Antonov An-72

The Antonov An-72, NATO reporting name Coaler, is a short takeoff and landing transport aircraft developed and produced by Antonov. Design work began in the early 1970s, likely as the Soviet answer to the American Advanced Medium STOL Transport programme, and the aircraft was developed in relative secrecy as a jet-powered replacement for the An-26. Two Lotarev D-36 turbofan engines sit high over the wing so that their exhaust flows across the upper surface and uses the Coanda effect to boost lift, a layout that also called for a T-tail. The maiden flight took place on 31 August 1977, but quantity production did not begin until the late 1980s. The large engine intake ducts earned it and the related An-74 the nickname Cheburashka. Russia and Ukraine inherited the type after the Soviet collapse, and some variants work as commercial freighters.