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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 2135.PDF
Air-Cushion Vehicles FLIGHT International supplement, 20 September 1%: Lifting at Leningrad NEWS OF A large Russian air-cushion vehicle was published by Izvestia on September 2 and by Pravda the follow ing day. Headed "Ship Hovers in the Air," the Izvestia report was in the following terms:— "Leningrad, 1 Sept (By telephone from our own correspondent). It has already raised itself, although today still on the test stand of the Leningrad Ex perimental Research Factory—the air- cushion vessel about which there have been so many different rumours. "Externally it is reminiscent of a river launch of large dimensions, with two saloons for 38 passengers. Thus in appearance it is a conventional vessel. But its 'mobility characteristics' are quite unconventional; it hovers on air, not touching the water. Two powerful fans, disposed perpendicularly to the earth's surface, are driven by aero engines. They compress 110 cubic metres of air a second. The stream of air enters a chamber formed between the concave bottom of the craft and the water. Not finding an outlet, the air raises the vessel over land or water. Thus is created the air cushion on which the vehicle rides. "Today the vessel already for the second time raised itself on the test stand—a smooth concrete square—to a height of 7 centimetres and hovered. "Direct motion of the vessel is accomplished with a third aero-engine with a propeller on the stern, as with an aero-sleigh. The calculated speed is over 50 kilometres an hour. "The air-cushion vessel is intended for navigation on rivers which have little water. It has no fear of shallows. It can even go up a sloping bank and con tinue to move across a level land surface. "There it is for the time being. The director of the factory, Viktor Ivanovich Sergeyev, speaks very guardedly about the vessel. " 'There is a lot more work yet, and I don't want to prematurely get excited about the results,' he says. 'But in any case, what we are creating now has great prospects.' "The people of Leningrad have been assisted in the creation of this vessel by enterprises in Moscow, Voronezh, Kiev. In Moscow the scientific workers of the Moscow Central Aerohydro- dynamic Institute (Ts.A.G.L), V. Khonj- honkov and P. Lyubomirov worked on this project; so did engineers A. Kornilov, G. Malkov and Chief Con structor V. Lipinsky of the Central Project-Construction Bureau in Lenin grad, and also scientific workers of the Institute of Water Transport En gineers G. Avdeyev and others. "In a few days tests on water will take place. V. Gusiev (Izvestia's own correspondent)" The Pravda article was headed "Hov ering Ship" and read as follows:— "The whine of engines becomes stronger and stronger—and then, before the eyes of all around the test stand, the multi-ton vessel smoothly lifts itself into the air and hovers easily over the concrete. "So began the tests of the Soviet Union's first and the world's largest air-cushion vessel. In a few days it will go out on the river. Sandbanks and shallows will not make much difference to it. Supported by a stream of air compressed underneath it, the vessel will easily overcome these ob stacles and speed along at 55-60 kilo metres per hour. "Much in the ship is unusual. The nose of the vessel is semi-circular, broad, reminiscent from the front of a tank. But when you see the grass bent down about the stand by the flow of air, you think of an aircraft starting up. In the helmsman's cabin, it's like in the cabin of an airship: a multitude of instru ments, at the helm a man in aviator's uniform. "Each of these comparisons is justi fiable. The new vessel has high 'ability to get through.' And it has quite a lot in common with aircraft—it uses air craft engines, and the sensation of swift flight over the water will also call this comparison to mind. "At the helm is pilot V. I. Lesh- chinsky. While the engines warm up, Chief Constructor of the vessel Vladimir Afanasyevich Lipinsky discusses its unusual construction. " 'Two powerful fans raise the vessel out of the water and in effect put it on an air cushion 50-100 millimetres thick. An aero-engine on the stern imparts the required speed. Two men will handle the hovering ship. They will be aided by a system of distant control of the engines and other mechanisms.' " 'What prospects does this open up for the river fleet?' said Chief Engineer of the Central Technical Construction Bureau of the Ministry of the River Fleet, N. L. Shmuylov—answering immediately: 'Very great ones! Mam rivers with little water will become navigable. The extension of transport to the deep regions lying around them will be accelerated. We hope also to extend the period of navigation. Research is now proceeding with the aim of enabling such vessels to fly over ice as well as water. And the operation of the fleet will be simpler. For example it will not be necessary to put a vessel in dock, in order to work on the hull, it will be enough to take it up on the bank.' "The specialists present at the tests were unanimous in their appraisal. A great achievement had been ac complished by Chief Constructor V. A. Lipinsky, leading constructors A. A Kornilov and G. V. Malkov, constructors M. I. Voinikov, E. A. Kornilova. M. I. Kur in co-operation with candi dates of technical sciences I. P. Lyubo mirov, V. I. Khonjhonkov, G. K. Avdeyev. "The trial lift-off was not merely a verification of the maturity of the engin eering conception, but a serious test for the collective of the Experimental- Research Factory. Leading Construc tors N. A. Kachkov, I. V. Shershabov. ship-assemblers S. P. Arsenev, V. N. Vasiliev, V. I. Gordeyev, skilled workers N. Ya. Borisov, A. I. Kozlov, Senior Master of the hull-building section A. E. Gagarin worked self-sacrificingly. showed great inventiveness in order to construct in the shortest period a fundamentally new river craft. "In the course of the work the collec tive of the factory had to master new methods of welding thin-gauge metals, for the entire hull was made of light aluminium alloys, and riveting was not used. The factory was helped by the Concluded on page 65 53
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