An–26 Transport Aircraft of the Hungarian Defence Forces Returns Home After Overhaul

Szöveg: Ministry of Defence | 2015. július 2. 9:00

The An-26 aircraft with side number 406 returned home from Kiev with a certificate of airworthiness after a flight trial. With this, another transport aircraft is now available to the Hungarian Defence Forces for the logistic support of the upcoming Baltic Air Policing mission.

Videó

At the end of March the Ministry of Defence placed a HUF +700 million order for a three-month general overhaul, which ensures the availability of the transport aircraft of the Hungarian Defence Forces for several years to come. Authorized by the manufacturer, the Kiev Aircraft Repair Plant carried out full-scale repair and inspection of the military plane, which was almost fully disassembled, checked and every item that needed it was partly or wholly upgraded or replaced. The Maintenance Operative Workgroup – a forum that brings together professional aircraft technicians on the highest level – set the technical requirements for the inspection and, if needed, the repair of the main parts and auxiliary components of the airframe.

The engines of the repainted An-26 have the same number of flight hours in their lifecycle as the whole aircraft, which is now equipped with GPS and SD-75 distance measuring equipment, and its seats have been reconfigured. In mid-June a team of Hungarian experts carried out in Kiev a follow-up inspection on the An–26, which included the checking of the aircraft and its systems on the ground and an engine run-up. Subsequently, on June 23 the experts of the Hungarian Aviation Authority and the aircrews and ground crews of the airlift squadron of the HDF 59th “Dezső Szentgyörgyi" Air Base conducted the test flights on the spot. The aircraft finally returned to the Kecskemét air base with a certificate of airworthiness.

With this, the Hungarian Defence Forces now have another transport aircraft available to provide logistic support for the Baltic Air Policing mission starting from the end of August.