The Antonov An-72 is a Soviet transport aircraft, developed by Antonov. It was designed as a STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commercial freighters.
Antonov An-72
An unusual design feature of the An-72 is the use of the Coandă effect to improve STOL performance, using engine exhaust gases blown over the wing's upper surface to boost lift.
Russian Border Guard An-72P at Vladivostok Airport
A Russian Navy An-72 showing the front view that resembles 'Cheburashka'.
Antonov Company, formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov, and earlier the Antonov Design Bureau, for its chief designer, Oleg Antonov, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company. Antonov's particular expertise is in the fields of very large aeroplanes and aeroplanes using unprepared runways. Antonov has built a total of approximately 22,000 aircraft, and thousands of its planes are operating in the former Soviet Union and in developing countries.
Antonov An-2, mass-produced Soviet utility aeroplane.
An-12, Cold War-era tactical transport, in flight
47-year-old An-12 still in operational condition in 2011
Antonov An-24, the Soviet Union's most common regional airliner
