The development goal was a plane that was easy to fly and could be used as a light passenger and cargo transport as well as agricultural aircraft and air ambulance.
The maiden flight took place on March 15th, 1958.
Aeroflot had planned to introduce the type in 1959 but the project was delayed by development problems with the Antonov An-10 which tied down the complete Antonov OKB, as well as issues with the An-14 prototype itself.
The An-14A went into production in 1965 in the state-owned aircraft factory No. 166 in Arsenyev.
By now, it had different wings, a distinctly V-shaped tail plane and modified vertical stabilizers.
A large cargo door at the rear of the cabin had an opening of 0.85 by 1.90 metres (2.8 by 6.2 ft).
In 1967, the type was presented at the milestone Domodedovo air show.
The An-14 had a capacity of seven passengers or 600 kg (1,300 lb) of freight.
The air ambulance version was able to accept six stretchers and one nurse.
There was also a VIP version for five passengers.
Other variants included the An-14B with retractable landing gear, as well as the An-14M with turboprop engines which was later developed into the Antonov An-28.
The maiden flight of the An-14M took place in 1969.
It received a stretched fuselage and high-lift wing.
Like the An-14B, its prototype had been fitted with retractable landing gear, but that was dropped in the final production version.
Another unusual variant was the An-14Sh, testing a hover cushion landing gear for unprepared landing strips.
While these tests were successful, the gear impaired the aerodynamics and only left minimal payload capacity.
A precursor of the An-14Sh had been the An-714 with inflatable floats.
In China, there was a smaller variant named Sha-Tu N°1.
15 An-14 were exported, four of which went to the East German Army in 1966.
They were used by the Verbindungsfliegerstaffel 25 of the East German Air Force in Strausberg, renamed to VS-14 in 1971, until 1980 or 1981.
Production ceased in 1976 after 332 units as the type proved impossible to replace the Antonov An-2.
Specifications
Crew
Two
Capacity
6-8 passengers / 720 kg (1,587 lb) payload
Length
11.36 m (37 ft 3 in)
Wingspan
21.99 m (72 ft 2 in)
Height
4.63 m (15 ft 2 in)
Wing area
39.72 m2 (427.5 sq ft)
Aspect ratio
12.15:1
Empty weight
2,600 kg (5,732 lb)
Gross weight
3,450 kg (7,606 lb)
Max take-off weight
3,600 kg (7,937 lb)
Cabin size
3.1 m × 1.53 m × 1.6 m (10.17 ft × 5.02 ft × 5.25 ft)
