Soviet aircraft designers and their aircraft. The creators of Russian aviation. Creation of Sikorsky - Russian hero

Work by Zhilin Stepan - 2nd place

Scientific adviser-consultant: Burtsev Sergey Alekseevich, Moscow State Technical University. N.E. Bauman

Introduction

The flight of the Wright Brothers marked the birth of air transport - new, mysterious and unknown. The emergence of the ability to move through the air has become a symbol of the XX century. Since then, more than a hundred years have passed... During this time, the plane has turned from a dangerous entertainment into a reliable and fast mode of transport that has repeatedly reduced the distance between cities, countries and continents.
Since the 10s of the twentieth century, almost all world powers began to pay great attention to aircraft construction. Several schools of aircraft construction and aeronautics were formed, many machine-building plants began to produce airplanes. The First World War became an "accelerator" for the development of aviation: over these four years, combat aircraft appeared that determined the rebirth of clumsy "chicks" into machines that had no longer "toy" performance characteristics. The aircraft became capable of not only carrying weapons, but also much faster than a train or a ship, transporting passengers and cargo over considerable distances.

This is how aviation was born.

And the greatest merit in this belongs to aircraft design engineers, who created aircraft from scratch and made them perfect. The way we see them now.

England

Sir Geoffrey De Havilland
(1882-1965)

Born July 27, 1882 in Hazelmire (Surrey). After graduating from Oxford University and the Graduate School of Engineering, he worked in the automotive industry. In 1914, he became the chief designer at Airplane Manufacturing, where he created several D.H. series aircraft used in the First World War. In 1920 he founded the De Havilland Aircraft Company. In 1944 Geoffrey de Havilland was raised to the Knighthood.
Bombers designed by Geoffrey de Havilland were widely used by the RAF in the First World War. The most famous of these was the D.H.4, a two-seat, two-post, fabric-covered, braced biplane. The power plant consisted of a 220 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle in-line engine. D.H.4 bombers of the latest series with the 375 hp Eagle III engine. superior in performance to many fighters of the time. Armament, as a rule, consisted of three machine guns (synchronous and twin turrets), bomb load - 209 kg. During the fighting, these aircraft often received the most important and responsible tasks, such as, for example, attacking the dam in Zeebrugge.
Significant success was achieved by the D.H.88 "Comet" (the first with this name), specially designed for racing from Mildenhall to Melbourne. The features of the aircraft were all-wood construction, a large-capacity bow fuel tank and a manual landing gear retraction system.
The D.H.98 Mosquito bomber, along with the Spitfire, is rightfully considered one of the most famous and famous British combat aircraft. Creating the Mosquito design, De Havilland pursued only one goal - speed. The all-wood aircraft (here, by the way, the experience of D.H.88 was very useful) had a three-layer “sandwich” skin: veneer-balsa-veneer. Survivability, incredible for a wooden aircraft, was achieved through the use of the full strength and pliability of the main material - plywood. The main feature of the design was that the wing of the aircraft was a single unit. Two "Merlin"XXI made it possible to reach a speed that was huge at that time - 686 km / h. The thrust-to-weight ratio of the aircraft was so great that it allowed it to turn the ascending "barrels" on one engine! "Mossi", as English pilots affectionately called him, became a real thorn in Germany: only at the end of 1944 did the Luftwaffe have an aircraft capable of intercepting it. Soon, aircraft similar in class to the Mosquito appeared in the air forces of the whole world.
After the war, under the direction of De Havilland, a series of jet fighters, atypical for this class of aircraft, of a two-beam scheme, was built, the first of which was the D.H.100 "Vampire".
But world fame for De Havilland was brought in 1949 by the D.H.106 Comet aircraft. Even at the height of the war in England, the Barbazon Committee was formed, whose task was to determine the prospects and priorities for the development of civil aviation. It was on the instructions of Lord Barbazon of Tara that the new airliner was designed. Until then, there was no practice in the world in creating jet passenger aircraft. For the de Havilland company, the development of high-speed aircraft was a common thing: the D.H.88 "Kometa" sports aircraft and the D.H.98 "Mosquito" bomber helped the designers to accumulate vast experience in designing aircraft with high flight performance. The “comet”, designed for 44 passengers, was lifted into the air by 4 Rolls-Royce “Avon” RA.7 engines with a thrust of 33 kN each, installed in the root of the trapezoidal wings with a small sweep angle. For the reliability of take-off from airfields of limited size, a Sprite liquid-propellant rocket booster with a thrust of 15.6 kN was used (never used on aircraft of this type before). "Comets" of the first series flew in many airlines, until misfortune began in 1954. As it turned out later, the cause of the disasters was the fatigue failure of the metal. After that, the aircraft was carefully redesigned, and, at the same time, the wing area and the volume of fuel tanks were increased. Passenger capacity has increased to 101 people. The upgraded "Comets" IV served until 1965, until they were replaced by the American Boeing-707.

Reginald Joseph Mitchell
(1895-1937)

Reginald Mitchell was born in 1895 in the village of Teik near Stoke-on-Trent. In 1911, he began working for Kerr Stewart & Co., a steam locomotive company. Already in 1919, at the age of 24, he became the chief designer of the Supermarine company. In 1931, the Schneider Cup was won on the S.6 racing aircraft of its design. In 1937, he completed the design of his last aircraft, the Spitfire fighter.
From the memoirs of the Soviet designer A. S. Yakovlev: "... Visitors were not allowed close to the Spitfire aircraft: the fighter was the latest military secret of England. A rope was pulled around the car, blocking access. No explanations related to this machine were given. And only much later, during the war, I learned about the designer of the Spitfire aircraft, Reginald Mitchell. He died in 1937, when his car was put into mass production. Translated into Russian, "Spitfire" means "fireman". was the product of years of hard calculation and wind tunneling.It was, in fact, the most compact fighter that could be built around a pilot, weapons and a 12-cylinder engine.The elliptical shape of its wing, although initially giving technologists trouble, made it possible to achieve a big gain in aerodynamics. During the war, the armament of the aircraft increased from 8 machine guns to 4 cannons. Engine power increased from 1000 hp (Rolls-Royce "PV XII", the prototype of the "Merlin") up to 2035 hp. (Rolls-Royce Griffin engine). Here is what the English pilot Bob Stanford said about the Spitfire: “... someone falls in love with yachts, someone with women ... or cars, but I think every pilot experiences a state of love when he sits in this cozy little cabin, where everything is at hand." In 1940, it was the only aircraft capable of opposing the German Messerschmitt Bf109E fighter, which embodied the "Spanish lessons". The famous Soviet ace Alexander Karpov fought on the Spitfire Mk.IXLF, delivered under Lend-Lease (30 victories). The quality of the design is also evidenced by the fact that the "firemen" flew until the mid-fifties (the last time they were used during the Arab-Israeli conflicts). Spitfire is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful propeller-driven aircraft.

Germany

Kurt Tank
(1898-1970)

Kurt Tank was born in Bromberg-Schwedenhöhe in 1898. Participated in the First World War, commanded a squadron of a cavalry regiment, was presented for awards for personal courage. In 1918 he was seriously wounded. He was educated at the Technical Institute of Berlin. Since 1924, he began working as a design engineer at the Robach-metallflugtsoygbau company. In 1931 he headed the design office of the Focke-Wulf enterprise in Bremen. In 1945, after the end of the war, he emigrated to Argentina, then to India. Returned to Germany in 1970.
The most famous and widely known aircraft built by Kurt Tank is, of course, the Focke-Wulf FW-190 fighter. This fighter, whose mass production began in 1941, was the main strike force of the Luftwaffe. It was based on a fundamentally new concept of air combat, first put forward by Kurt Tank: the main thing was powerful weapons, rate of climb and speed (later, the Soviet La-5, the English Typhoon and Tempest, the American P-47D ). The aircraft was built in modifications of a bomber, torpedo bomber, photo reconnaissance aircraft, attack aircraft, fighter and interceptor. Colossal survivability was incorporated into the design of the FW-190: the safety factor of the airframe structure was very high - 1.2. The FW-190 had a high wing loading, the internal layout of which was particularly rational. The powerful "double star", the BMW-801C engine, thanks to which the aircraft had excellent thrust-to-weight ratio, was a good protection for the pilot even from cannon fire from the front hemisphere. The FW-190 was distinguished by a very high build quality and post-assembly refinement - Kurt Tank himself insisted on this. The wide track of the undercarriage and low-pressure pneumatics made the aircraft unpretentious in terms of the quality of airfield coverage and allowed landing at a high vertical speed. The cockpit was cramped, but with good visibility, especially to the rear. Tank was the first to use a squib for the emergency reset of the lantern (since due to the aerodynamic features of the lantern at speeds above 370 km / h, resetting it manually was simply impossible). The armament of the FW-190 changed several times during the fighting, but the standard was two 13 mm MG-131 machine guns and two 20 mm MG-151 cannons; provided for the suspension of bombs, external fuel tanks, missiles "Panzerblitz" and additional containers with guns. There was a night modification: the FuG-216 Liechtenstein radar was installed on the plane. The 190th became the only German aircraft capable of withstanding the American heavy bombers. The FW-190 fighter was repeatedly upgraded, remaining the most formidable enemy for Allied aviation throughout the war. In 1944-1945, on its basis, a magnificent high-altitude fighter Ta-152 was created, which set a speed record - 746 km / h. During the flight on this plane, one incident occurred with the Tank, which perfectly illustrates the combat characteristics of the tank. In the spring of 1945, Tank, who was not a military pilot, but who knew how to fly a plane well, overtook a pre-production Ta-152 to a military airfield in the city of Tyumen. Cottobus. At an altitude of about two kilometers, four Mustangs from the 356th Squadron of the 8th US Air Force “attached” behind the non-maneuvering aircraft. The Americans, apparently, realized that it was not a combat pilot who was flying the outlandish aircraft, and decided to take the German into a “box” and land him. But the plan failed: the Tank simply turned on the afterburner and walked away from the Mustangs with a climb, "like from standing ones."
No less famous was the reconnaissance spotter FW-189, which our soldiers called the "frame" because of its two-beam scheme. The cockpit with a large glass area created an excellent view and made the aircraft ideal for the mission.
One of the best airliners of that time was the FW-200 Condor, designed by Tank in 1936 on his own initiative. The aircraft was supposed to supplant the American Dc-3 and replace the old veteran Ju-52. Aerodynamically, the FW-200 was very clean, and the flight characteristics of the Condor were just as outstanding: during a non-stop flight from Berlin to New York, a distance of 6558 km was covered in 24 hours and 55 minutes. Winston Churchill called this plane the "Scourge of the Atlantic". An interesting fact is that Hitler and Goering chose the FW-200 as their personal transport. During the war, the aircraft was produced as a long-range naval bomber, minelayer and patrol aircraft. The anti-submarine version of the FW-200 was very effective. However, in the battles, the main drawback of the Condors was revealed - the engines, and during the service they had accidents quite often.
But the most outstanding aircraft of Kurt Tank, in my opinion, is the Ta-183 fighter, which unfortunately (but rather fortunately) remained under construction. Absolutely everything in the design of the Ta-183 was innovative: a swept wing and a turbojet engine with a frontal air intake located in the fuselage. The scheme chosen by the designer was used in a huge number of post-war combat aircraft, passed the test with honor in Korea and determined the appearance of fighter aircraft for many years. After all, the direct descendants of the Ta-183 were the legendary MiG-15 and F-86 Saber fighters. It was on the basis of the Ta-183 that Kurt Tank built his first post-war aircraft in Argentina, the IAe Pulka II.

Italy, USSR

Bartini Robert Ludovigovich
(1897-1974)

Robert Ludovigovich (Roberto Oros di Bartini) was born in Fiume (Rijeka, Yugoslavia). In 1916 he graduated from the officer, and in 1921 flying school, Milan Polytechnic Institute (1922).
In 1923 he immigrated to the USSR. In 1937, Bartini was unjustifiably accused of having links with the executed "enemy of the people" - Marshal Tukhachevsky, and repressed. In 1956 he was rehabilitated.
In the autumn of 1935, under his leadership, a 12-seat passenger aircraft "Stal-7" with a "reverse gull" wing was created. In 1936, it was exhibited at the International Exhibition in Paris, and in August 1939 it set an international speed record at a distance of 5000 km - 405 km / h. Subsequently, this aircraft turned into the Yer-2 long-range bomber, beloved by pilots, which repeatedly opened bomb bays over Berlin during the war.
Bartini's designs were innovative, free and bold. One of these projects was the "P" aircraft - a supersonic single-seat experimental fighter built according to the "flying wing" scheme with a low elongation wing with a large sweep of the leading edge, two-keel vertical tail at the ends of the wing and a combined liquid-ramjet power plant. R-114 is an anti-aircraft fighter-interceptor with four liquid-propellant rocket engines designed by V.P. Glushko with a thrust of 300 kg each, with a swept wing with boundary layer control to increase the aerodynamic quality of the wing. The R-114 was supposed to develop an incredible speed of Mach 2 for 1942! But in the fall of 1943, for unknown reasons, the design bureau was closed.
In the early 70s, Bartini proposed the creation of a suborbital fighter-interceptor, whose task was to destroy enemy reconnaissance and communications satellites. The system for entering orbit was unusual: one launch vehicle was supposed to launch 3 interceptors at once.

Russia, USSR

Lavochkin Semyon Alekseevich
(1900-1960)

Semyon Alekseevich was born in 1900 in Smolensk. In 1927 he graduated from the Moscow Higher Technical School, and in 1939 he became the chief designer for aircraft construction; since 1956 - general designer. In 1943 and 1956 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. In 1950, his design bureau was reoriented to the manufacture of missiles.
The most famous aircraft designed by Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin is La-5. The famous fighter was created as a result of the “docking” of the airframe of the not very successful LaGG-3 aircraft with the powerful radial air-cooled engine M-82 (ASH-82) designed by Shvetsov. Finally, our Air Force received an aircraft capable of fighting on equal terms with German fighters. The new engine made it possible to achieve excellent performance at low altitudes - the Lavochkin outperformed the Fw-190A by 60 km / h in speed. An important advantage was the fact that most of the aircraft's structure was made of delta wood, durable and cheap. The armament of the Laiba, as the pilots called it, was improved compared to the LaGGs and consisted of two ShVAK-20 guns with an ammunition load of 170 rounds per barrel. Pilots highly respected the La-5 for its excellent combat capabilities, ease of operation, and excellent survivability. It was on La-5 that the best Soviet aces, such as Ivan Kozhedub, Alexei Alelyuhin, Sultan Amet-Khan and Evgeny Savitsky, won most of their victories. And near Kursk, Alexander Gorovets destroyed nine Ju-87 bombers in one battle (this record has not been broken so far). Once the commander of the famous Normandy, Louis Delfino, made a test flight on the Lavochkin, after which he was indescribably delighted and asked to give the French La-5, and not the Yak-1. The Germans called La-5 "Neue Rata", "New Rat" ("Rat" - the nickname given by the Nazis to the I-16 fighter back in Spain). After the development of the forced ASh-82FN engine with direct fuel injection into the cylinders, a new modification of the fighter, La-5FN, was released, featuring a reduced fairing and a cockpit with all-round visibility, as well as some modifications to the fuselage design. The best Soviet fighter of the period of the Great Patriotic War, La-7, was obtained as a result of blowing the La-5FN model in a wind tunnel, identifying and then correcting deficiencies. The airframe of the aircraft has become lighter and aerodynamically cleaner. The armament was increased to three B-20 guns (although ShVAKs were still installed on the early La-7s).
The most classified work of the Lavochkin Design Bureau was the Tempest, a thermonuclear charge carrier, which was much ahead of its time. The huge projectile aircraft was equipped with ramjet and rocket engines. Navigation was carried out by the stars, automatically. Several successful launches were made. But the program was closed due to the fact that the state could not simultaneously finance the "Storm" and the R-7 rocket designed by S.P. Korolev.
In my opinion, the La-250 Anaconda interceptor, created in 1956, made a huge contribution to the development of modern aviation. By design, the La-250 is a mid-wing delta wing; the air intakes and engines were located along the very long fuselage. It was planned to install a special radar with a detection range of 40 km and a K-15U sight. On this aircraft, powerful hydraulic boosters were among the first to be widely used and studied (for all controls). An electronic simulation stand was built for the first time in the USSR to fine-tune the aircraft. La-250 was ahead of its time by about 8-10 years. Despite some troubles, which were subsequently easily eliminated, the aircraft was very successful, but did not go into mass production. The main reason for this is the problems with fine-tuning the AL-7F engines. But this aircraft served as a model for the next generations of our interceptors - Tu-128, MiG-25 and MiG-31.
Undoubtedly, Lavochkin's noteworthy work is the S-25 anti-aircraft missile system, Moscow's air defense system. It consisted of two rings with radii of 50 and 100 kilometers, respectively. Single-stage rockets were located vertically. The guidance radar was twenty-channel - it could simultaneously “lead” and fire at up to twenty targets flying at speeds up to M = 4.5. Active interaction was carried out between the missile units, which made it possible to conduct "dagger" fire. The system was unique. There were no others like it in the world.

Ilyushin Sergey Vladimirovich
(1894-1976)

Sergei Vladimirovich was born near Vologda in a peasant family. Since 1919 he was an aircraft mechanic, and in 1921 he became the head of an aircraft repair train. In 1926 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. N.E. Zhukovsky (now LVVIA). During his studies at the academy, he built three gliders. The last of them, "Moskva", received the first prize for the duration of the flight at competitions in Germany. In 1933, Ilyushin headed the Central Design Bureau at the Moscow plant named after V.R. Menzhinsky, whose activities were associated with the development of assault, bomber, passenger and transport aviation. Since 1935, Sergei Vladimirovich - chief designer, in 1956-70 - general designer.
The Il-2 attack aircraft became the aircraft that glorified its designer throughout the world. The fundamental novelty of the aircraft was that the puff armor not only protected the crew and vital organs of the aircraft, but was also part of the power structure of the airframe. A very significant advantage of the aircraft was that one engine was installed on it (Am-38, 1720 hp). Thus, Ilyushin saved a huge amount of resources and time for the country. Initially, it was supposed to produce a two-seat version of the attack aircraft, but Stalin intervened in this matter, always understanding everything better than any specialist, and a single-seat aircraft was put on the conveyor. The absence of the shooter led to huge losses: even bombers hunted defenseless Ila from the rear hemisphere, and attack pilots received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for 10 sorties (usually for 100). Only by 1942 did a shooter with a UBT machine gun cover the pilot's back. After installing the 23-mm VYa Il-2 cannon, they were able to fight German light tanks, and the new NS-37 cannon even "flashed" the top of the Pz.Kpfw.VI tanks, the famous "Tigers". There was also a torpedo modification of the attack aircraft, the Il-2T. Throughout the war, Germany was never able to create an aircraft that could match the combat and operational characteristics of the Ilam. The Germans called the Soviet "flying tanks" "black death", and Goering said that the Il-2 is "the main enemy of the German army." IL-2 became the most massive aircraft in the world. About 40,000 of them were built. The IL-2 became the ancestor of a new class of combat aviation, the modern representatives of which are the Su-25, Su-39, A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.
After the war, the Ilyushin Design Bureau designed the Il-12 passenger aircraft, designed to replace the Li-2. During the design of the next aircraft, the Il-14, the development of the Il-12, the design bureau began to solve the complex and completely new problem in the practice of world aircraft construction of that time, the problem of ensuring the take-off of a twin-engine aircraft after the failure of one engine on takeoff, during the takeoff run, or immediately after taking off from earth. The IL-14 turned out to be an extremely successful airliner, unpretentious and reliable; for a long time it made flights on short lines.
The first Soviet wide-body aircraft Il-86 is considered one of the safest in the world. The design feature is a striking quality for aircraft of this class - unpretentiousness to the airfield coverage, as well as a relatively short pre-flight preparation time.
Currently, Ilyushin Design Bureau is working on promising civil aircraft Il-96, Il-114, Il-103.

Russia, USA

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky
(1889-1972)

Igor Ivanovich was born in Kyiv in 1889 in the family of a famous psychiatrist. He entered the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, but did not finish his studies, as he took up research and design of aircraft. In 1920 he emigrated to France and then to the USA.
Sikorsky became famous for being the first in the world to prove the possibility of flying on a multi-engine aircraft. The biplane "Russian Knight" ("Grand") built by him first took off from the ground in 1912. At the time, it was the largest aircraft in the world. It was driven by two (later four) in-line Argus engines of 100 hp each. Unfortunately, the plane didn't last long. On September 11, 1913, a military airplane competition was held at the Corps Airfield. From the Meller-2 apparatus flying over the Russian Knight, the motor broke off and fell on its left wing box. The damage was so severe that the aircraft was not repaired. But in the meantime, Sikorsky was building the next plane, even larger. The new airplane No. 107, named "Ilya Muromets", was equipped with new 220-horsepower Salmson engines. When the First World War began, the aircraft was first used as a reconnaissance aircraft, but then the IM became the world's first strategic bomber. Defensive armament consisted of a 37-mm Hotchkiss cannon (later abandoned), 4 machine guns and 2 Mauser pistols. The bomb load was within 400 kg. One ship was equated with a field detachment and attached to the headquarters of armies and fronts. During one of the raids behind enemy lines, "IM" with a well-aimed hit of a 16-kg bomb destroyed a train with 30,000 shells.
After emigrating to the USA, Igor Ivanovich had to work hard to create his new design bureau. This company was almost entirely composed of emigrants, so it was nicknamed the "Russian firm". The first success of Sikorsky was the Clipper flying boat, and 10 world records were set on the S-42 aircraft.
Since the mid-30s, Sikorsky has been developing helicopters. Initially, the emphasis was on a single-rotor scheme with a tail rotor. It was quite risky, since there was practically no experience in creating such machines capable of performing any tasks. The experimental helicopter VS-300 was created first, and was a development of the unfinished helicopter of the 1909 project. An order for an army communications and surveillance helicopter soon followed. The double S-47 was ready in December 1941 and became the first helicopter launched into large-scale production. He was the only one in the anti-Hitler coalition who took part in World War II. After the end of the war, Sikorsky built the universal S-51 helicopter, which was widely used for both military and civilian purposes. Later, Sikorsky's company became the largest and most famous manufacturer of rotorcraft in the United States, and Igor Ivanovich himself received the nickname "Mr. Helicopter".

USA

Donald Wills Douglas
(1892-1981)

"When you design it, think how you would feel if you had to fly it!" Safety First!"
Donald W. Douglas
“When you design an airplane, think about how you would feel yourself sitting at the helm! Safety first!”
Donald Douglas
Donald Wills Douglas was born in Brooklyn, New York. After spending two years at the Naval Academy, he studied aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Already at the age of 23, Douglas became the chief engineer of the Martin company, and in 1920 Douglas founded his own aircraft manufacturing company. The company was under his leadership even after Douglas reached retirement age, until financial difficulties forced him to sell it to McDonnell.
In 1934, TWA signed an initial contract with Douglas for 25 light transport aircraft. The Dc-2, or rather the Douglas DST, became the prototype for the next aircraft of a new, improved design, the legendary Dc-3. The new passenger plane has revolutionized air travel - passenger traffic in America has increased by almost 600%! The reason for this popularity was the low ticket price and incredible flight safety. The plane was considered "non-falling". Profitability was also excellent because the Dc-3 was incredibly convenient and inexpensive to operate (it took only 10 man-hours to replace the engine). The aircraft was built according to the classical scheme, low-wing; two Pratt-Whitney "Twin Wasp" R-1830 engines with a capacity of 1200 hp provided a cruising speed of 260 km / h and a maximum of 370 km / h. There was also a military transport modification Dc-3, C-47, which was distinguished by a more durable cargo compartment floor and minor modifications. One of the more unusual variants of the aircraft was the landing glider, the unpowered Douglas. The release of Dc-3 under license was established in the USSR. The aircraft was named Li-2 (PS-84), after the name of the chief engineer Lisunov, who established its mass production. During the War, Li-2 was used as a night bomber, staff, ambulance, landing and transport aircraft. Each air regiment was given at least one "transporter" Li-2. Although in piloting the aircraft was not distinguished by outstanding data, it was simple and pleasant. The pilots said about the "Douglas": "... the main thing is not to interfere with his flight." The great advancement of the DC-3 is that its concept is at the heart of most modern airliners. The aircraft turned out to be so successful that about five hundred Dc-3s (some of them have been modernized by installing new economical theaters) are still flying.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that the creation of an aircraft almost entirely “lies on the shoulders” of aircraft designers, who get all the laurels in case of success, I would like to pay tribute to the engineers, the result of whose work plays no less, and perhaps more important role. After all, as you know, "with a good engine and the cabinet will fly."
Famous aircraft engines
Rolls-Royce "Merlin" because of its high power density is considered one of the best in-line piston engines. "Merlins" were distinguished by excellent workmanship. These engines were used not only by almost all British aviation during the Second World War, for example, Lancasters, Spitfires, Hurricanes, but also by many American aircraft, such as the Mustang (starting with the P-51B modification). During the application, the motor was repeatedly upgraded. An interesting fact is that the engine was developed by the company on its own initiative, without a government order. "Merlins" worked reliably even in the Arctic.
ASh-82 (M-82) designed by A.D. Shvetsov is one of the most advanced radial engines. This is due to its low weight, high power (1700 hp for the first series) and relatively small radius. There were three modifications of the engine. The last of them, ASh-82FN, was distinguished by a system of direct fuel injection into the cylinders and the possibility of using the afterburner mode. The motor had amazing survivability: there are cases when, after a battle, aircraft returned to the airfield, in the engines of which there were no 4 cylinders! The most famous planes on which Ash-82s were installed are Tupolev Tu-2 bombers and Lavochkin La-7 fighters. Mi-4 helicopters also flew on these engines.
BMW-003 is the world's first serial turbojet engine that fully meets the requirements for an engine for installation on an aircraft. Work on it began as early as 1938, and in 1944 the active combat use of the Messerschmitt Me-262 fighter, on which these engines were installed, began.
The best (in the post-war years) VK-1 turbojet engine in the world was obtained as a result of the deep modernization and (!) simplification of the design of the licensed English engine Rolls-Royce "Nin" carried out at the design bureau of V.Ya. Klimov. Surprisingly, after the adoption of these measures, the thrust of the VK-1 compared to the Nin almost doubled! MiG-15 fighters, as well as Il-28 front-line bombers, flew and fought on these engines.

Starting work on the abstract, I thought a lot about who I should single out from the galaxy of talented aircraft designers in the world. I wanted to, talking about the famous engineers of the aircraft industry, to show how engineering thought developed, and behind it the history of aeronautics. In addition to specialized, historical, biographical literature, I was interested in the opinions of people closely associated with aviation, its recent past and present. Probably, my choice is not only undisputed, but also to some extent biased, because it is impossible not to mention the outstanding scientists and engineers N.E. Zhukovsky, A.N. Tupolev, A.I. Mikoyan, P.O. .A.Kalinina, N.I.Kamova, A.Lippish, M.L.Mil, K.Johnson, V.Messerschmitt, A.Kartvelishvili, V.M.Myasishchev, B.Rutan, F.Rogallo, and many others .
All the people I have listed were (or are) not only talented aircraft designers and generators of ideas, but also outstanding leaders and organizers of large design bureaus, in which competent and, perhaps, no less talented specialists work, whose task is to develop individual components, mechanisms, structural elements . Therefore, in my opinion, it is wrong to completely connect the main designer and the main creator (who often remains in the shadows). Unfortunately, the talents of many engineers, due to political, economic, or other circumstances, could not be fully revealed.
Now the time for lone designers is running out... All modern production aircraft are created by huge design bureaus, which include specialists of various profiles. Soon it will be impossible to determine the main thing - the team will merge into a single whole.

List of used literature

1. R. Vinogradov, A. Ponomarev. "Development of Aircraft of the World" - Mechanical Engineering, 1991.
2. Encyclopedia "Avanta +" "Technique" - 2003.
3. "Warplanes of the Luftwaffe" - Aerospace Publishing London, 1994.
4. "Unique and paradoxical military equipment" - AST, 2003.
5. Yu. Nenakhov "The 'Wonder Weapon' of the Third Reich" - Minsk, 1999.
6. Directory "WWII Aviation" - Rusich, 2000.
7. P. Bowers "Aircraft of non-traditional schemes" - World, 1991.
8. R.J. Grant "Aviation 100 years" - Rosman, 2004
9. V.B. Shavrov “History of aircraft designs in the USSR. 1938-1950 "- Engineering, 1988.
10. I. Kudishin "Focke-Wulf Fw-190 Fighter" - AST, 2001.
11. A. Firsov "Fighter Messerschmitt Bf-109" - AST, 2001
12. S. Sidorenko "Fighter Supermarine Spitfire" - AST, 2002.
13. A.N. Ponomarev "Designer S.V. Ilyushin" - Military Publishing House, 1988.
14. Walter Schick, Ingolf Meyer "Secret Luftwaffe Fighter Projects" - Rusich, 2001.
15. Walter Schick, Ingolf Meyer "Secret Luftwaffe Bomber Projects" Rusich, 2001.
16. A.S. Yakovlev "The purpose of life" - Publishing house of political literature, 1967.
17. A.A. Zapolskis “Luftwaffe Jets” - Harvest, 1999.
18. Jane`s Handbook "Famous Aircraft" - AST, 2002.
19. Jane`s Handbook "Modern Aircraft" - AST, 2002.
20. Encyclopedia "Aviation" - Scientific publishing house "Great Russian Encyclopedia", TsAGI, 1994.
21. G.I.Katyshev, V.R.Mikheev "Aircraft designer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky" - Nauka, 1989.
22. "History of civil aviation of the USSR" - Air transport, 1983.
23. Yu. Zuenko, S. Korostelev "Combat aircraft of Russia" - Moscow, 1994.
24. BECM multimedia encyclopedia
25. Multimedia encyclopedia of aviation version 1.0 2001 KorAx
26. I. Shelest "I'm flying for a dream" - Young Guard, 1973.
27. Daniel J. March "English military aircraft WWII" - AST, 2002.

Internet using
1. http://www.airwar.ru
2. http://www.airpages.ru
3. http://www.airforce.ru
4. http://www.rol.ru

Magazines
1. "Aviation and Cosmonautics", issue "Military Aviation of Russia" 8.2003.
2. "Aviation and Cosmonautics" 1.2003, p21.
3. "Bulletin of the Air Fleet" ("VVF") 07-08.2003, p.98.
4. "VVF" 07-08.2000, p.45.
5. "VVF" 05-06.2002, p.14.
6. "VVF" No. 6.1996, p. 42, p. 48.
7. "In

From the very beginning of the existence of the Soviet state, the Party and the government took every possible care of the creation of the air fleet of the Land of Soviets. Aviation development issues were at the center of attention of Soviet party and state bodies and were repeatedly considered at party congresses, special meetings and conferences with the participation of top Soviet party and government officials.

Domestic aircraft construction in the early twenties was based on the modernization and serial production of the best examples of foreign aircraft. In parallel, work was underway to create their own designs.

One of the first aircraft built in the Soviet era was a modernized version of the British machine DN-9. Its development was entrusted to N.N. Polikarpov, and the aircraft in various modifications had the name R-1. At the same time, on the basis of the English Avro machine, a two-seat training aircraft U-1, intended for flight schools, was produced.

Of the domestic aircraft of the original design, created in the twenties, the AK-1 passenger aircraft of V. L. Aleksandrov and V. V. Kalinin should be noted. Pilot V. O. Pisarenko designed two aircraft and built them in the workshops of the Sevastopol pilot school, where he was an instructor. The design teams led by D. P. Grigorovich and N. N. Polikarpov, who worked on the creation of flying boats, passenger aircraft, and fighters, were very famous.

During this period, in the domestic aircraft industry, there was a transition to the creation of aircraft from metal. In 1925, the design bureau AGOS (aviation, hydroaviation and experimental construction) was created at TsAGI, headed by A.N. Tupolev. The topics of work of the AGOS were very diverse, and brigades were formed as part of the bureau. The engineers who led them later became well-known designers.

Many of the aircraft created by the bureau participated in international exhibitions and long-distance flights. For example, ANT-3 (P-3) aircraft were used for flights to European capitals and a Far Eastern flight from Moscow to Tokyo. Heavy metal aircraft TB-1 (ANT-4) in 1929 flew Moscow New York. Aircraft of this type were built in series and were used only in long-range bomber aviation, but also in Arctic expeditions. The technical manager of the TB-1 project was the designer V. M. Petlyakov. AGOS also designed the ANT-9 passenger aircraft, which made a long-range flight with a length of 9037 km.

At the same time, the Land Aircraft Building Department (OSS), under the leadership of N. N. Polikarpov, built I-3, DI-2 fighter aircraft. In the same period, the well-known U-2 (Po-2) aircraft was built, which served for about 35 years. One of the most successful was the R-5 machine, created by the Land Aircraft Building Department, which was subsequently produced in various versions - as a reconnaissance aircraft, attack aircraft, and even as a light bomber.

The Naval Aircraft Department, headed by D. P. Grigorovich, built naval aircraft, mainly reconnaissance ones.

Along with combat and passenger vehicles, airplanes and light aircraft were designed by order of sports organizations, among them the first aircraft of A. S. Yakovlev, called AIR.

At the beginning of the thirties, the aircraft had the old forms - a biplane scheme and a landing gear that did not retract in flight. The skin of metal aircraft was corrugated. At the same time, a reorganization was taking place in the pilot aircraft industry, and brigades were created at the Aviarabotnik plant according to the types of aircraft.

At first, the task for the development of the I-5 aircraft was given to A.N. Tupolev, and later N.N. Polikarpov and D.P. Grigorovich were engaged in its creation. This aircraft in various modifications was in service for almost ten years, and the I-15, I-153, I-16 fighters even participated in the hostilities of the initial period of the Great Patriotic War.

The brigade of I. I. Pogossky designed seaplanes, in particular, the MDR-3 marine long-range reconnaissance aircraft (later its team was headed by G. M. Beriev, who built seaplanes for the Navy aviation until the seventies).

A team of long-range bombers led by S. V. Ilyushin designed the DB-3 aircraft a little later, and then the well-known Il-2 attack aircraft. For several years, the team of S. A. Kocherigin was engaged in the design of an attack aircraft, which, however, was not used. Under the leadership of A. N. Tupolev, heavy bombers were created, including the TB-3, one of the best and most famous aircraft of this type.

Design bureaus, led by A. I. Putilov and R. L. Bartini, worked on the creation of all-metal steel aircraft.

The successes achieved in aircraft construction, and especially in engine design, made it possible to start creating an aircraft with a record-breaking flight range ANT-25. This aircraft, powered by the M-34R engine designed by A. A. Mikulin, went down in history after it flew from Moscow over the North Pole to the United States.

By the beginning of the forties, in accordance with the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars "On the reconstruction of existing and construction of new aircraft factories", several aircraft factories were put into operation, which were intended for the production of the latest aircraft. In the same period, a competition was announced for the best design of a fighter aircraft. Talented design engineers S. A. Lavochkin, V. P. Gorbunov, M. I. Gudkov, A. I. Mikoyan, M. I. Gurevich, M. M. Pashinyan, V. M. Petlyakov, N. N. Polikarpov, P. O. Sukhoi, V. K. Tairov, I. F. Florov, V. V. Shevchenko, A. S. Yakovlev, V. P. Yatsenko. As a result of the competition in 1941, LaGG, MiG and Yak aircraft, well-known fighters of the period of the Great Patriotic War, began to enter service.

An important role during the war years was played by Pe-2 dive bombers designed by V. M. Petlyakov. In 1939 under the leadership of V. M. Petlyakov, the ANT-42 (TB-7) aircraft, built at TsAGI in 1936 and renamed after the death of Petlyakov (1942) into Pe-8, was modified. This aircraft, along with the Su-2 bombers designed by P. O. Sukhoi and Yer-2 designed by V. G. Ermolaev R. L. Bartini, was used in long-range aviation. The Yer-2 aircraft had a long flight range, especially with the installation of heavy fuel engines (diesels) designed by A. D. Charomsky.

The words of K. E. Tsiolkovsky that the era of jet airplanes will come after the era of propeller airplanes turned out to be prophetic. The era of jet aircraft practically began in the forties. At the initiative of the prominent Soviet military leader M. N. Tukhachevsky, who at that time was the Deputy People's Commissar for Armaments, many research institutions were created that worked in the field of rocket technology.

However, it should be said that the achievements in the development of Soviet jet aviation did not come suddenly, by themselves.

Theoretical developments and research conducted at the end of the twenties made it possible to come close to the creation of a rocket plane. Such a glider was built by B. I. Cheranovsky for the GIRD, and in 1932 the glider was modified for an experimental engine of one of the founders of Russian rocket science, engineer F. A. Tsander.

In April 1935, S.P. Korolev announced his intention to build a cruise missile laboratory for human flights at low altitudes using air-rocket engines.

An important role was played by tests carried out in 1939 1940, when a liquid-propellant rocket engine (LRE) with adjustable thrust was created, mounted on a glider developed by S.P. Korolev, later an academician, twice Hero of Socialist Labor. On February 28, 1940, pilot V.P. Fedorov at an altitude of 2000 m separated from the towing aircraft in a rocket plane, turned on the rocket engine, flew with the engine running and, after running out of fuel, landed at the airfield.

Ensuring the maximum speed of the aircraft was the dream of every designer. Therefore, jet accelerators began to be installed on piston-engine aircraft. An example is the Yak-7 VRD aircraft, under the wing of which two ramjet engines were suspended. When they were turned on, the speed increased by 60 90 kit/h. On the La-7R aircraft, a liquid-propellant rocket engine was used as an accelerator. The increase in speed due to the thrust of the rocket engine was 85 km / h. Powder boosters were also used to increase the flight speed and reduce the takeoff distance during the takeoff run of the aircraft.

A lot of work was done on the creation of a special fighter aircraft with a liquid-propellant rocket engine, which the Dodges had to have a high rate of climb and speed with a significant duration of flight.

Young designers A. Ya. Bereznyak and L. M. Isaev, under the leadership of V. F. Bolkhovitinov, in August 1941 began designing a combat aircraft with a rocket engine, designed to intercept enemy fighters in the airfield area, on May 15, 1942, a pilot of the State Scientific - Testing Institute of the Air Force G. Ya. Bakhchivandzhi, in the presence of designers and the commission, made a successful flight on this jet aircraft.

In the post-war period, new models of fighter aircraft with rocket engines were created and tested in the country. For example, one of these models was controlled by a pilot who was in a car in a supine position.

During the Great Patriotic War, significant work was carried out to improve the flight performance of the Pe-2 aircraft using liquid-propellant rocket engines that had adjustable thrust.

However, neither fighters with piston engines and boosters installed on them, nor airplanes with rocket engines have found application in the practice of combat aviation.

In 1944, in order to increase speeds, it was decided to install a motor-compressor engine on the aircraft of A. I. Mikoyan and P. O. Sukhoi, which would combine the features of piston and jet engines. In 1945, the I-250 (Mikoyan) and Su-5 (Sukhoi) aircraft reached speeds of 814 825 km/h.

In accordance with the instructions of the State Defense Committee, a decision was made to create and build jet aircraft. This work was entrusted to Lavochkin, Mikoyan, Sukhoi and Yakovlev.

As you know, on April 24, 1946, the Yak-15 and MiG-9 aircraft took off on the same day, which had insufficiently advanced turbojet engines as power plants, and the machines themselves did not fully meet the requirements for aviation. Later, the La-160 was built, the first swept-wing jet aircraft in our country. Its appearance played a significant role in increasing the speed of fighters, but it was still far from the speed of sound.

The second generation of domestic jet aircraft was more advanced, faster, more reliable machines, including the Yak-23, La-15 and especially the MiG-15. As you know, the latter had a powerful engine, three guns and a swept wing, under which, if necessary, additional fuel tanks were suspended. The plane fully justified the hopes placed on it. As the experience of military operations in Korea showed, it was superior to the American Saber fighter. The training version of this machine also served well, which for a number of years was the main training fighter of our aviation.

For the first time in the USSR, the speed of sound in flight with a decrease was achieved under the new one, in 1949, on an experimental aircraft of S. A. Lavochkin La-176 by pilot O. V. Sokolovsky. And in 1950, already in level flight, the MiG-17, Yak-50 aircraft passed the “sound barrier” and, with a decrease, reached speeds that were much higher than the sound ones. In September November 1952, the MiG-19 developed a speed 1.5 times greater than the speed of sound, and surpassed the Super Saber in its main characteristics, which by that time was the main US Air Force fighter.

Having overcome the "sound barrier", aviation continued to master ever-higher speeds and flight altitudes. The speed has already reached such values ​​at which, to further increase it, new solutions to the problem of stability and controllability were required. In addition, aviation came close to the so-called "thermal barrier" (when flying at supersonic speed, the air temperature in front of the aircraft rises sharply as a result of strong compression, this heating is transferred to the machine itself). The problem of thermal protection required an urgent solution.

On May 28, 1960, on the T-405 aircraft of General Designer P. O. Sukhoi, pilot B. Adrianov set an absolute world flight speed record of 2092 km / h along a closed route of 100 km.

As a result, our aviation received an aircraft capable of flying for about 30 minutes at a speed of approximately 3,000 km/h. Flights on these aircraft also showed that, thanks to the use of heat-resistant materials and powerful cooling systems, the problem of the "thermal barrier" for these flight speeds was basically solved.

During the post-war years, excellent passenger and transport aircraft were created in the USSR. Back in 1956, the Tu-104 aircraft began operating on Aeroflot lines, which for the first time in the world began regular passenger transportation, Il-18, Tu-124, Tu-134, An-10 and Yak-40 advanced our Civil Air Fleet by one from the leading places in the world.

New domestic passenger aircraft An-24, Tu-154M, Il-62M and Yak-42 carry out mass air transportation within the country and abroad. At the end of the seventies, the Tu-144 supersonic passenger aircraft was created. A new qualitative and quantitative level of passenger traffic was achieved with the commissioning of the Il-86 airbus. Military transport aviation received An-22 and Il-76T aircraft used to transport military and civilian cargo. In 1984, the operation of the giant aircraft An-124, and later An-225, began.

Helicopters, which only after the Second World War became a workable and economically viable vehicle, are now widely used. Soviet aviation designers created reliable rotorcraft for various purposes - light Mi-2 and Ka-26, medium Mi-6 and Ka-32 and heavy Mi-26 and others for military and civil aviation.

The successes of the Soviet aviation industry in creating combat aircraft were demonstrated in 1988 at the international aviation exhibition in Farnborough (England), where the MiG-29 air superiority fighter was demonstrated; the same aircraft, the Buran and the Su-27 were demonstrated in Paris in 1989. Military Literature website: militera.lib.ru
Edition: Ponomarev A. N. Soviet aviation designers. - M.: Military Publishing, 1990.

Zhukovsky is a city of aviators. A lot of aircraft were created, tested and finalized here. And it was in Zhukovsky that the architectural complex "Creators of Russian Aviation" was opened.

The memorial alley "Creators of Russian Aviation" includes 16 busts of legendary Soviet aircraft designers. The presented busts are made of bronze by a young sculptor Vladimir Ivanov.

2. Tupolev Andrey Nikolaevich. Soviet scientist and aircraft designer, Colonel-General-Engineer, Doctor of Technical Sciences. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Hero of Labor. Three times Hero of Socialist Labor.
Now in Zhukovsky they are trying to save the memory of the aircraft, which became the peak of the development of domestic aviation -.

3. Ilyushin Sergey Vladimirovich. An outstanding Soviet aircraft designer, developer of the most massive combat aircraft in history - the Il-2 attack aircraft. Three times Hero of Socialist Labor. The only laureate of seven Stalin Prizes, Colonel General of the Engineering and Technical Service, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

4. The "Creators of Aviation of Russia" complex was created on the initiative of the "Legends of Aviation" foundation. The alley was opened on September 22, 2017. Opened solemnly, even with an air parade.

5. The administration of Zhukovsky, the scientific and engineering company NIK, Russian Helicopters, Roscosmos, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) took part in the creation of the complex.

6. Mikoyan Artem Ivanovich. Soviet aircraft designer. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor. Under his leadership (together with M. I. Gurevich and V. A. Romodin), the MiG-1 and MiG-3 fighter planes that participated in the Great Patriotic War were created. After the war, MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-31, MiG-33, MiG- 35.

7. Gurevich Mikhail Iosifovich. Soviet aircraft designer, co-head of OKB-155. Hero of Socialist Labor. Winner of the Lenin Prize and six Stalin Prizes. He worked together with Mikoyan, creating MiG fighters. The letter G is Gurevich.

8. Myasishchev Vladimir Mikhailovich. Soviet aircraft designer, Major General Engineer, General Designer of OKB-23, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the RSFSR. Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the Lenin Prize.
His planes: M-50, M-4, 3M/M-6, VM-T "Atlant", M-17 "Stratosphere", M-18, M-20, M-55 "Geophysics".
One of the most famous - which transported parts of the Buran and Energia complex.

9. Mikhail Leontievich Mil. Soviet helicopter designer and scientist, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin Prize and the State Prize of the USSR.

10. Tishchenko Marat Nikolaevich. Soviet and Russian helicopter designer. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Hero of Socialist Labor. From 1970 to 2007 - responsible head and chief designer of the Experimental Design Bureau named after M. L. Mil. It was under his leadership that was created.

11. Bartini Robert Ludwigovich. An Italian aristocrat, a communist who left fascist Italy for the USSR, where he became a famous aircraft designer. Physicist, creator of designs for devices based on new principles. Author of more than 60 completed aircraft projects. brigade commander In the questionnaires in the column "nationality" he wrote: "Russian".

12. Kamov Nikolai Ilyich. Soviet aircraft designer, creator of Ka helicopters, Doctor of Technical Sciences. Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR.

13. Yakovlev Alexander Sergeevich. Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member. and Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Air Colonel General. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor. General Designer of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Laureate of the Lenin, State and six Stalin Prizes.

14. Antonov Oleg Konstantinovich. Soviet aircraft designer, doctor of technical sciences, professor, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the Lenin Prize and the Stalin Prize of the second degree. The An-225 "Mriya" aircraft, built on the basis of the An-124 "Ruslan", is still the largest and most lifting.
It is a pity that a delegation from Ukraine did not come to the opening...

15. Beriev Georgy Mikhailovich. Soviet aircraft designer. Major General of the Engineering Service. Laureate of the Stalin Prize.
Under his leadership, aircraft were created: Steel-6, Steel-7; seaplanes: MBR-2, MP-1, MP-1T, ship ejection KOR-1 and KOR-2, Be-6, Be-10 jet boat, Be-12 amphibians (with modifications) and Be-12PS - serial; MDR-5, MBR-7, LL-143, Be-8, R-1, Be-14 - experienced, passenger Be-30 (Be-32), experimental projectile P-10.

16. Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin. Soviet aviation designer. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of four Stalin Prizes. He made a huge contribution to aviation during the Great Patriotic War.

17. Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi. An outstanding Belarusian Soviet aircraft designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences, one of the founders of the Soviet jet and supersonic aviation. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin, Stalin and State Prizes, laureate of the Prize No. A. N. Tupolev.

18. Yakovlev Alexander Sergeevich. Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member and academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Air Colonel General. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor. General Designer of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Laureate of the Lenin, State and six Stalin Prizes.

19. Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. Russian and Soviet aircraft designer, head of OKB-51. Twice winner of the Stalin Prize, Hero of Socialist Labor, Polikarpov is one of the founders of the Soviet school of aircraft construction. The U-2 and R-5 multi-purpose aircraft created under his leadership became one of the best in their class.

20. Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov. Soviet aircraft designer. Laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree.

21. Nikolai Egorovich Zhukovsky is considered the founder of aviation in Russia.

22. It is his words that express the idea of ​​aviation:

Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin was born in 1894.

Soviet aircraft designer, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1968), Colonel General of the Engineering and Technical Service (1967), three times Hero of Socialist Labor (1941, 1957, 1974). In the Soviet Army since 1919, first an aircraft mechanic, then a military commissar, and since 1921 the head of an aircraft repair train. Graduated from the Air Force Academy. Professor N.E. Zhukovsky (1926).

Since 1935, Ilyushin - chief designer, in 1956-1970. - general designer. Under his leadership, the Il-2, Il-10 attack aircraft, Il-4, Il-28 bombers, Il-12, Il-14, Il-18, Il-62 passenger aircraft, as well as a number of experimental and experimental aircraft, were created.
Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin was awarded the FAI Gold Aviation Medal.

Bronze busts of the pilot were installed in Moscow and Vologda. The name of Ilyushin is the Moscow Machine-Building Plant.
The great Soviet designer died in 1977.

Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin - the most famous Soviet aircraft designer, corresponding member. Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1958), Major General of the Aviation Engineering Service (1944), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1943, 1956).

He graduated from MVTU in 1927.

In 1940, together with M.I. Gudkov and V.P. Gorbunov presented the LaGG-1 (I-22) fighter for testing, which, after modifications, was launched into a series under the name LaGG-3 (I-301). During its development, Lavochkin for the first time in the USSR used a new especially durable material - delta wood. The conversion of the LaGG to a more powerful Shavrov ASH-82 engine saved the aircraft from being withdrawn from serial production. In September 1942, the first serial La-5s were transferred to the Stalingrad area. A further development of this aircraft was the La-5F, La-5FN, La-7 fighters, which were widely used during the Great Patriotic War.
In the postwar years, under the leadership of the aircraft designer Lavochkin, a number of jet serial and experimental fighters were created, incl. La-160 is the first domestic aircraft with a swept wing and La-176, on which for the first time in the USSR on December 26, 1948, a flight speed equal to the speed of sound was achieved. The La-15 fighter, produced in a small series (500 aircraft), became the last serial aircraft designed by Lavochkin.

On June 9, 1960, Semyon Alekseevich Lavochkin died suddenly of a heart attack at the training ground in Sary-Shagan.

− Mikoyan - the famous designer of MiGs

Artyom Ivanovich Mikoyan was born in 1905.
Soviet aircraft designer, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1968; Corresponding Member 1953), Colonel General of the Engineering Service (1967), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1956, 1957). After serving in the Red Army, he entered (1931) the Air Force Academy of the Red Army. Professor N.E. Zhukovsky (now VVIA). Since 1940, the chief designer of plant No. 1. A.I. Mikoyan is one of the pioneers of jet aviation in the USSR.

After the war, he developed high-speed and supersonic front-line jet aircraft, including the MiG-9, MiG-15, MiG-17 (reaching the speed of sound), MiG-19 (the first serial domestic supersonic fighter), the famous MiG-21 with a delta wing of a thin profile and a flight speed twice the speed of sound. Since December 20, 1956, Mikoyan has been the general designer.

The latest aircraft created under his leadership are the MiG-23 fighter (the first in the USSR with a variable sweep of the entire wing in flight) and the MiG-25 interceptor fighter with a flight speed 3 times the speed of sound.

The famous Soviet aircraft designer of supersonic MiGs, Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan, died in 1970.

− Mikhail Gurevich - creator of the MiG

Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich - a prominent Soviet aircraft designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1964), Hero of Socialist Labor (1957).

Graduated from Kharkov Technological Institute (1925). Engaged in the design and construction of gliders. Since 1929, he worked as a design engineer and team leader in various design bureaus of the aviation industry.

In 1940 A.I. Mikoyan and M.I. Gurevich created the MiG-1 fighter, and then its modification MiG-3.

In 1940-1957. Gurevich - Deputy Chief Designer, in 1957-1964. chief designer at OKB A.I. Mikoyan.

During the war years, he participated in the creation of experimental aircraft, after the war - in the development of high-speed and supersonic front-line fighters, many of which were produced for a long time in large series and were in service with the Air Force.

From 1947, he led the development and creation of cruise missiles at the Design Bureau.

The creator of the legendary MiGs, colleague of Mikoyan, the legendary Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich died in 1976.

− Chetverikov - designer of flying boats

The famous Soviet aircraft designer Igor Vyacheslavovich Chetverikov was born in 1909.

After graduating from the aviation department of the Leningrad Institute of Communications (1928), he worked in the Design Bureau of A.P. Grigorovich, head of the marine department of the PKB (1931), where the MAR-3 flying boat was created.

In 1934-1935. designed and built a light flying boat in two versions: a carrier-based aircraft (OSGA-101) and a folding submarine aircraft (SPL). At the SPL in 1937, several world records were set.

In 1936, he built the ARK-3 Arctic reconnaissance aircraft, on which in 1937 a record for the height of flight with a load was set. Under the leadership of I.V. Chetverikov in 1937-1946. several modifications of the MAP-6 flying boat were produced: Che-2, B-1 - B-5. In 1947 he built the transport amphibian TA.

Since 1948 he worked as a teacher. Soviet aircraft designer Igor Chetverikov died in 1987.

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It is impossible to imagine the modern world without airplanes and flights. Being one of the most important assets among the inventions of mankind, it was born thanks to the frantic desire of man to have wings behind his back. Surely our ancestors dreamed of soaring in the sky. Admiring the birds and spreading their arms, they imagined themselves next to them. Even a child sincerely believes in the existence of fabulous flying devices, truly envying the heroes of magical stories. Dreams came true only after millennia - when a sufficient amount of scientific knowledge was accumulated. The experience gained in the course of many unsuccessful attempts made by the creator of the world's first aircraft and his predecessors has come in handy in our days.

Maholet: the beginning of the journey

Back in the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci was convinced that a person, having overcome air resistance, has every chance of taking to the air. Huge wings can help him in this. Calculations and a detailed study of bird flights prompted him to create such an apparatus as a flywheel. Leonardo da Vinci tried to realize the idea inspired by his usual dragonfly.

Many have heard that the air environment is often called the "fifth ocean", but not everyone can give an explanation for such an eloquent epithet. The history of aeronautics and aviation remembers that among the enthusiasts who wanted to conquer the unknown airspace, there were many captains of sea ships. Perhaps they also sought to explore unexplored spaces, but, putting aside romance, it is worth noting that the sailors had great knowledge in complex technical devices, they knew how to manage large frigates. If necessary, they could easily repair or build a new ship. Therefore, the experience of professional sailors was useful in the process of creating the first self-propelled devices above the ground.

The modern civil society, whose history is rich in many experiments, has gone through feelings of admiration and disappointment, human losses and new opportunities that have opened up.

The appearance of the first gliders

At the beginning of the 19th century, the first non-powered gliders appeared. Imitating birds, the inventors gave their creations a similar shape. However, the first aircraft could not gain a foothold in use, since the desire to lift up incredible inventions for that time was not crowned with success.

They were pushed off a cliff, rolled down hills, dispersed with the help of horses, but no matter how hard the creators tried, they failed to become the authors of the first implemented project in the history of air business, which later acquired the name "aviation".

History remembers in 1857 the first sailor, Jean-Marie Les Bris, who managed to lift a glider into the sky, overcoming a 100-meter height. "Albatross" (as he called his technical miracle), depending on the direction of the wind and the density of air masses, had a chance to fly about 200 meters.

Mozhaisky's success

Russian aviation can be proud of the fact that the admiral of the tsarist fleet was able to design the first aircraft equipped with a steam engine that took off from the surface of the earth with a person on board. The Creator gave him a promising name - "aircraft projectile." The dimensions of the aircraft of that period were impressive: the length of the wings was about 24 meters, the fuselage was about 15 meters. Alexander Mozhaisky - the creator of the world's first aircraft - could not complete the job. But his developments became fundamental in the further development of aeronautics.

Merit of the American Wright Brothers

Anticipating the proximity of success, the best inventors around the world relied on the experience of previous discoverers. Without giving up and being in a continuous search for a suitable idea, they tried to create a lighter flying machine and were confident in the need to supply it with a more powerful engine. However, not everyone thought about the control of a winged device. The main goal was just to take off. Such hindsight cost the life of Otto Lilienthal. In 1896, his glider overturned under the influence of a sharp windy gust, and the apparatus crashed from a height. Therefore, not only famous aircraft designers deserve attention, but also those who were able to submit to the first aircraft.

The Wright brothers, inventors from America, were able to master the most important skills of piloting and maintaining the balance of an aircraft in an air harbor. The advantage of their design was a confident engine running on gasoline. Despite the fact that it did not much resemble a modern aircraft, it rather looked like a flying whatnot, it weighed about 300 kg. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first successful tests of the Flyer took place. After staying in the air for 12 seconds, the Wright brothers gave the green light to the man to master the skies.

early 20th century

For the next few years, the whole world was shocked by the success of the Americans, thanks to which aviation continued its path of development. History mentions flashing newspaper headlines, a bird's eye view of a film shot by a Parisian cameraman, and specialized publications dedicated to aviation achievements. However, the testers of the first aeronautic machines were rightly called daredevils. Russian aviation, according to its representatives, was an uncomfortable and unsafe occupation. For example, in the notes of the famous pilot of that period, Boris Rossinsky, there are essays and memories of flights. Among the unpleasant moments during the flight, he especially remembered smoking oil. The smoky acrid smoke made it impossible to fully breathe, as a result of which the pilot had to apply ammonia to his nose from time to time.

In addition, the lack of brakes forced the aviator to jump out of the cockpit on the go.

Creation of Sikorsky - Russian hero

Several years have passed since the launch of the American Flyer, and on the territory of the Russian Empire, the production of domestic aircraft has already been established at a high level. Then the first passenger aircraft appeared, the creator of which was Fully consistent with its historical name, "Ilya Muromets" was a real giant among its counterparts. In addition, the salon was distinguished by conditions unprecedented until then: several bedrooms, the presence of a toilet and a bathroom, electricity and heating. The Ilya Muromets passed its first practical test in the winter of 1914. Sixteen passengers with a dog on board received a lot of emotions from the flight, after which the plane made a successful landing. Six months later, comfortable aircraft had to take on the role of bombers, participating in the First World War.

Tupolev distance record

The legendary ANT-25 is located in the Chkalovsky museum hangar. Once upon a time, this aircraft was admired and was recognizable thanks to its huge scarlet wings. The great Russian aircraft designer Andrey Tupolev received many awards for his significant contribution to the development of aviation.

A well-known Soviet pilot, in 1937, managed to set a real range record on this device. Subsequently, ANT-25 acquired just such a second name. From Moscow to Vancouver, the distance is about 8.5 thousand kilometers, and Tupolev's aviation brainchild was able to overcome it in one breath.

Il-2 air tank

The Il-2 attack aircraft became famous during the Great Patriotic War. He terrified the Nazis, since he acted as the main air defense of Soviet soldiers over the battlefield. Covering his soldiers with cannons, machine guns and rockets, he led the ground forces forward.

One of its clear advantages was strong armor, allowing it to fend off the attacking fighters of enemy Germany. Due to the power of this aircraft, their release prevailed in quantity over other combat counterparts.

Modest U-2

By the forties of the 20th century, countless leading aircraft designers had created on the territory of the USSR, but not only they were entrusted with the protection of the Soviet sky.

Along with them, aircraft intended for peaceful purposes participated in the battle. Among them, the U-2 occupied a place of honor. This modest training aircraft had two seats, was absolutely not whimsical in use and could land outside the place intended for this purpose. In addition, the aircraft was valued for its maneuverability and quietness. This allowed military pilots to almost silently sneak up on the enemy in the dark and deliver decisive blows.

Having distinguished itself in the battles of 1943, the U-2 received insignia and a new name. In honor of Nikolai Polikarpov, a famous aircraft designer, throughout the entire Soviet space, it was renamed Po-2.

Conclusion

Aviation is multifaceted, the history of which still has many worthy examples and exemplary designs, among which are the best cargo-lifting, civil aircraft and fighters.

It is impossible not to mention the elegant Tu-144 airliner of 1968, the MiG-25 jet fighter, Columbia and Buran orbital planes. An important breakthrough was the use of such strategic devices as unmanned aerial vehicles.

If a person once saw a dream where he flew, the desire to repeat this in real life will never leave him. You can fulfill a dream simply by being a passenger on an airplane, or by receiving the appropriate education in order to sit at the helm in the future, or by becoming the greatest aircraft designer.