOL twin-turbofan transport, an Arctic/harsh-environment derivative of the An-72 'Coaler' distinguished by engines mounted above the wing for upper-surface-blowing lift.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	2 × turbofan, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	28.07 m fuselage
T — Tail	T-tail

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

engines mounted high above and ahead of the wing roots for upper-surface blowing
T-tail with high-mounted tailplane
high-wing STOL transport with a bulged, glazed nose

Engines sitting high on pylons above the wing leading edge, feeding exhaust over the wing's upper surface, combined with the T-tail, make it unmistakable among twin-jet transports.

Specifications

The Antonov An-74 has a length of 28.07 m (92 ft).
It has a wingspan of 31.89 m (105 ft).
Its maximum speed is 700 km/h (435 mph).
Typical crew: 3-5 plus cargo/passenger capacity.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed from the An-72 in the early 1980s for operations in the Arctic, Antarctic and other austere airfields, the An-74 added extra de-icing and navigation equipment for polar work and entered production at Ukrainian Antonov-affiliated plants.

Variants

Variants included the stretched An-74-200 freighter and executive/VIP configurations; some later-production aircraft, the An-74TK-300, moved to a more conventional underwing engine position.

Where you'll see it

Widely used by Russian, Ukrainian and other former-Soviet operators for cargo and passenger work in remote regions; it is not seen in UK service.

Related aircraft

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