Those who looked skywards to-day in Hungary could glimpse a sight not previously seen anywhere. An Antonov An-26 of the Hungarian Air Force and the last airworthy Li-2 flew together to commemorate 60 years of military transport flying in the country.
The Lisunov Li-2, wearing the original Malev livery, is one of the several thousand examples license-built in the Soviet Union, actually the Soviet version of the Douglas C-47. The Russian designation was PS-84 and NATO reporting name Cab. It is rumored that the Russians have never paid a cent to Douglas in license fees. This particular example entered service with the Hungarian People’s Army in 1949 and was later turned into a civilian transport with the registration HA-LIX.
The Antonov An-26, NATO reporting name Curl, is a development of the An-24 and was first seen in 1969. It is easy to recognize by the modified rear fuselage housing a large cargo ramp.
Flying almost wingtip to wingtip to-day, the biggest problem for the An-26 skipper was flying slow enough not to overtake the Li-2…
