Antonov An-2

Single Piston

The Antonov AN-2 is the world's largest single-engine biplane and one of aviation's most enduring workhorses, having entered production in 1947 and never truly stopped. Designed by the Soviet Antonov bureau for agricultural and utility roles across the USSR's vast hinterlands, the AN-2 combined a massive 1,000-horsepower radial engine with a fabric-covered steel-tube airframe and full-span automatic leading-edge slats that give it a stall speed so low (around 30 knots in some configurations) that pilots joke it can hover into a headwind. Its biplane layout and fixed landing gear look archaic, but the design prioritized short-field performance, ease of maintenance in remote conditions, and the ability to operate from grass, snow, or dirt with minimal ground support. More than 18,000 were built in the Soviet Union, Poland, and China, making it one of the most-produced aircraft in history. The AN-2 served as a crop duster, parachute jump platform, medevac transport, and light freighter across the Eastern Bloc, and thousands remain in commercial service today from Siberia to sub-Saharan Africa. Its radial engine burns low-octane fuel, and the airframe is simple enough that field repairs with hand tools are routine. The type holds no speed records (cruise is a leisurely 100 knots), but its ability to land in under 600 feet and take off from a soccer field made it irreplaceable in regions without paved runways. Western pilots who fly it describe the handling as forgiving and the cockpit as spartan, with a greenhouse canopy offering panoramic visibility and controls that feel more like a 1940s truck than a modern aircraft. Despite its age, the AN-2 has no certified retirement date; the Soviet type certificate was issued without an airframe-life limit, leading to the industry joke that it's the only aircraft designed to fly forever. Modernization efforts have included turboprop conversions and avionics upgrades, but most operators prize the original piston variant for its simplicity and parts availability. SkyMeter has tracked 2 flights across 1 airframes and 1 operators, with the largest observed operator.