Antonov An-2

The first aircraft of the Antonov bureau flew in 1947 and looked archaic — a biplane in the jet age. But the calculation was precise: two wings with automatic slats allow take-off from two hundred metres of any surface, and the ASh-62IR radial can be fixed in the field with a wrench and a hammer. The Annushka carried mail and patients, sowed fields, fought fires, served polar stations and dropped parachutists. Production in the USSR, Poland and China exceeded 18 000 machines, and in remote regions the aircraft works to this day — nothing has managed to replace it. The museum An-2 in 1970s Aeroflot livery is open inside: the cargo cabin is accessible, and visitors may sit at the controls in the cockpit.