Antonov An-2 Colt - Seattle, WA - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Located at the Museum of Flight are a large number of static aircraft on display. One of them is a Antonov An-2 Colt. The Museum of Flight website contains a page devoted to this aircraft and it reads:

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Antonov An-2 Colt's 45-year production run is one of the longest ever for any aircraft. The plane is the workhorse of underdeveloped countries, prized for its multi-use capabilities, extraordinary slow-flight and short takeoff and landing capabilities, and its ability to handle extreme weather conditions and unimproved runways.

The An-2 is the largest single-engine biplane ever produced, in addition to its home factory in the former Soviet Union the plane has seen production runs in the Ukraine, Poland, and China. Fitted with a 1,000-horsepower 9-cylinder Shvetsov ASH-62 radial engine, the An-2 has no stall speed recorded in its operating handbook and pilots have been known to fly the biplane under full control at 30 mph. A note from the pilot's handbook reads:

"If the engine quits in instrument conditions (blind flying when you can't see the ground) or at night, the pilot should pull the control column full aft (it won't stall) and keep the wings level. The leading-edge slats will snap out at about 40mph (64km/h), and when the airplane slows to a forward speed of about 25mph [40km/h], the airplane will sink at about a parachute descent rate until the aircraft hits the ground."

In 1998, The Museum of Flight's An-2 Antonov named Polar 1 participated in a commemorative polar flight honoring the fight originally made from Barrow, Alaska, USA to Spitsbergen, Norway in April of 1928 by Eielson and Wilkins. The Museum's aircraft landed at the North Pole on April 13, 1998 and was donated at the completion of the return flight by owner Shane Lundgren.

A nearby placard also highlights this Antonov AN-2 in more detail and reads:

A Versatile Aircraft
The Antonov AN-2 "Colt" was developed to replace the Polikarpov PO-2 as the utility aircraft for the Soviet Ministry of Forestry. The AN-2 is the largest single-engine biplane ever produced with over 18,000 built from 1947 to 2001. The Colt has been prized for its multi-use capabilities as a forestry observation aircraft, forest fire water bomber, crop duster, flying ambulance and paratrooper transport. Its extraordinary handling at slow speeds, short takeoff and landing capabilities, and its ability to handle extreme weather conditions and unimproved runways made the AN-2 a workhorse for underdeveloped countries.

Polar 1
In 1998, The Museum of Flight's AN-2 "Colt," named Polar 1, participated in a commemorative polar flight honoring the 2,200 mile (3,540 km) flightoriginally made from Barrow, Alaska, U.S.A. to Spitsbergen, Norway in April of 1928 by Carl Ben Eielson and George Hubert Wilkins in a Lockheed Vega. The Museum's aircraft landed at the North Pole on April 13, 1998 and was donated to the Museum at the completion of the return flight by owner Shane Lundgren.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Antonov An-2 Colt Tail Number: (S/N): 1G17527; Registration No. N61SL Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Museum of Flight - Aviation Pavilion inside / outside: outside Other Information:: Not listed Access restrictions: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/28/2022 r.e.s.t.seekers visited it 08/19/2022 Ninja Fairies visited it 10/01/2018 Ulven7470 visited it

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