Large-sized passenger hydrofoil METEOR Model 3D

METEOR type (Project 342, 342E and 342U) Large-sized passenger hydrofoil The large-sized "Meteor" type was in serial production since 1960 till 1994. The shipbuilding plants: "Krasnoje Sormovo" (N. Novgorod - Sovietunion/Russia), "Gorkij" (Zelenodolsk - Sovietunion/Russia) and Khabarovsk, along the river Amur were the main plants. Still in 2003 2 units were produced in the plant Khabarovsk for a shipping company in China. Maybe these 2 hydrofoils belong to the newer and modified type Meteor-2000. About 29-31 units were exported, but maybe some other units were sold later to other countrys/operators. Operators: Sovietunion, later Russia and some other successor states, China, Hungary (3), Slovakia (3), Holland, and some other countrys. The type had 2 main engines made by Zvezda. In the most case the "Meteor" had two M400 engines, but some were equiped with two M417A. Both engine models had the same capacity of 1.000 HP (max. capacity 1.100 HP). The top speed of a "Meteor" reaches 35,6 kns (66 km/h), the cruising speed 32 kns (60 km/h). The passenger capacity, depends on the model, was 112-123 pax. In the standard model the capacity was 123 pax (26 pax in the front hall, 46 pax in the middle passenger hall, 46 pax in the rear part of the ship, and 5 pax in a small-sized cabin).