Going old school this week with a selection of (mostly) Russian radial engines. First up is a hard working Antonov An-2, testing out its spraybar equipment.
If I had a great big pile of money burning a hole in my pocket, I’d probably look into importing an An-2, converting the interior for camping, and having the ultimate Oshkosh fly-in camper.
Next is a Sikorsky S-58 that wakes up about as well as I do. It’s not Russian (obviously), but that is a nine-cylinder Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine stuffed under that cowling. So if fits with the radial theme.
Finally, it’s back to Russia again (Hungary, actually) for engine startup on a Lisunov Li-2. “But Aaron,” I hear someone saying in the back, “that’s not a Russian airplane, that’s a DC-3!” Well, sort of. It seems that before WWII, Lisunov received a license to build their own copies of the iconic Douglas aircraft. The called their version the Li-2, and it went on to do lots of DC-3/C-47 things on the Eastern Front during the war, and then have lots of long post war carriers like a lot of DC-3s. Nearly 5,000 Li-2s were produced until 1954. HA-LIX is currently the only known example in flying condition.