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Water Wings GB – Be-200ChS Altair

December 27, 2016 · in Aviation · · 20 · 1.7K

Beriev Design Bureau was established in 1934 and is the synonym for the amphibian aircraft not only in Russia but on the world level as well. While most of the amphibians were propeller driven like WW2 era MBR-2 and Cold War Be-6 ‘Madge’ and Be-12 ‘Mail’ aka ‘Chaika’ with the advent of jet age, the constructors soon started to look into application of jet engines on amphibian aircraft. R-1 was the first experimental jet powered amphibian in the early ’50s with the Be-10 entering service later in the decade. Later in the ’70s, Beriev teamed up with Bartini for the experimental futuristic looking VVA-14 of which two prototypes were built. The next Beriev’s jet amphibian project was A-40 Albatros; developed in the ’80s only one prototype was finished with another in the works, when Soviet Union collapsed and the financial crisis shelved further development. To this day, the A-40 is the biggest jet-powered amphibian in the world and the single prototype set 140 world records. It’s current status is unknown as there were some reports of order for the Russian Navy.

Beriev Be-200 is based on the A-40 Albatros design and entered service in 2003. It’s name, ‘Altair’, has two meanings – one is the name of the star in ‘Eagle’ constellation. The other one is the acronym for Al (as Albatros A-40), ta (Taganrog – the place where sea trials take place) and ir (Irkut – the production place). The aircraft is mainly used in firefighting role for which it can carry up to 12 tonnes of water but can also be used as maritime patrol, search and rescue, cargo and passenger roles, seating up to 72 passengers. While the aircraft was built in Irkut, the production line has recently moved to Taganrog.

Be-200s are currently in service with the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and Azerbaijan with further orders from Russian MoD and China. It’s first operational use was in 2004 on Italian Sardinia, fighting the forest fires with the Italian services. The success of the operations saw the Be-200s used in Italy, Portugal, Indonesia, Greece, Israel, Serbia and Russia.

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16 additional images. Click to enlarge.


20 responses

  1. A very unique aircraft - perhaps the first one of its' kind posted on iModeler (I don't recall another). Your last two paragraphs in the [excellent] narrative have somehow been duplicated. I was hoping you could tell us a little more about the model itself - and the build. I'll watch the thread for an editing correction and/or addition. Thanks for sharing...you did a swell job on the kit.

  2. Fantastic Build Sebastijan, as all of yours!

  3. Beautiful model! But it seems to me that the lines are too contrasting.

  4. Wow - you have a way of making those small subjects really pop! Love it!

  5. Great work, a very interesting aircraft.

  6. Great nice WORK!

  7. Excellent build !

  8. Hello Sebastijan,
    Thanks for sharing the history of this remarkable aircraft with us.
    This kind of aviation does slip by unnoticed. The model looks great.
    Regards, Dirk/The Netherlands.

  9. Amazing build on a rare subject!

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