In 1958, based on the experience gained in the course of designing the AI-20turboprop engine and using advanced methods of simulation, a scaled-down turboprop engine, AI-24, rated at was developed. The engine was specifically designed to power the Antonov An-24passenger aircraft. True to the Soviet tradition, design was kept separate from serial production which was started in 1960. The turboprop engine along with many of the bureau's other designs were manufactured at Motor Sich which is also located in Zaporozhye. Attempts were made to also produce a turboshaft variant - for instance in 1960, eleven pre-production units of AI-24V turboshaft variants rated at 2000 hp were manufactured for powering the first two V-8 prototype helicopters. However later on, due to the fact that the TV2-117 engine was selected for powering the Mi-8, the works on the AI-24V engine aborted. The AI-24A produced 1,900 kW. An improved series was introduced in 1966. Each engine nacelle included a fire extinguishing system that could be set to an automatic operation mode. The AI-24 turboprop engines featured wide gas dynamic stability margin at all power conditions, altitudes and flight speeds. The most notable feature of the engine was in its operational reliability. The main advantages of the engine were simple design, high reliability, long service life and easy maintainability. The later AI-24T had water injection giving increased power output. It also introduced automatic limiting of power overloads and exhaust gas temperatures, along with vibration monitoring, automatic shutdown and feathering.
Operational use
The first airplane powered by two Ivchenko AI-24 turboprops was the An-24. They drove four-bladed AV-72T constant-speed reversible propellers. Early production aircraft had AI-24 engines providing 1,790 kW takeoff power each, while later production airplanes were equipped with the newer AI-24A engines. The AI-24 was later used on the Аn-26 and Аn-30 transports. The AI-24A was manufactured in large numbers in both the USSR and China. The popularity and success of Antonov's An-24 series ensured that the AI-24 turboprop engine became one of the Soviet Union's most prominent and widely distributed engines worldwide. According to SE Ivchenko Progress, 2735 airplanes and 11750 units of the AI-24 engines of various modified versions were manufactured in total before production ended.
