Photo of the week August 7th, 2013

Those who look upwards, when the hear the drone of a large engine, may have seen this wonderful bi-plane. It is an Antonov AN-2, the largest single engine production bi-plane ever made. It can be seen from time to time gracing our skies. If you get to see it, take a moment to savour the flight of this magnificent machine. It is testimony to some great engineering achievements from 1947, when the Russian engineers started construction of this light utility, transport and agricultural aircraft. It is no longer being built, however there were over 18,000 built, up until 2002! The AN-2 still flies and handles within the design criteria of the original concept - robust, rugged, slow and able - but rather thirsty when it comes to fuel! Remember,no airliner ever gets near the production numbers of such General Aviation Aircraft, and we all hope that there will be more and more General Aviation movements, providing interest and inspiration to future generations across our nation, in engineering, aviation and adventure! Photo courtesy of Patricia Mawuli