16:11 2001-12-15
Amphibian
Aircraft for your information!
THE AMPHIBIAN PLANE OF NEW GENERATION DEVELOPED IN RUSSIA
The construction of the largest amphibian aircraft is coming to its end at the
shipyard Volga, which is on the outskirts of the city of Nizhni Novgorod. The
construction process is top secret the new aircraft does not have any
analogues in the world and it is already considered to be an aircraft of the new
generation. The technical parameters of the plane are unique; the cost of the
project is some $90 million.
The unique development of the Nizhni Novgorod designers has not been exposed to
the public for long. The correspondents of Itogi magazine visited the shipyard
Volga and saw the new creation with their own eyes the new vessel-plane that
is called Spasatel (Rescuer).
There is no definite answer to the question, what an airfoil boat is whether
it is a flying ship or a sailing plane. Even Rostislav Alekseyev, a well known
Russian designer, the founder of the airfoil boat technology, does not know the
answer himself. Vladimir Kirillovyh the chairman of the Russian Central Design
Bureau, believes that airfoil boats are the low-flying machines, which use the
effect of a screen. A screen a large reflecting surface - is necessary to make
such a plane take off. A screen can be a water surface, a snow field or any
other smooth ground surface.
The paradox is that the idea of such an aircraft was born during the Soviet era,
but they were not developed for some reason, although seemed that they had would
have a bight future. Dmitry Ustinov, who was in charge of the defense industry
in 1961, arrived to see the tests of the first airfoil boat SM-1. The senior
official was so surprised with that project that he managed to convince the
leadership of the country to launch the series production of the plane for army
purposes. In 1962 the Central Design Bureau was working on a battle amphibian
plane, weighing 450 tons. Two years after the scientists were working on another
amphibian airfoil machine for commandos - T-1. A Caspian monster amphibian was
ready in 1966. This machine was 100 meters long and could develop the speed of
520 kilometers per hour. In spite of such a big size, an airfoil machine can
flying very low above the water and can not be noticed by the radars or ABM
systems of the enemy. Vladimir Kirillovyh remembers a story about it: The
testing flight of the Caspian Monster above the water was fixed by an American
spy satellite. About 30 NASA and Pentagon generals studied the photographs very
attentively. Twenty-seven of them claimed it was a fake that the Russian were
bluffing, and only three NASA specialists asserted, the Russians had developed a
principally new and very efficient weapon.
The new plan for creation of a new kind of defense hardware appeared at the
Russian Defense Ministry in 1992. It was about the invention of some defense
technology, which would not be meant for carrying the lethal weapon, but for
humanitarian goals: searching for the missing people, saving those, who suffer a
disaster at sea. This is where the idea of Spasatel comes from. The new
amphibian airfoil machine was ordered by the Russian navy. The developers of
Spasatel experienced a serious lack of funding during all those years and in the
middle of the 90s the project was wrapped up.
A series of tragic events the sunken submarines, the planes, which fell into
the sea and others showed that there was a strong need in the new rescue
means. It was decided to deal with the old project again and to construct a
mobile multifunctional amphibian plane, capable of covering several hundreds of
kilometers within minutes, land on the water or ice, start the rescue operation.
Spasatel was born again, so to speak.
This is what Vladimir Kirillovyh had to say about his new creation: Spasatel
can develop the speed of 550 kilometers per hour, its tonnage is 400 tons, the
flight distance up to three thousand kilometers. It can fly at the height of
about three thousand meters, consuming less fuel, than a regular plane does.
Spasatel can slide above the water at the height of 1-4 meters, it can take off
and land during a strong storm.
It is planned, there can be a hospital organized inside Spasatel (the machine is
73 meters long and 44 meters wingspan) with an operating-room and a reanimation
room. As the specialists of the Central Design Bureau say, Spasatel may launch
the new era for the rescue services, since hundreds of vessels suffer disasters
at sea every year, thousands of people die just because the help arrives too
late. The rescue planes that are commonly used in the rescue operations are far
from being sufficient - they can only drop rafts on the water. The new amphibian
machines help to solve many problems at once. Despite the advantages of
time-saving and speed, there will be the special equipment installed to search
for the people, who suffer a disaster. A stormy wind, or a high wave is not a
problem for such a machine in this case it will be like a bob. Spasatel can
take off, having 500 people on board. It can just take 700 or 800 people aboard
without taking off and wait for another rescue team to arrive.
Vladimir Kirillovyh thinks that Russia is 20 years ahead of other countries in
terms of this technology. Of course, Spasatel will not be able to save from all
catastrophes and disasters it can quickly arrive to help those, who life is
counted in minutes.