G e Kotelnikov the first backpack rescue parachute. The invention of the parachute. Tragedy as a trigger

The first parachute designed by Kotelnikov RK-1 appeared in 1012. For more than 100 years, the development of parachute technology has continued. The amazing history of the parachute

This is how airplanes and pilots appeared

From time immemorial, people have looked at the sky, at the stars... This tempting depth of height attracted with its inexplicable spaciousness. The creation of the first aircraft that took to the sky was a miracle! Contrary to all the laws of attraction, this building took off from the ground in a run and rushed across the Sky like a huge roaring bird, charming some and frightening others. This is how airplanes and pilots appeared... :)) And to save the pilots in case of an emergency, they began to use long folded umbrellas that were attached to the aircraft. Their design was heavy and unreliable, and in order not to increase the weight of the aircraft, many pilots preferred to fly without this life-saving element - not to use an umbrella in flight.

When the plane crashed, in a rare case, the pilot was able to unfasten the umbrella mount, open it and jump out of the plane to soften the impact on the ground.

On January 18 (30), 1872 in St. Petersburg, a son was born in the family of Kotelnikov, a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics, who from childhood sang, played the violin, often visited the theater with his parents. And this boy also liked to make different toys and models. Gleb, that was the name of the boy, with age in life, his hobbies for theater and design remained.

Invention of the backpack parachute

If not for this story, it is not known when it would have taken place. invention of the backpack parachute.

In 1910, the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival took place in St. Petersburg. A magnificent holiday with several demonstration flights of the best pilot of those times, Lev Makarovich Matsievich. The day before, Stolypin took off into the sky with him, he enthusiastically admired St. Petersburg and its environs.

And on the day of aeronautics, the highest ranks of officers with Matsievich rose to the Sky. And also... influential people... Imagine how happy they were...! Airplane flight...! And there was probably even more pride ... :))

The holiday was in full swing, and the day was drawing to a close, and before the last flight, Matsievich was given a wish from Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich to show something of that kind ... some kind of aviation achievement. And Matsievich went to the record.

He decided to fly as high as possible ... as high as his beloved Farmon-IV, this light, amazingly beautiful, as if translucent, plane could. The maximum flight speed that Farmon could develop was 74 km / h.

It was a very bold and decisive step, because in those days it was believed that the closer to the ground, the safer the flight. Lev Makarovich Matsievich in a set took his Farmon 1000 meters from the ground - this is about half a verst ... and suddenly ... suddenly ... the plane began to fall, scattering in the air ... the pilot fell out of the randomly falling plane ... and following the wreckage of his car, he fell to the ground ... in front of the audience ...

An archival photo of that tragic moment has been preserved. Seconds... and the last meeting with the earth...

This tragedy was deeply embedded in the soul of Gleb Kotelnikov, and he began to develop a system that could save the pilot. A little over a year later, Kotelnikov already tried to register his first business in Russia. invention - backpack parachute free action. But for unknown reasons, he was denied registration of a patent.

On March 20, 1912, after the second attempt, already in France, Kotelnikov received a patent for No. 438,612.

Parachute RK-1

Parachute RK-1(Russian, Kotelnikova, model one) had a round shape and fit into a metal satchel. To the suspension system, which was worn by a person, the knapsack was attached at two points. Kotelnikov divided the parachute lines into two parts and led them to two free ends. A unique reconstruction of the fastening of the canopy to the suspension system took place, which eliminated the involuntary rotation of the parachutist under the canopy, where all the lines were attached to one halyard. In the air, after pulling out the ring, the knapsack opened, at the bottom of which there were springs under the dome ... they threw the dome out of the knapsack ... and without fail ... there was not a single failure ...

Imagine what a strong shock a person experienced after the tragic death of the pilot, and how strong was the desire to save, to exclude the possibility of the pilot's death when the airplane failed in the airspace. Kotelnikov invented all the keys necessary for the normal operation of the parachute system.

The first tests took place on the ground. The car, to which the parachute was attached, accelerated, and Kotelnikov put the parachute into action, which, leaving the satchel, instantly opened, and the car stalled from an unexpected jerk back ... the story says ...

Further tests of the RK-1 parachute system continued from the balloon. The mannequin weighing 80 kg jumped - the best friend of the testers. They threw it from different heights, and all the dummy jumps were successful.

But the parachute system was not accepted into production due to the fact that the Head of the Russian Air Force, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, expressed concern that the pilots, at the slightest failure of the aircraft, would leave the expensive car in the air. Airplanes are expensive and imported from abroad. You need to take care of airplanes, but there will be people. Parachutes are harmful, with them aviators will save themselves at the slightest danger, and the airplane will be destroyed.

No, it’s not like that ... and soon the RK-1 parachute designed by G.E. Kotelnikov was submitted to the competition in Paris and Rouen, and the parachute was represented by the commercial company Lomach and Co.

First parachute jump RK-1. Road to life.

January 5, 1913 in Rouen was committed first parachute jump RK-1 from the bridge over the Seine. Height 60 meters...!!! A magnificent fearless jump was made by a student of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Vladimir Ossovsky...!!! The parachute worked perfectly, showed the possibility of opening when jumping from a low height. It is you and I who now understand how risky this jump was, and in those days we believed that this was the safest jump option, especially since the Seine River below would save in an emergency. But how spectacular the jump turned out to be, you can imagine! The competition went great! The Russian invention was recognized abroad.

In Russia, the tsarist government remembered Kotelnikov's parachute only during the First World War ...

But I remembered... :)

Thanks to the pilot GV Alekhnovich... he managed to convince the command of the need to supply the crews of multi-engine aircraft with RK-1 parachutes. The first production of backpack parachute systems for aviators began under the control of Kotelnikov.

A new system was created, the RK-2 parachute.

Kotelnikov was not satisfied with a metal satchel with springs. Create, so create! And there was a parachute RK-3 with a soft pack, in which the springs were replaced with honeycombs for laying slings - this slinging technique is used to this day.

Cargo parachute RK-4 was created in 1924, the Dome with a diameter of 12 meters was designed for a load of up to 300 kg.

Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov paved the way to Heaven, created something that immediately took off and went into rapid development. All tests were successful, which meant that the path was right.

In 1926, Kotelnikov handed over all his inventions to the Soviet government.

Not far from the training ground where the Kotelnikov parachute was first tested, near the village of Salizi (since 1949 Kotelnikovo), parachute statue.

The inscription on the monument: "In the area of ​​this village in 1912, the world's first aviation backpack parachute, created by G.E. Kotelnikov, was tested" But already 100 years have passed ... Thank you for the joy, clever Kotelnikov!

In St. Petersburg there is an alley Kotelnikova

At the Novodevichy cemetery, the grave of Gleb Evgenyevich Kotelnikov is a place where paratroopers constantly tie ribbons and parachute puffs to trees.

Now, 100 years later, the Scientific Research Institute of Parachute Engineering has created a magnificent parachute system that is being tested -

Kotelnikov Gleb Evgenievich was born on January 30, 1872, in St. Petersburg. His father was engaged in mechanics and mathematics, his mother was a creative person, so from childhood Gleb sang, played the violin, and he also liked to make different toys and models.

When the future inventor was in his thirteenth year, he made a camera. I bought a used lens from a junk dealer, and made the rest (body of the camera, bellows) with my own hands. He himself made photographic plates according to the “wet” method then used.

Gleb Evgenievich graduated from the Kiev Military School, served as an excise officer in the provinces, helped organize drama circles, sometimes acted in performances himself, and continued to design. When he returned to St. Petersburg, he became an actor in the troupe of the People's House.

The idea of ​​​​creating a parachute came to the inventor when he saw the death of a pilot at the Commandant airfield. “The death of a young pilot,” Kotelnikov recalled, “shocked me so much that I decided, by all means, to build a device that protects the pilot’s life from mortal danger ... I turned my small room into a workshop and worked on the invention of a new parachute for more than a year” .

Kotelnikov was convinced that the parachute should be on the pilot in flight and always be ready for trouble-free operation. The parachute "RK-1" (Russian, Kotelnikova, model one) was developed within 10 months, in 1911 he registered his invention - a backpack parachute of free action, and in 1912 he successfully carried out a demonstration test.

It was a light round parachute that fit into a metal shoulder pack, opened with the help of an exhaust ring and operated flawlessly. The merit of Kotelnikov is that he was the first to divide the lines into two shoulders, which allowed the parachutist to maneuver. The parachute design he proposed is still in use today.

Subsequently, Kotelnikov significantly improved the design of the parachute, creating new models that were adopted by the Air Force.

In 1923, he released the RK-2 semi-rigid backpack parachute, later the RK-3 model with a soft backpack appeared. Kotelnikov was the first to develop a parachute that could lower cargo to the ground, a collective parachute to save passengers in case of accidents of civil aircraft.

The outstanding inventor Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov died on November 22, 1944 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Nikita Khrushchev at the UN (was there a shoe?)

As you know, history develops in a spiral. This fully applies to the history of the United Nations. For more than half a century of its existence, the UN has undergone many changes. Created in the wake of the euphoria of the victory over Nazi Germany, the Organization set itself bold and in many respects utopian tasks.

But time puts a lot in its place. And the hopes for creating a world without wars, poverty, hunger, lack of rights and inequality were replaced by a persistent confrontation between the two systems.

Natalia Terekhova tells about one of the most striking episodes of that time, the famous “Khrushchev’s shoe”.

REPORTAGE:

On October 12, 1960, the most stormy meeting of the General Assembly in the history of the United Nations was held. On this day, the delegation of the Soviet Union, headed by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, submitted for consideration a draft resolution on granting independence to colonial countries and peoples.

Nikita Sergeevich delivered his usual emotional speech, which abounded in exclamation marks. In his speech, Khrushchev, not sparing expressions, denounced and stigmatized colonialism and the colonialists.

After Khrushchev, the representative of the Philippines rose to the rostrum of the General Assembly. He spoke from the position of a country that had experienced all the hardships of colonialism and, after many years of liberation struggle, achieved independence: “In our opinion, the declaration proposed by the Soviet Union should have covered and provided for the inalienable right to independence not only of the peoples and territories that still remain ruled by the Western colonial powers, but also by the peoples of Eastern Europe and other areas deprived of the opportunity to freely exercise their civil and political rights and, so to speak, swallowed up by the Soviet Union.

Listening to the simultaneous translation, Khrushchev exploded. After consulting with Gromyko, he decided to ask the Chairman to speak on a point of order. Nikita Sergeevich raised his hand, but no one paid any attention to him.

The famous foreign ministry translator Viktor Sukhodrev, who often accompanied Nikita Sergeevich on trips, told about what happened next in his memoirs: “Khrushchev liked to take his watch off his hand and turn it around. At the UN, he began banging his fists on the table in protest at the Filipino's speech. In his hand was a watch, which simply stopped.

And then Khrushchev angrily took off his shoe, or rather, an open wicker sandal, and began to knock on the table with his heel.

This was the moment that went down in world history as the famous "Khrushchev's boot". Nothing like the hall of the UN General Assembly has not yet seen. The sensation was born right before our eyes.

And finally, the head of the Soviet delegation was given the floor:
“I protest against the unequal treatment of the representatives of the states sitting here. Why is this lackey of American imperialism coming forward? It affects the issue, it does not affect the procedural issue! And the Chairman, who sympathizes with this colonial rule, he does not stop it! Is it fair? Lord! Mr Chairman! We live on earth not by the grace of God and not by your grace, but by the strength and intelligence of our great people of the Soviet Union and all peoples who are fighting for their independence.

It must be said that in the middle of Khrushchev's speech, the simultaneous translation was interrupted, as the interpreters frantically searched for an analogue of the Russian word "kholuy". Finally, after a long pause, the English word "jerk" was found, which has a wide range of meanings - from "fool" to "bastard". Western reporters who covered events at the UN in those years had to work hard until they found an explanatory dictionary of the Russian language and understood the meaning of Khrushchev's metaphor.

Long before the birth of the first aircraft, frequent fires and accidents in the air with spherical balloons and balloons forced scientists to turn their attention to the creation of reliable means that could save the lives of aircraft pilots. When planes flew into the sky, flying much faster than balloons, a small engine breakdown or damage to some minor part of a fragile and bulky structure led to terrible accidents, often ending in death. When the number of casualties among the first pilots began to rise sharply, it became obvious that the absence of any rescue equipment for them could become a brake on the further development of aviation.

The task was technically extremely difficult, despite numerous experiments and long research, the scientific and design thought of Western states failed to create reliable protection for aeronauts. This problem was brilliantly solved for the first time in the world by the Russian scientist-inventor Gleb Kotelnikov, who in 1911 designed the world's first parachute that fully met the requirements for aviation rescue equipment of that time. All modern models of parachutes are created according to the concept of Kotelnikov's invention.

Gleb Evgenievich was born on January 18 (old style) 1872 in the family of a professor of higher mathematics and mechanics at the St. Petersburg Institute. Kotelnikov's parents adored the theater, were fond of painting and music, often staged amateur performances in the house. It is not surprising that, having been brought up in such an environment, the boy fell in love with art, set on fire with the desire to perform on stage.

Young Kotelnikov showed outstanding abilities in learning to play the piano and other musical instruments. In a short time, the talented guy mastered the mandolin, balalaika and violin, began to write music on his own. Surprisingly, along with this, Gleb was also fond of technology and fencing. From birth, the guy had, as they say, "golden hands", from improvised means he could easily make an intricate device. For example, when the future inventor was only thirteen years old, he independently assembled a working camera. Moreover, he bought only a used lens, and made the rest (including photographic plates) with his own hands. The father encouraged his son's inclinations and tried to develop them to the best of his ability.

Gleb dreamed of getting into a conservatory or a technological institute, but plans had to be drastically changed after the sudden death of his father. The financial situation of the family deteriorated sharply, leaving music and theater, he volunteered for the army, enrolling in a military artillery school in Kyiv. Gleb Evgenievich graduated from it in 1894 with honors, was promoted to officer and served in the army for three years. After leaving the reserve, he got a job in the provincial excise department. At the beginning of 1899, Kotelnikov married Yulia Volkova, daughter of the artist V.A. Volkov. The young people knew each other from childhood, their marriage turned out to be happy - they lived in rare harmony for forty-five years.

For ten years Kotelnikov worked as an excise official. This stage of his life was, without exaggeration, the most empty and difficult. It was difficult to imagine a service more alien to this creative personality. The only outlet for him was the local theater, in which Gleb Evgenievich was both an actor and artistic director. In addition, he continued to design. For workers at a local distillery, Kotelnikov developed a new model of filling machine. He equipped his bike with a sail and successfully used it on long trips.

One fine day, Kotelnikov clearly realized that he needed to drastically change his life, forget about the excise tax and move to St. Petersburg. Yulia Vasilyevna, despite the fact that by that time they already had three children, perfectly understood her husband. A talented artist, she also had high hopes for the move. In 1910, the Kotelnikov family arrived in the northern capital, and Gleb Evgenievich got a job in the troupe of the People's House, becoming a professional actor at the age of thirty-ninth under the pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov.

At the beginning of the last century, demonstration flights of the first domestic pilots were often held in large cities of Russia, during which aviators demonstrated their skill in flying aircraft. Gleb Evgenievich, who loved technology from childhood, could not help but become interested in aviation. He regularly traveled to the Commandant airfield, watching the flights with delight. Kotelnikov clearly understood what great prospects the conquest of air space opens up for mankind. He was also admired by the courage and selflessness of Russian pilots, who soared into the sky in unstable, primitive machines.

During one “aviation week”, the famous pilot Matsievich, who was flying, fell off his seat and flew out of the car. The out-of-control aircraft rolled over several times in the air and fell to the ground after the pilot. This was the first loss of Russian aviation. Gleb Evgenievich witnessed a terrible event that made a painful impression on him. Soon, the actor and just a talented Russian man made a firm decision - to secure the work of the pilots by building a special rescue device for them that could function smoothly in the air.

After some time, his apartment turned into a real workshop. Coils of wire and belts, wooden beams and pieces of cloth, sheet iron and a wide variety of tools were scattered everywhere. Kotelnikov clearly understood that he could not expect help from anywhere. Who, under the conditions of that time, could seriously think that some actor could invent a life-saving device, which scientists from England, Germany, France and America had been struggling to develop for several years? There was also a limited amount of funds for the upcoming work, so it was necessary to spend them extremely economically.

Gleb Evgenievich spent whole nights drawing various drawings and making models of life-saving equipment based on them. He dropped the finished copies from launched kites or from the roofs of houses. The experiments went one after another. In between them, the inventor redid unsuccessful options, looked for new materials. Thanks to the historian of domestic aviation and aeronautics A.A. Native Kotelnikov acquired books on flying. He paid special attention to old documents that tell about primitive devices used by people when descending from various heights. After long research, Gleb Evgenievich came to the following important conclusions: “For use on an airplane, a light and durable parachute is needed. It should be quite small when folded ... The main thing is that the parachute is always with the person. In this case, the pilot will be able to jump from any side or wing of the aircraft.

After a series of unsuccessful experiments, Kotelnikov accidentally saw in the theater how one lady took out a huge silk shawl from a small purse. This led him to the idea that thin silk might be the most suitable material for a folding parachute. The resulting model was small in volume, strong, elastic and easy to deploy. Kotelnikov planned to place a parachute in the pilot's head helmet. A special coil spring was supposed to push the rescue projectile out of the helmet if necessary. And so that the lower edge quickly formed the dome, and the parachute could be filled with air, the inventor passed an elastic and thin metal cable through the lower edge.

Gleb Evgenievich also thought about the task of protecting the pilot from an excessive jerk at the moment of opening the parachute. Particular attention was paid to the design of the suspension system and the fastening of the rescue equipment to the person. The inventor correctly assumed that attaching a parachute to a person at one point (as in aeronautical life-saving equipment) would give an extremely strong jerk at the place where the cord would be attached. In addition, with this method of attachment, a person will rotate in the air until the very moment of landing, which is also quite dangerous. Having abandoned such a scheme, Kotelnikov developed his own, rather original solution - he divided all the parachute lines into two parts, attaching them to two suspension straps. Such a system evenly distributed the force of the dynamic impact throughout the body when the parachute opened, and the rubber shock absorbers on the suspension straps softened the impact even more. The inventor also took into account the mechanism for quick release from the parachute after landing in order to avoid dragging a person along the ground.

Having assembled a new model, Gleb Evgenievich proceeded to its testing. The parachute was attached to a mannequin doll, which was then dropped from the roof. The parachute jumped out of the head helmet without a hitch, opened up and smoothly lowered the dummy to the ground. The joy of the inventor knew no bounds. However, when he decided to calculate the area of ​​the dome, capable of withstanding and successfully (at a speed of about 5 m / s) lowering an eighty-kilogram load to the ground, it turned out that it (the area) should have been at least fifty square meters. It turned out to be absolutely impossible to fit so much silk, even very light, into a pilot's helmet. However, the brilliant inventor was not upset, after much deliberation, he decided to place the parachute in a special bag worn on the back.

Having prepared all the necessary drawings for a backpack parachute, Kotelnikov set about creating the first prototype and, at the same time, a special doll. For several days, hard work went on in his house. His wife helped the inventor a lot - she spent whole nights sewing together intricately cut canvases of matter.

The parachute of Gleb Evgenievich, later called by him RK-1 (Russian-Kotelnikovsky version of the first model), consisted of a metal satchel worn on the back, which had a special shelf inside, laid on two spiral springs. The slings were laid on the shelf, and the dome itself was already on them. The lid was hinged with internal springs for faster opening. To open the lid, the pilot had to pull the cord, after which the springs pushed the dome out. Remembering the death of Matsievich, Gleb Evgenievich provided for a mechanism for forced opening of the knapsack. It was very simple - the lock of the knapsack was connected to the aircraft with the help of a special cable. If for some reason the pilot could not pull the cord, then the safety rope had to open the satchel for him, and then break under the weight of the human body.

The parachute itself consisted of twenty-four canvases and had a pole hole. The slings passed through the entire dome along the radial seams and were connected twelve pieces on each suspension strap, which, in turn, were fastened with special hooks to the suspension system worn by a person and consisting of chest, shoulder and waist belts, as well as leg loops. The device of the sling system made it possible to control the parachute during descent.

The closer it was to the end of the work, the more nervous the scientist. It seemed that he thought of everything, calculated everything and foresaw everything, but how will the parachute show itself during the tests? In addition, Kotelnikov did not have a patent for his invention. Anyone who saw and understood his principle of action could appropriate all the rights. Knowing perfectly well the customs of the foreign merchants who flooded Russia, Gleb Evgenievich tried to keep his developments secret for as long as possible. When the parachute was ready, he went with it to Novgorod, choosing a deaf, remote place for experiments. His son and nephews helped him in this. The parachute and mannequin were raised to a height of fifty meters with the help of a huge kite, also created by the tireless Kotelnikov. The parachute was thrown out of the pack by springs, the canopy quickly turned around and the dummy smoothly sank to the ground. After repeating the experiments several times, the scientist was convinced that his invention works flawlessly.

Kotelnikov understood that his device must be urgently introduced into aviation. Russian pilots had to have a reliable life-saving device on hand in case of an accident. Inspired by the tests, he hastily returned to St. Petersburg and on August 10, 1911, wrote a detailed note to the Minister of War, beginning with the following phrase: “A long and mournful synopsis of victims in aviation inspired me to invent a fairly simple and useful device to prevent the death of aviators in an accident in the air ... " . Further, the letter outlined the technical characteristics of the parachute, a description of the process of its manufacture and test results. All drawings of the device were also attached to the note. However, the note, once in the Military Engineering Directorate, was lost. Frustrated by the lack of an answer, Gleb Evgenievich decided to personally turn to the Minister of War. After long ordeals in the offices of officials, Kotelnikov finally got to the deputy minister of war. Presenting him a working model of a parachute, he long and convincingly proved the usefulness of his invention. The Deputy Minister of War, without honoring him with an answer, handed him a referral to the Main Military Engineering Directorate.

On October 27, 1911, Gleb Evgenievich filed an application for a patent with the Invention Committee, and a few days later, with a note in his hands, he appeared in the Engineering Castle. General von Roop appointed a special commission to consider Kotelnikov's invention, chaired by General Alexander Kovanko, who was the head of the Aeronautical Service. And here Kotelnikov suffered a major setback for the first time. In accordance with Western theories that existed at that time, the chairman of the commission stated that the pilot should leave the aircraft only after opening (or simultaneously with opening) the parachute. Otherwise, he will inevitably die during a jerk. In vain did the inventor explain in detail and prove to the general about his own, original way of solving this problem that he had found. Kovanko stubbornly stood his ground. Not wanting to ponder over Kotelnikov's mathematical calculations, the commission rejected the wonderful device, imposing a resolution "as superfluous". Kotelnikov also did not receive a patent for his invention.

Despite such a conclusion, Gleb Evgenievich did not lose heart. He managed to register a parachute in France on March 20, 1912. In addition, he firmly decided to seek official tests in his homeland. The designer convinced himself that after demonstrating the invention, the parachute would be immediately implemented. Almost daily, he visited various departments of the War Ministry. He wrote: “As soon as everyone sees how a parachute lowers a person to the ground, they will immediately change their mind. They will understand that it is also necessary on an airplane, like a lifeline on a ship ... ". Kotelnikov spent a lot of money and effort before he managed to achieve testing. A new prototype parachute cost him several hundred rubles. Without support from the government, Gleb Evgenievich got into debt, relations in the main service deteriorated, as he could devote less and less time to work in the troupe.

On June 2, 1912, Kotelnikov tested the parachute for the strength of materials, and also checked the drag force of the canopy. To do this, he attached his device to the towing hooks of the car. Having dispersed the car to 70 miles per hour (about 75 km / h), the inventor pulled the trigger cord. The parachute opened instantly, and the car was immediately stopped by the force of air resistance. The design fully withstood, no breaks in the lines or breaks in the material were found. By the way, stopping the car led the designer to the idea of ​​developing an air brake for aircraft during landing. Later, he even made one prototype, but things did not go further. "Authoritative" minds from the Military Engineering Directorate told Kotelnikov that his next invention had no future. Many years later, the air brake was patented as a "novelty" in the United States.

The test of the parachute was scheduled for June 6, 1912. The village of Salyuzi, located not far from St. Petersburg, became the venue. Despite the fact that Kotelnikov's experimental model was designed and designed specifically for an aircraft, he had to carry out tests from an aeronautical apparatus - at the very last moment, the Military Engineering Directorate imposed a ban on experiments from an aircraft. In his memoirs, Gleb Evgenievich wrote that he made the jump dummy similar to General Alexander Kovanko - with exactly the same mustache and long sideburns. The doll was attached to the side of the basket on a rope loop. After the balloon rose to a height of two hundred meters, the pilot Gorshkov cut one of the ends of the loop. The dummy separated from the basket and began to rapidly fall upside down. The spectators present held their breath, dozens of eyes and binoculars followed what was happening from the ground. And suddenly the white speck of the parachute took shape in the dome. “There was a “hurray” and everyone ran to get a closer look at how the parachute would fall…. There was no wind, and the dummy stood on the grass with its feet, stood there for a few seconds, and then only fell. The parachute was dropped from different heights several more times, and all the experiments were successful.

Monument to the test of RK-1 in Kotelnikovo

There were many pilots and aeronauts, correspondents of various magazines and newspapers, foreigners who, by hook or by crook, entered the tests. Everyone, even incompetent people in such matters, understood that this invention opens up huge opportunities in the further conquest of the air spaces.

The next day, most of the capital's print publications reported on the successful testing of a new rescue aircraft projectile, invented by a talented Russian designer. However, despite the general interest shown in the invention, the Military Engineering Directorate did not react to the event in any way. And when Gleb Evgenievich started talking about new tests already from a flying plane, he received a categorical refusal. Among other objections, it has been argued that dropping an 80-kilogram dummy from a light aircraft would lead to loss of balance and imminent catastrophe of the aircraft. Officials said they would not allow the inventor to risk the car "for the pleasure" of the inventor.

Only after long, exhausting persuasion and persuasion did Kotelnikov manage to get permission for testing. Experiments on dropping a doll with a parachute from a monoplane flying at a height of 80 meters were successfully carried out in Gatchina on September 26, 1912. By the way, before the first test, the pilot dropped sandbags in the air three times in order to make sure the aircraft was stable. The London News wrote: “Can the pilot escape? Yes. We will talk about the invention adopted by the Russian government ... ". The British naively assumed that the tsarist government would definitely use this wonderful and necessary invention. However, not everything was so simple in reality. Successful tests still did not change the attitude of the leadership of the Military Engineering Directorate to the parachute. Moreover, a resolution came from the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich himself, who wrote in response to a petition for the introduction of the Kotelnikov invention: “Parachutes are actually a harmful thing, since pilots, in any danger that threatens them, will save themselves on them, providing death machines .... We import planes from abroad, and they should be protected. And we will find people, not those, but others!

As time went. The number of aviation accidents continued to grow. Gleb Kotelnikov, a patriot and inventor of advanced life-saving equipment, grieving over this, scribbled one after another unanswered letters to the Minister of War and the entire Aeronautical Department of the General Staff: “... they (pilots) are dying in vain, while they could at the right time turn out to be useful sons of the Fatherland ... , ... I burn with the only desire to fulfill my duty to the Motherland ..., ... such an attitude to a useful and important matter for me - a Russian officer - is incomprehensible and insulting.

While Kotelnikov tried in vain to implement a parachute in his homeland, the course of events was closely followed from abroad. A lot of interested people arrived in St. Petersburg, representing various offices and ready to "help" the author. One of them, Wilhelm Lomach, who was the owner of several aviation workshops in St. Petersburg, suggested that the inventor open a private production of parachutes, and only in Russia. Gleb Evgenievich, who was in extremely difficult financial conditions, agreed to the Lomach and Co. office to present his invention at competitions in Paris and Rouen. And soon the enterprising foreigner received permission from the French government to perform a parachute jump of a living person. Wishing just as soon found - he became a Russian athlete and an ardent admirer of the new invention, Vladimir Ossovsky, a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The bridge over the Seine in the city of Rouen was chosen as the site. The jump from a fifty-three-meter height took place on January 5, 1913. The parachute worked flawlessly, the canopy fully opened when Ossovsky flew 34 meters. The last 19 meters he descended for 12 seconds and landed on the water.

The French enthusiastically welcomed the Russian paratrooper. Many entrepreneurs tried to independently establish the production of this life-saving equipment. Already in 1913, the first models of parachutes began to appear abroad, which are slightly modified copies of the RK-1. Foreign companies made huge capital out of their production. Despite the pressure of the Russian public, which more and more often expressed reproaches about the indifference to the invention of Kotelnikov, the tsarist government stubbornly stood its ground. Moreover, for domestic pilots, a mass purchase of French parachutes designed by Jucmes, having a mount "at one point" was carried out.

By that time the First World War had begun. After the Ilya Muromets multi-engine heavy bombers appeared in Russia, the demand for rescue equipment increased significantly. At the same time, there were a number of deaths of aviators using French parachutes. Some pilots began to ask to supply them with RK-1 parachutes. In this regard, the War Ministry turned to Gleb Evgenievich with a request to make an experimental batch of 70 pieces. The designer set to work with great energy. As a consultant to the manufacturer, he did his best to ensure that the rescue equipment fully met the requirements. The parachutes were made on time, but further production was again suspended. And then there was a socialist revolution and a civil war broke out.

Years later, the new government decided to establish the production of parachutes, the demand for which increased in aviation units and aeronautical units every day. The RK-1 parachute was widely used in Soviet aviation on various fronts. Gleb Evgenievich also got the opportunity to continue work on improving his rescue device. In the first research institution in the field of aerodynamics, organized on the initiative of Zhukovsky, called the "Flying Laboratory", a theoretical study of his invention took place with a complete analysis of the aerodynamic properties. The work not only confirmed the correctness of Kotelnikov's calculations, but also gave him invaluable information in improving and developing new models of parachutes.

Jumping with the new life-saving device was carried out more and more often. Along with the introduction of parachutes in the field of aviation, they attracted more and more attention from ordinary residents. Experienced and experimental jumps gathered masses of people, looking more like theatrical performances than scientific research. Skydiving training circles began to be created, representing this tool not only as a rescue device, but also as a projectile of a new sports discipline.

In August 1923, Gleb Evgenievich proposed a new model with a semi-soft satchel, called the RK-2. Its demonstration in the Scientific and Technical Committee of the USSR showed good results, it was decided to make an experimental batch. However, the inventor was already running around with his new brainchild. Model RK-3 of a completely original design was released in 1924 and was the world's first parachute with a soft pack. In it, Gleb Evgenievich got rid of the spring pushing the dome, placed honeycombs for slings inside the knapsack on the back, replaced the lock with tubular loops, into which the studs attached to the common cable were threaded. The test results were excellent. Later, many foreign developers borrowed Kotelnikov's improvements, applying them in their models.

Anticipating the future development and use of parachutes, in 1924 Gleb Evgenievich designed and patented the RK-4 basket rescue device with a dome twelve meters in diameter. This parachute was designed to drop loads weighing up to three hundred kilograms. In order to save material and give greater stability, the model was made of percale. Unfortunately, this type of parachute was not used.

The appearance of multi-seat aircraft made Kotelnikov take up the issue of joint rescue of people in case of an accident in the air. Assuming that a man or a woman with a child who does not have experience in skydiving would not be able to use an individual rescue device in an emergency, Gleb Evgenievich developed options for collective rescue.

In addition to his inventive activities, Kotelnikov carried out extensive public work. With his strength, knowledge and experience, he helped flying clubs, talked with young athletes, and gave lectures on the topic of creating life-saving equipment for aviators. In 1926, due to age (the designer turned fifty-five years old), Gleb Evgenievich retired from developing new models, transferring all his inventions and improvements in the field of aviation rescue devices as a gift to the Soviet government. For outstanding services, the designer was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Kotelnikov ended up in besieged Leningrad. Despite his years, the almost blind inventor took an active part in the air defense of the city, fearlessly enduring all the hardships of the war. In a critical condition, he was evacuated to Moscow after the first blockade winter. Having recovered, Gleb Evgenievich continued his creative activity, in 1943 his book “Parachute” was published, and a little later, a study on the topic “The History of the Parachute and the Development of Parachuting”. The talented inventor died in the capital of Russia on November 22, 1944. His grave is located at the Novodevichy Cemetery and is a place of pilgrimage for paratroopers.

(According to the book by G.V. Zalutsky “Inventor of the aviation parachute G.E. Kotelnikov”).

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When an invention has been brought almost to perfection, when it is available to almost any person, it seems to us that this object has existed, if not always, then for a long time. And if, say, in relation to a radio or a car this is not so, then in relation to a parachute it is almost so. Although what is called by this word today has a very specific date of birth and a very specific parent.

The world's first backpack parachute with a silk dome - that is, the one that is used to this day - was invented by the Russian self-taught designer Gleb Kotelnikov. On November 9, 1911, the inventor received a "protection certificate" (confirmation of acceptance of a patent application) for his "rescue pack for aviators with an automatically ejected parachute." And on June 6, 1912, the first test of a parachute of its design took place.

From the Renaissance to the First World

“Parachute” is a tracing paper from the French parachute, and this word itself is formed from two roots: the Greek para, that is, “against,” and the French chute, that is, “fall.” The idea of ​​​​such a device for rescuing jumpers from a great height is quite ancient: the first person to express the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsuch a device was the genius of the Renaissance - the famous Leonardo da Vinci. In his treatise “On the Flying and Movement of Bodies in the Air”, which dates from 1495, there is such a passage: “If a person has a tent made of starched linen, each side of which has 12 cubits (about 6.5 m. - RP.) in width and the same in height, he can throw himself from any height without exposing himself to any danger. It is curious that da Vinci, who never brought the idea of ​​a “starched linen tent” to fruition, accurately calculated its dimensions. For example, the diameter of the canopy of the most common training parachute D-1-5u is about 5 m, the famous D-6 parachute is 5.8 m!

Leonardo's ideas were appreciated and picked up by his followers. By the time the Frenchman Louis-Sebastian Lenormand coined the very word "parachute" in 1783, there were already several jumps in the treasury of researchers of the possibility of controlled descent from a great height: the Croatian Faust Vrancic, who in 1617 put into practice the idea of ​​da Vinci, and the French Lavin and Dumier. But André-Jacques Garnerin's risky gamble can be considered the first real parachute jump. It was he who jumped not from the dome or cornice of the building (that is, he did not do base jumping, as it is called today), but from an aircraft. On October 22, 1797, Garnerin left the balloon basket at an altitude of 2230 feet (about 680 m) and landed safely.

The development of aeronautics entailed the improvement of the parachute. The rigid frame was replaced by a semi-rigid one (1785, Jacques Blanchard, a parachute between the basket and the dome of the balloon), a pole hole appeared, which made it possible to avoid bumpiness upon landing (Joseph Lalande) ... And then the era of aircraft heavier than air came - and they required completely different parachutes. Like no one else has done.

There would be no happiness...

The creator of what today is called the word "parachute" from childhood was distinguished by a passion for design. But not only: no less than calculations and drawings, he was fascinated by the light of the ramp and music. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that in 1897, after three years of compulsory service, a graduate of the legendary Kyiv military school (which General Anton Denikin also graduated from) Gleb Kotelnikov resigned. And after another 13 years, he left the civil service and completely switched to the service of Melpomene: he became an actor in the troupe of the People's House on the Petersburg side and performed under the pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov.

The future father of the backpack parachute would have remained a little-known actor if it were not for the talent of the designer and the tragic event: on September 24, 1910, Kotelnikov, who was present at the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival, witnessed the sudden death of one of the best pilots of that time - Captain Lev Matsievich. His "Farman IV" literally fell apart in the air - it was the first plane crash in the history of the Russian Empire.

The flight of Lev Matsievich. Source: topwar.ru

From that moment on, Kotelnikova did not leave the idea of ​​​​giving the pilots a chance for salvation in such cases. “The death of a young pilot shocked me so deeply that I decided at all costs to build a device that protects the pilot’s life from mortal danger,” Gleb Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. “I turned my small room into a workshop and worked on the invention for over a year.” According to eyewitnesses, Kotelnikov worked on his idea like a man possessed. The idea of ​​a new type of parachute did not leave him anywhere: neither at home, nor in the theater, nor on the street, nor at rare parties.

The main problem was the weight and dimensions of the device. By that time, parachutes already existed and were used as a means of rescuing pilots, they were a kind of giant umbrellas, reinforced behind the pilot's seat on the plane. In the event of a disaster, the pilot had to have time to gain a foothold on such a parachute and separate with it from the aircraft. However, the death of Matsievich proved that the pilot may simply not have these few moments, on which his life literally depends.

“I realized that it was necessary to create a strong and light parachute,” Kotelnikov later recalled. - Folded, it should be quite small. The main thing is that it is always on the person. Then the pilot will be able to jump from the wing and from the side of any aircraft.” Thus was born the idea of ​​a backpack parachute, which today, in fact, we mean when we use the word "parachute".

From a helmet to a satchel

“I wanted to make my parachute so that it could always be on a flying person, without restricting his movements as much as possible,” Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. - I decided to make a parachute from durable and thin non-rubber silk. Such material gave me the opportunity to put it in a very small satchel. To push the parachute out of the backpack, I used a special spring.

But few people know that the first option for placing a parachute was ... a pilot's helmet! Kotelnikov began his experiments by literally hiding a puppet - since he carried out all the early experiments with a puppet - a parachute in a cylindrical helmet. Here is how the son of the inventor Anatoly Kotelnikov, who was 11 years old in 1910, later recalled these first experiments: “We lived in a dacha in Strelna. It was a very cold October day. The father climbed onto the roof of a two-story house and dropped the doll from there. The parachute worked great. My father escaped joyfully only one word: "Here!" He found what he was looking for!

However, the inventor quickly realized that when jumping with such a parachute, at the moment when the dome opens, the helmet will come off at best, and at worst - the head. And in the end, he transferred the entire structure to a satchel, which he first intended to make from wood, and then from aluminum. At the same time, Kotelnikov divided the lines into two groups, once and for all laying this element into the design of any parachutes. Firstly, it was easier to control the dome. And secondly, it was possible to attach the parachute to the suspension system at two points, which made the jump and opening more convenient and safe for the parachutist. This is how the suspension system appeared, which is still used almost unchanged today, except that there were no leg loops in it.

As we already know, the official birthday of the backpack parachute was November 9, 1911, when Kotelnikov received a protection certificate for his invention. But why he did not succeed in the end to patent his invention in Russia, still remains a mystery. But two months later, in January 1912, Kotelnikov's invention was announced in France and received a French patent in the spring of that year. On June 6, 1912, the parachute was tested in the Gatchina camp of the Aeronautical School near the village of Salizi: the invention was demonstrated to the highest ranks of the Russian army. Six months later, on January 5, 1913, Kotelnikov's parachute was presented to the foreign public: Vladimir Ossovsky, a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, jumped with it in Rouen from a 60-meter-high bridge.

By this time, the inventor had already finalized his design and decided to give her a name. He called his parachute RK-1 - that is, "Russian, Kotelnikova, the first." So in one abbreviation, Kotelnikov combined all the most important information: the name of the inventor, and the country to which he owed his invention, and his primacy. And secured it for Russia forever.

“Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing ...”

As is often the case with domestic inventions, they cannot be appreciated for a long time at their true worth in their homeland. So, alas, it happened with a backpack parachute. The first attempt to provide them to all Russian pilots stumbled upon a rather stupid refusal. “Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing, since pilots, at the slightest danger threatening them from the enemy, will escape by parachutes, providing planes of death. Cars are more valuable than people. We import cars from abroad, so they should be protected. And there will be people, not those, so others! - such a resolution was imposed on Kotelnikov's petition by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.

With the outbreak of war, parachutes were remembered. Kotelnikov was even involved in the production of 70 backpack parachutes for the crews of the Ilya Muromets bombers. But in the cramped conditions of those aircraft, satchels interfered, and the pilots abandoned them. The same thing happened when the parachutes were handed over to the aeronauts: it was inconvenient for them to fiddle with satchels in the cramped observers' baskets. Then the parachutes were pulled out of the packs and simply attached to the balloons - so that the observer, if necessary, simply jumped overboard, and the parachute would open itself. That is, everything returned to the ideas of a century ago!

Everything changed when, in 1924, Gleb Kotelnikov received a patent for a backpack parachute with a canvas backpack - RK-2, and then finalized it and called it RK-3. Comparative tests of this parachute and the same, but the French system showed the advantages of the domestic design.

In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all rights to his inventions to Soviet Russia and did not invent anymore. On the other hand, he wrote a book about his work on the parachute, which went through three reprints, including one in the difficult year of 1943. And the backpack parachute created by Kotelnikov is still used all over the world, having withstood, figuratively speaking, more than a dozen "reissues". Is it a coincidence that today's paratroopers certainly come to Kotelnikov's grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, tying locking tapes from their domes on the branches of trees around ...