First meeting with the Antonov An-30
Timisoara, July 2000. The ground staff of Timisoara International Airport guides the Antonov An-30 aircraft to the aircraft parking apron. Timisoara Airshow 2000, the largest aviation show organized in Timisoara, was about to start. The Antonov An-30 was one of the participants. It was still wearing the old green and gray camouflage scheme. In the meantime they were painted in a single shade of gray.
Flying in Romanian colors
The first of three Antonov An-30s arrived at Otopeni Air Base in December 1976. The first Romanian manned flight was executed in the same month. The aircraft was equipped for aerial photography, and the first such mission took place in July 1977. Two more Antonov An-30s followed. The three Antonov An-30 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force were registered as follows: 1103, 1104, and 1105. Antonov An-30, registered with number 1103, was withdrawn from service, and sold to the Republic of Moldova, where it flew for a few years with the registration ER-EWZ. Currently, the aircraft no longer flies. The other two Antonov An-30s are still in active service of the Romanian Air Force, being assigned to the Otopeni 90 Transport Flotilla, together with Antonov An-26, Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules, Alenia C-27J Spartan, IAR-330 Puma M helicopters. The Romanian Air Force uses this aircraft for geodesic missions and flights within the Open Sky Treaty. The first Open Sky Treaty mission took place in November 1990 in Hungary. In July 1995, an Antonov An-30 participated in the first joint mission of the Romanian Air Force with NATO forces, which also took place in Hungary.
Antonov An-30. Technical data
The plane is equipped with two Ivchenko Progress AI-24T turboprop engines, which give it a maximum speed of 540 km/h and a cruising speed of 430 km/h. The range is 2600 km, and the flight ceiling is 8300 meters. The crew consists of six members.