Eklenoplan "Orlyonok": description, purpose, tactical and technical characteristics

The Ekranoplan "Orlyonok" is an aircraft with unique properties. Its creation from the moment of origin of the idea to the forced termination of works is one of the little-known because of the secrecy, but very interesting pages of the history of technology.

Why appeared ekranoplans

The development of technology is primarily a struggle for speed. It is fueled by competition, often brutal, and forces designers to look for new, sometimes unexpected solutions.

Speed, one of the most important qualities of water transport, was limited by insufficient engine power and hydrodynamic resistance of the hull, which increased with speed. And if the first problem was solved using more powerful engines, then it was possible to get rid of the second, only coming out of the water. So there were gliders, hovercraft, then underwater wings and, finally, ekranoplans. Not for nothing was the designer of the ekranoplan "Eaglet" was RE Alekseev, a famous Soviet designer of hydrofoil ships.

In order for the aircraft to be able to move at high speed on the boundary between two environments - water and air - many technical problems had to be solved.

First, it was necessary to ensure their stability during the flight to extremely small, up to two meters, heights. Secondly, the task was to simultaneously ensure a low weight of the structure and its strength when striking the crest of the wave at speeds up to 400 km / h.

Thirdly, it was necessary to find materials that are light and resistant to sea water, while traditional shipbuilding materials are heavy, and aviation quickly corrodes. The fourth major challenge was the creation of light, but powerful engines, not afraid of splashing salty sea water.

Ekranoplan "Orlyonok" became an aircraft, in which the design idea embodied the solution of these and other, no less serious tasks.

Installation series of ekranoplans

The aircraft with a screen effect (the airflow is thrown back by the wing, reflected from the surface of water or land, and strikes the wing, thereby increasing the lifting force) was designed for the navy as a transport-landing equipment.

From the idea to the first sample the path was long - more than ten years.

The first flight tests began in 1972 on the Volga. Then the landing ekranoplan "Orlyonok" was sent to the Caspian Sea, where flights continued over the sea. The tests confirmed the remarkable flying and technical qualities of the novelty.

The first two samples were intended for testing and after them were sent for scrapping, one after the accident. Three ekranoplans with serial numbers C-21, C-25 and C-26, built in 1977, 1980 and 1983, were part of the 11th separate air group directly subordinate to the General Staff of Naval Aviation and were written off in 2007.

Such aircraft should have been much larger, it was planned to build another 120 cars. Then their number dropped to 24, and after the change of leadership of the Ministry of Defense the program was completely closed.

In the summer of 2007, from the base in Kaspiisk, the best-preserved ekranoplan with the serial number S-26 was delivered to Moscow, it became an exhibit in the Navy museum, and later was taken to a private museum in the Khimki reservoir.

Design and purpose of the ekranoplan

Orlyonok is capable of transferring naval troops in the number of two hundred armed infantrymen or two floating armored vehicles (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers) with crews up to 1,500 kilometers at speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour. At the same time the A-90 ekranoplan "Orlyonok" is able to take off at a wave height of up to two meters, without losing stability, and to overcome anti-landing (mine and network) barriers through the air.

The basic tactical and technical characteristics include a flight altitude above the screen from half a meter to ten meters, with a maximum flight altitude of 3000 m. The maximum take-off weight is 140 tons, of which 20 are cargo.

The overall length is 58.1 m, the height with the propeller in the parking lot is 16 m, the wing span is 31.5 m, its area is 304 m 2, the cargo compartment is 21 × 3.2 × 3 m.

A special power connector allows you to flip the bow to the right with the crew cabin. A ramp is being pushed, along which personnel and equipment quickly descend.

"Eaglet" is a low-wing with three engines, a fuselage-boat and a tail emblem in the form of the letter "T". The main material of the construction is an alloy of aluminum and magnesium AMG61. Radio transparent surfaces are made of composite materials. From corrosion protect special coatings and electrochemical protectors.

The fuselage and chassis of the ekranoplan

In the fuselage with a beam-stringer power structure, there is a cabin and a rest room for the crew (commander, co-pilot, navigator, mechanic, radio operator, shooter, two technicians), compartments with radio-electronic and radio communication equipment, auxiliary power unit and other on-board units, Compartment with mooring units.

In the cockpit of the pilot's cabin there is an emergency hatch, and on the sides of the hull above the wing there are doors for the crew.

On the bottom of the boat, a system of longitudinal and lateral versions is made, one is attached to the nose, and in the area of the center of mass there is a second hydroplaning.

The chassis consists of a ten-wheel main and two-wheeled nasal support. In the retracted position, the chassis is partly covered by hydraulic levers. The chassis design, ski-cushioning device and blowing allow the ekranoplan to move on any soil, ice and snow.

Wing and tail

To lift a heavy machine above the water surface, not only the wing span, but also its aerodynamic configuration with a large angle of attack, a small elongation and a sweep of 15 ° is important. Floats at the ends play the role of gliding and aerodynamic washers. The aileron flaps and start flaps change the take-off position in such a way that reactive gas jets from the starting engines fall under the wing, they can not escape from under it, and due to their increased pressure, the eagle-plane "Orlyonok" rises from the water.

The tail is designed to improve the stability and controllability of the ekranoplan. A large stabilizer with four-section elevator controls provides a stable flight. On the vertical tail, which is a single unit with the fuselage, a marching engine is installed, in which at such a height do not get water splashes during take-off and landing.

Power point

To provide tactical and technical characteristics, in particular, cruising speed, the main power plant consists of three engines: a turboprop turbine, whose capacity is 15 thousand hp, and two starting turbofans.
Starting engines have a limited service life, they are switched on only during take-off, their swivel nozzles allow directing gas jets under the wing during takeoff, and on horizontal traction during acceleration to cruising speed. Their air intakes give the bow a peculiar look: they are in front of the cockpit of the cockpit again, so that they do not get a splash of water. To start the starting engines is the auxiliary power plant EA-6A.

The propulsion engine drives the pulling screws with four blades. Their diameter is six meters.

Armament and equipment

The Ekranoplan "Orlyonok" is equipped with a navigation complex "Ekran" with an observation radar; Automatic flight control system; Hydraulic system for driving the steering surfaces, mechanization of the wing, operation of the hydraulics and chassis, turning the tilting part of the fuselage; The electric system for power of flight-navigation, radio-communication and electrotechnical equipment.

Marine navigation lights and anchor-towing accessories as on any ship.
The main armament of the ekranoplan is the twin machine-gun "Utes" with a caliber of 12.7 mm, which is installed in a rotating tower.

Advantages of the ekranoplan "Eaglet"

If compared with an aircraft of comparable payload and take-off weight, the fuel consumption of the ekranoplan is significantly lower if it is possible to fly at high altitude for a long time. Another aspect of the economic efficiency of Orlyonka is that expensive large airfields, for which large areas are taken out of land use, are not needed.

For military purposes, the advantage over aircraft is radar concealment at a low altitude of flight.

Compared with hydrofoil ships, the ekranoplan has a much smaller crew size, and the cruising speed is many times greater.

Safety and amphibianity, for which the landing craft "Orlyonok" was intended, provide landing with considerable excitement at sea, as well as in shallow water and ice, on the ground of any complexity.

Maneuverability, a long range of action, detachment from the shielding surface at low speed, significant load capacity and resistance to combat damage complement the complex of unique capabilities of the vehicle.

Yes, the project was unique, and it had great opportunities, but ... dreams were not meant to come true. What is the fault, the cost of the ekranoplan "Eaglet" (at the end of the last century, the amount of three hundred million rubles was announced to bring a new model to the flying condition), too high rates for state programs or the lack of modern materials and equipment, but even in a peaceful life Unclaimed, despite interesting developments on its basis.