The
Asia-Pacific region is the most dynamically developing area in the world. It accounts for
more than half of the world's industrial production and up to 40 percent of global trade.
The area is rich in mineral resources. About 20 percent of the world's freight is carried
via sea and air routes passing through the region. For these reasons the existing airports
have to be reconstructed and new ones built, which necessitates large capital
investments.
Countries
situated in the region need new aircraft that would enable them to cope with the
increasing cargo and passenger traffic, further develop air traffic between the mainland
and islands, quickly and effectively perform search and rescue operations at sea,
patrol the key sea routes and state borders, insular territories, territorial waters
and, if necessary, promptly airlift a rapid reaction force to the required place. These
problems appear to be most challenging to the states which do not have enough land to
build new airports but have long sea borders.
The Irkutsk
Aviation Production Association and Beta IR company offer these countries the new Be-200
amphibious jet aircraft. This aircraft was developed by the Beriev Aviation
Scientific-Technical Complex in Taganrog.
The aircraft's
aerohydrodynamics incorporates the latest advances made in this field in the world. In
most of its performance characteristics the amphibian is not inferior to similar
land-based aircraft. But it possesses the unique ability to take off or land on the water
surface or ground.
The Be-200
amphibious aircraft is basically a monoplane featuring a high-mounted sweep wing, T-shaped
tail unit and long hull with variable lateral deadrise. Two D-436TP turbojet engines are
pylon-mounted on the undercarriage fairings above the wing. The tricycle undercarriage
provides for operation of the aircraft from class B airfields (runway 1,800 m).
The Be-200
features:
- excellent hydrodynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of the chosen
configuration.
- a fully watertight fuselage, unlike existing competitors.
- a multitude of applications.
The latest
flight and navigation system, ARIA-200, developed by the Aircraft Equipment Institute
(Russia) in collaboration with AlliedSignal (USA). The system provides for effective
navigation and flight control at all stages under any meteorological conditions, including
arrival at the assigned point (fire hot spot or water scooping area) with a high degree of
accuracy, automatic lead-out to the same point in the event of a repeated run, approach
for landing (to the altitude of up to 60 m) precise determination of relative position in
a group, the last factor being very important under IMC flight conditions;
- reliable and economic D-436TP engines, developing a thrust of 7,500 kg each. Upon
customer request, BR-715 turbofan engines produced by BMW-Rolls-Royce, or Allison-2000
engines produced by Allison (USA), can be installed.
Basic Specifications |
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Takeoff
weight, t |
37.2 |
Preferred
economic flight altitude, m |
8,000 |
Flight
speed, km/h:
maximum
cruising
economic |
710
600
550 |
Dry tank
range using engine fuel reserve, including fuel consumption on the ground, km |
3,850 |
Average
in-flight fuel consumption, kg/h |
1,500 |
Lift-off/landing
speed, km/h |
220/200 |
Seaworthiness,
sea state (wave height, m) |
3
(1.2) |
Crew |
2 |
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The Be-200 amphibian can carry passengers and cargoes to:
- islands that have no runways;
- remote coastal areas;
- sea rigs;
- fish processing ships;
- various types of sea vessels;
- hard-to-access areas where water reservoirs are available.
Waterborne Capabilities
- use of any
water surface deeper than 2 m for take-off and landing;
- maneuvers on water at a speed of up to 50 km/h regardless of the wind direction.
Maneuvers are performed by operating the stern water rudder or by varying the thrust of
the engines.
For the sake of
safety, the amphibian's hull is divided into separate watertight compartments which keep
it afloat even if any two adjacent compartments are flooded simultaneously.
Firefighting
Version
The firefighting
version of the aircraft is the most efficient means of detecting and combating fires. It
can perform the following:
- fly patrol missions over forests to spot fires;
- put out or contain a fire by discharging water and fire-extinguishing liquid over the
edge of the fire or in front of it in several runs;
- deliver fire brigades and fire-fighting facilities to the disaster area;
- contain and suppress oil fires;
- contain and suppress fires in towns and cities.
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Be-200 operation limits at the sea during
take-off and landing |
Specific Features of the Firefighting Version
The firefighting version of the amphibian can carry 12 tons of water in 8 tank
compartments located under the cabin floor and has the following characteristics:
- time required to scoop 12 tons of water in the aquaplaning
mode - 12 s;
- fully fueled, the aircraft can deliver up to 300 tons of water to the fire zone;
- capacity of chemical agent tanks - 1.2 m3;
- the amphibian has eight water tank doors programmable to drop the water all at once or
in successive passes, thus enhancing the firefighting capability considerably;
- water-scooping distance at sea level (ISA, obstacle height 10.7 m, takeoff weight
- 43,000 kg)-
1,330 m;
- navigational equipment enables the crew to reach the fire zone precisely and - in the
second run - automatically brings the aircraft to the place where the extinguishing agent
was dropped for the first time. This is particularly important in situations where several
aircraft are involved and the area is smoked up heavily.
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The comparative performances |
Patrol Version
The patrol
version of the amphibian can effectively be used to perform the following missions:
- location and classification of suspicious ships in the assigned area, as well as
determination of their coordinates and identity;
- detention of suspicious ships by firing warning shots; examination of arrested ships
after landing on water;
- transmission of information concerning the detected targets to the shore-based control
posts and guidance of border-guard ships;
- transport of personnel and cargoes;
- conduct of search and rescue operations and rendering first aid to victims on
water;
- monitoring of the environment, weather and radio-frequency emissions aloft and
afloat;
- participation in operations conducted to remove oil spills at sea;
- taking samples of water or soil from the bottom of water reservoirs and checking the
quality of the air with the aid of special equipment.
Passenger
Version
The passenger
version features a spacious and comfortable passenger compartment and is available in the
following layouts: economy class - 64 seats; first and business classes - 32 seats;
executive version - 18 seats. The interior was designed and manufactured by the British
company AIM Aviation (LTD).
Cargo/Passenger
and Transport Versions
Can be used to
quickly deliver cargo, mail and passengers as required.
These versions of the Be-200 aircraft feature:
- pressurized cargo compartment 18.7x2.4x1.8 m in size and 80.8 m3 in volume, with a large
cargo compartment door, 1.76x2.05 m in size;
- capacity to carry up to 3,000 kg of cargo in LD-1, LD-2 and AKS containers or on PA-1.5,
R-8 pallets, and up to 19 passengers;
- transport of up to 6 tons of cargo;
- compatibility with existing floating facilities and quays used to carry out
loading/unloading operations afloat without large expenses for modifications;
- possibility of re-equipment of the aircraft (installation or removal of seats,
transposition of protective partitions, etc.) within one hour by the crew.
Ambulance
Version
The ambulance
version of the aircraft is provided with seven seats for medical personnel, 30 stretchers
and space to accommodate special medical equipment.
It can be used
as a mobile hospital.
The Be-200
amphibian has good prospects and the range of its applications will steadily expand
opening up new capabilities.
Looking at the capabilities and performance characteristics of the Be-200 in their
entirety, we can assert that it is a unique amphibious aircraft with no equivalent in the
world.
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