The Beriev Be-30 (

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

"Cuff") is a Russian regional airliner and utility transport aircraft designed by the Beriev Design Bureau. It was developed specifically for

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

local service routes using short, grass

airstrips An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

. It was also designed to be used in the light transport, aerial survey and air ambulance roles. It competed against the

Antonov An-28 The Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft, developed from the Antonov An-14M. It was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It ...

and the Czechoslovakian

LET-410 The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short a ...

Design and development

The original design featured interconnected engines, so that in case of one engine failing, the remaining engine could drive both

propellers A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. This feature was not implemented in the production version. The first prototype flew on 3 March 1967, fitted with

Shvetsov ASh-21 The Shvetsov ASh-21 is a seven-cylinder single-row air-cooled radial aero engine. Design and development The ASh-21 is basically a single-row version of the Shvetsov ASh-82. The ASh-21 also incorporates a number of parts from the ASh-62 radia ...

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

s, while the first production prototype flew on 18 July 1968, using more powerful Glushenkov TVD-10

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

engines. The first deliveries to Aeroflot were in mid-1969.Green, William, ''The Observers Book of Aircraft'', Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd, 1970. The Be-30 was designed for a flight crew of two with passenger arrangements for 14 (in the Be-30) to a maximum of 17 (in the Be-32) seated two abreast. Corporate shuttle configuration seated seven. The

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

configuration could accommodate nine stretcher patients, six seated patients and one medical attendant. Three Be-30s and five Be-32s were built in the late 1960s before the program was terminated. In the early 1990s one of the original Be-32s was converted to a Be-32K demonstrator and presented at the 1993 Paris and Dubai air shows. It was painted in the colors of the now defunct

Moscow Airways Moscow Airways was a Russian airline that was formed as a subsidiary of Aeroflot to operate the airline's fleet of Ilyushin Il-62s. History It began operating in 1991, flying passengers and airfreight. Among the airline's destinations ...

which had ordered 50 aircraft but ceased operations before any could be built or delivered.

Variants

* Be-30 Prototype first flew on 3 March 1967, powered by two

radial piston engines, driving three-blade constant speed propellers. Fuel capacity . * Be-30: Production model * Be-30A: With 'high-density' seating for 21-23 passengers * Be-32: Upgraded model first displayed in 1993. Two

Glushenkov TVD-10B The Omsk Engine Design Bureau (along OMO named after Baranov) is an aero engine design bureau. It was originally situated in Moscow in the Soviet Union, but was evacuated in 1941. Operations were moved to a "site of farm machinery" . The Bureau ...

turboprops driving three-blade constant speed propellers. * Be-32K: 'Westernized' version with two

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously up ...

turboprops driving three-blade Hartzell reversible pitch propellers. Fuel capacity .

Operators

; *

Specifications (Be-30)

References

External links

*
Beriev site

Be-30/32 at Airliners.net
{{Beriev aircraft Be-0030 1960s Soviet airliners Aircraft first flown in 1967 High-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft