Author Topic: ID this...  (Read 426 times)

Offline Rollio

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« on: January 11, 2003, 06:27:23 AM »
What is this?

Offline Reschke

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« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2003, 09:10:52 PM »
Gotta be a Soviet flying boat of some sort. Only they park their old planes in fields and let the weeds grow up around them. ;)
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Offline Shiva

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« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2003, 11:02:00 PM »
It's the Bartini-Beriev VVA-14M1P, a PARWIG (Power-Assisted Ram Wing In Ground) air-cushion vehicle. The original design of the aircraft, the VVA-14, did not have the pontoons; Tu-22 landing gear was fitted to the underside of the underwring pods, which were to contain 12 lift engines (no evidence is available as to whether the lift engines were ever fitted). For water landings, inflatable pontoons were attached. In 1976, two engines were mounted on the pylons on either side of the cockpit to blow air under the wing, and rigid pontoons were fitted to the pods. The aircraft were to be used in the anti-submarine role.



From a post on the airbase.ru forum (the poster's native language is not English):

Quote
In the early 1950s R.L. Bartini working for OKB Beriev introduced new idea of using Ekran phenomena for improving take off/landing properties of an aircraft. According to N.A. Pogorelov, primary assistant designer of R.L. Bartini, the main aim was to realize ideas of contactless take-off and landing: an aircraft lifts itself above the ground or waterbody a little bit and then begins its take-off run leaning against the "ekran". If this would ever come true, a revolutionary aircraft technology would've been invented which would require no runways and gave considerably greater performance advantage over the average VSTOL jets.

According to the above concept, two technology anti-submarine testbeds were built under VVA-14 designation. VVA stands for "Vertikal'no Vzletaushaya Amfibia" or Vertical Take-off Amphibious aircraft. Due to contactless take-off and landing, a better marine performance was achieved, the dream of takeoff and landing on sea under any kind of weather conditions became a reality. Vertical take-off ensured special gas-pillow which magnified itself within the fuselage using two air compressors (so basically a huge balloon was formed inside of that plane). In 1976 one of these prototypes was rebuilt into ekranoplan. It was designated 14M1P (see illustration). Designers placed to additional D-30M engines on the nose of the aircraft for the purpose of increasing airflow under wings, rubber landing gear was replaced with more durable one made out of metal.

Some time after R.L. Bartini passed away in 1974, and all works on the project were cancelled under great pressure of OKB Beriev which was developing A-40 and A-50 anti-submarine amphibians and wanted no competition. One of remaining prototypes, VVA-14 #10687, crippled after a fire accident, without a tailplane, engines and wings was delivered to Monino where it slowly, but surely grows a thick layer of rust up to present days. The sight is awful I must say.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2003, 11:05:21 PM by Shiva »

Offline Ecliptik

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« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2003, 02:08:43 AM »
How's it going Rollio?  You should stop by on stratics and say hello to Ulysses some time. ;)