Antonov An-22 "Antei" visit to Ostend Airport

On 19-7-2020 I went to Ostend airport for the beautiful Antonov An22. It was the first time I saw this beautiful plane in my life. This Antonov An22A (former Soviet Air Force CCCP-09307) was built in 1974 and is now operated by Antonov Airlines / Design Bureau Antonov from its home base Kiev-Gostomel (UKKM) in the Ukraine.

The Antonov An-22 (NATO reporting name "Cock") is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union that made its first flight on February 27, 1965. Powered by four Kuznetsov NK12MA turboprop engines each driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers. The aircraft was the first wide-body transport aircraft and remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft to date. The An-22 first appeared publicly outside the Soviet Union at the 1965 Paris Air Show. Since then, the model has seen extensive use in major military and humanitarian airlifts for the Soviet Union.

Text and Photography: Levie Meykens