Beriev

Flanker Man, I just had a browse through your website – I’m impressed by the number and quality of the pictures!

Just a couple of thoughts on the Be-200 design: the aircraft is a very pretty aircraft; the wing planform reminds me of the Comet wing; the fuselage sits very low in the water; a lot of hosing down would be needed after it’s driven out of the water. Apart from that, she should be a winner!

Keep up the good work.

Bri 🙂

To me the SH-5 reminds me of a cross between the Be-12 and the PS/US-1….certainly an enormous beast of a plane.

I certainly hope that somehow the export prospects of the Be-200 can be increased. It seems like a solid design, and it would be a waste to see it not get built in large numbers.

They wheel the Be-42/A-40 out at every Gelendzhik show……

Ken

I think the Be-42/A-40 was the first Russian aircraft I fell in love with as a teenager.
I know, most teens went for sexy celebs but I went looking overseas! 😉

They wheel the Be-42/A-40 out at every Gelendzhik show……

It’s a bit bigger than the Be-200…..

Ken

NEARLY BOUGHT ONE

It’s probably my fault for going down that road, but it should be pointed out that it was the A-40 Albatross ‘Mermaid’ that was put forward for consideration for RAF use, though very similar in layout it’s a far bigger and more powerful beast than the Be-200.

Saw one at Fairford when the crew were trying to raise a few Roubles selling Russian items. I asked how much for the A-40 but he wouldn’t give me a price.;)

It’s probably my fault for going down that road, but it should be pointed out that it was the A-40 Albatross ‘Mermaid’ that was put forward for consideration for RAF use, though very similar in layout it’s a far bigger and more powerful beast than the Be-200.

I think one of the most tantalising what ifs, is if the RAF had replaced the Nimrod MR.2 with the Be-200 Mermaid.
Can you imagine seeing them in a two tone grey moored at the bouys of Mount Batten or Pembroke Dock, aswel as land based at Mawgan or Kinloss, real Coastal Command stuff!

Can somebody who is better at Photoshopping show us what an RAF Mermaid might look like?

They even look like their name sakes!:)

Just looking quickly at Wiki I’m surprised at how few were built, I always remember seeing grainy pictures of them in the old aircraft and defence recogntion magazines and thinking that there fleets of them.

@Flanker man thnx for the walkthrough photos…excellent

Extremely well written article concerned with the downfall of hydro-aviation…A Russian Perspective

Demise of Hydro-Aviation_Russia

Fantastic pictures Flyer, especially that first shot!)

It is specially for You, pagen01😀

Look the information about Chinese Harbin SH-5 aircraft:
http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/specialaircraft/sh5.asp

It isn’t an amphibian – that is retractable beaching gear. It can’t land on that gear.

Thanks again for the info, don’t forget though that with the Shin Meiwas’ the first PS-1 variant was a pure flying boat with retractable beaching gear, the later US-1 was the amphib variant

Fantastic pictures Flyer, especially that first shot!:)

For pagen01:

nice pair:

the mirror:

Enjoy !

Hello folks: Here is a photo of the Be-12 that overflew my cruiser while we were transitting the Black Sea in summer 1978.

Bob

Magnificant photos Ken, thanks.
The Be-6 & 12 look really well kept, I seem to remember seeing pics of a 6 somewhere on a plinth but looking very sorry for itself.

Somewhere up near Murmansk…..

As for the SH-5, I have never heard of it before, does half look like a Shin Meiwa!

It isn’t an amphibian – that is retractable beaching gear. It can’t land on that gear.

I think they grafted the wings from the An-12 onto a home-designed fuselage.

They are proposing a ‘real’ amphibian variant though – in model form at the Zhuhai Show……

The AVIC D-600.

Ken

Magnificant photos Ken, thanks.
The Be-6 & 12 look really well kept, I seem to remember seeing pics of a 6 somewhere on a plinth but looking very sorry for itself.

As for the SH-5, I have never heard of it before, does half look like a Shin Meiwa!

There seems to be a very small step below the mid wing position, it is less pronounced than one would think it needs though.

Beriev spent a long time getting the hydrodynamics right – the Be-200 has a very good boat hull with very little drag – not much more than a land-based equivalent.

There is a small step – with two drop doors fore and aft of it….

There are two retractable water scoops just behind the step

My walkround photos of the Be-200 are here.

On Berievs’ in general, has anyone got pictures of my favourite the Be-12 Chayka?
A real Cold-war ASW warrior, does anyone know if there are any remaining service etc?

IIRC, there are no Be-12s remaining in Russian service – although the Ukraine is supposedly refurbishing some for anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa…..

Be-12 at the Zhulaniy museum in Kiev….

… and just for completeness, its predecessor, the Be-6….

This Qing-6 is a Chinese turboprop conversion at the Xiaotangshan musem….

Finally, how about a Chinese SH-5……

Ken

There seems to be a very small step below the mid wing position, it is less pronounced than one would think it needs though.
I love this Be-200 photo below, copywrite of Fyodor Borisov / airliners.net.

On Berievs’ in general, has anyone got pictures of my favourite the Be-12 Chayka?
A real Cold-war ASW warrior, does anyone know if there are any remaining service etc?

Interesting responses and some great pictures! Thanks lads.

The Be-200 looks great – but one thing puzzles me. It doesn’t seem to have a ‘step’ on the hull. So how does that work? I thought all seaplanes needed a step to get unstuck off the water.

Another point is that not all places have the room for airports and long runways. Think of somewhere like Indonesia, which has thousands of small islands dotted around the ocean!

Bri 🙂

I wish Beriev could/would partner with some Western company…perhaps more export sales could be pulled from Western nations in that way.

They have tried – EADS were supposed to be helping them market the design.

A proposal to re-engine it with BR710 (?) engines was also put forward.

There are a few things working against Beriev – one is the in-built western prejudice and reluctance to invest in a Russian design – combined with Beriev’s lack of expertise in marketing and after-sales (hence the EADS tie-in).

Another is the certification (or lack thereof) of all the Russian parts suppliers – not just Beriev – but all the component manufacturers.

The aircraft and it’s components are as good as anything in the west – it’s just that they have to prove it.

Ken

Wouldnt it be a good idea to get some old Nimrod fuselages and send them to Beriev to be rebuilt into Be-200’s for the RAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Richard