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Beriev Be-200 Altair

2003 MODERN AIRCRAFT

Beriev Be-200 Altair History

The Beriev Be-200 "Altair" is based on the Cold War-era Beriev A-40 "Albatros", a twin-engine amphibious aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water or runways. The Russian Navy procured two military versions in the 1980s. The multi-purpose civilian version first flew on September 24, 1998 for firefighting, general cargo transport, passenger transport, maritime patrol and search and rescue (SAR) services. To date, nine Be-200s have been produced under the Irkut brand. The Be-200 is currently (February 2014) deployed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergencies and the Russian Ministry of Emergencies.

It was commissioned by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The true amphibious nature of the Be-200 enables the aircraft to land on water. As a fire platform, this alleviates the need to fetch water supplies and then return to embattled fires.

The aircraft has a crew of two and can accommodate up to 72 people when equipped with passenger capabilities. Her cargo capacity is 16,500 pounds. It can hold up to 26,450 pounds of water. Overall dimensions include a length of 105 feet, a wingspan of 107.6 feet and a height of 29 feet. Their design incorporates a boat-like hull that doubles as a water hull, with a flight deck at the very forward end of the aircraft.

The wings are intentionally placed high on the sides of the fuselage to improve lift characteristics. A pontoon is attached to the outer edge of the wing in front of each wingtip. The engine is also mounted high for clearer spray and consists of 2 Progress D-436To turbofan units, each rated at 16,535 pounds of thrust.

The fins are arranged in a T-shape with the horizontal plane set on a single vertical fin. When resting on land, use a traditional three-legged wheeled landing gear.

Be-200 is used to represent the base model provided as a multipurpose airframe that can be modified for different characters. Be-200ChS (Be-200ES) is an improved version of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies.

The Be-200E is offered in a version with English instruments on top of the original Russian alphabet (Be-200ES). The Be-200RR is a proposed variant that would feature a Western Rolls-Royce engine to expand the type's marketing appeal beyond Russia's sphere of influence.

The Be-210 is a proposed airliner model. Likewise, the Be-220 is a proposed dedicated maritime patrol variant for surface service. There is also a reported Be-200PS model variant.