Russian institute to fit turbine An-2 with glass cockpit

Russia's Chaplygin Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute (SibNIA) plans to fit a glass cockpit to a modified example of the 1940s-vintage Antonov An-2 utility biplane as part of a programme of enhancements to the single-engined turboprop, the institute's chief designer Grigory Anokhin says.

The cockpit will be installed in the institute's TVS-2MS, an An-2 fitted with aHoneywell TPE331 engine and Hartzell five-blade propeller.

"We plan to swap the aircraft's avionics for more modern ones. So far we're looking at imported avionics, but at the same time work is under way with GosNII Aviatsionikh Sistem for creation of a domestic system for such aircraft as the TVS-2MS," he says.

SibNIA expects to show the first prototype of the modified aircraft with a domestically-produced glass cockpit in March, he says.

If the glass cockpit is a success in the TVS-2MS, it may be installed in the further modified TVS-2DT and other aircraft of this class, he says.

The TVS-2DT is another modification of the An-2 carried out by SibNIA, including some features that could feature on a "future light utility aircraft", a programme being sponsored by Russia's trade ministry.

In 2012, then-deputy trade minister Yury Slyusar – now president of UnitedAircraft – said modifying the An-2 with a new engine, avionics and airframe life extension was the "quickest route to meeting existing demand" for a new light utility aircraft for Russia's regional air operators.