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@pmaitra-
interesting history there but the truth is the Ekranoplane was scrapped for one reason only, with the demise of the USSR the Russian navy simply couldn't find the moolah needed to keep these huge multi engined)monsters running(the only ones that kept running are the small single or twin engined ones).
The first large ekranoplane Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev designed was the KM or "korabl-maket". This "ship-prototype" was also the first in a series of Soviet "ekranoplan" ("screen plane") developments .This monster
weighed more than 550tonnes and used no less than 10 Dobryin VD-7 turbojets making it hugely expensive to run.this monster first first took to the air in October 1966; 2 examples were built The first copy suffered from accident in 1969, when the pilot lost the visual horizon and had water impact at high speed, because of the strong fog. The second copy also suffered an accident in 1980 by pilot error and sank in the Caspian Sea, but all the crew were rescued.
While the KM programme was ongoing, Alexeev began work on a medium-sized ekranoplan suitable for military transportation duties. Dubbed A-90 "Orlyonok" ("Eaglet"), the 140 tonne, 58 metre long aircraft had its maiden flight in 1972. The A-90 boasted two turbojets and one turboprop engine which propelled it to a speed of 400 km/h for 1,500 km at an cruise altitude of 5-10 m.
Four flying examples were built, one of which crashed in the Caspian in 1975 and was subsequently rebuilt. The aircraft entered military service in 1979 with three A-90s reportedly still operational in 1993. Thereafter, they were reportedly mothballed at the Kaspiysk naval base on the Caspian.
The 280 tonne, 74 metre long M-160 Lun was another ekranoplan developed from Alexeev designs. One was built in 1987, which entered service in 1989. A second example was under construction when the Soviet Union collapsed and, despite subsequent refitting as a search-and-rescue aircraft, remained unfinished when the authorities effectively pulled the plug on ekranoplan funding.
also The apparent success of these machines hid some very real problems, not least of which were serious stability and control deficiencies, as well as tremendous power requirements to get off the water. Under low flying conditions radar sensors measuring altitude, tilt and velocity of craft trace the variable profile of wave disturbance practically without averaging, thus making it difficult to gauge the motion parameters in relation to the undisturbed level of the sea surface. It is necessary to combine radar with other sensors in order to provide high accuracy. It has a massive turning circle, and is fairly slow to accelerate. Its poor manoeuverability means it cannot turn and run from a fight, and so is a fairly easy target if caught in a confined space, or if surrounded and pushed against the shoreline.
Also alexeyev was not the only soviet ekranoplane designer Robert Ludvigovich Bartini kept designing and testing ekranoplanes for the soviet hierarchy until his death, he was the designer of the bartini -beriev VVA-14(Pic below)
as for alexeyev
P.S- found a kewl pic of the Orlyonok unloading a BTR
Lun Class Ekranoplane - Project 903
In search of the Caspian Sea Monster "¢ The Register
Ekranoplanes
interesting history there but the truth is the Ekranoplane was scrapped for one reason only, with the demise of the USSR the Russian navy simply couldn't find the moolah needed to keep these huge multi engined)monsters running(the only ones that kept running are the small single or twin engined ones).
The first large ekranoplane Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev designed was the KM or "korabl-maket". This "ship-prototype" was also the first in a series of Soviet "ekranoplan" ("screen plane") developments .This monster
weighed more than 550tonnes and used no less than 10 Dobryin VD-7 turbojets making it hugely expensive to run.this monster first first took to the air in October 1966; 2 examples were built The first copy suffered from accident in 1969, when the pilot lost the visual horizon and had water impact at high speed, because of the strong fog. The second copy also suffered an accident in 1980 by pilot error and sank in the Caspian Sea, but all the crew were rescued.
While the KM programme was ongoing, Alexeev began work on a medium-sized ekranoplan suitable for military transportation duties. Dubbed A-90 "Orlyonok" ("Eaglet"), the 140 tonne, 58 metre long aircraft had its maiden flight in 1972. The A-90 boasted two turbojets and one turboprop engine which propelled it to a speed of 400 km/h for 1,500 km at an cruise altitude of 5-10 m.
Four flying examples were built, one of which crashed in the Caspian in 1975 and was subsequently rebuilt. The aircraft entered military service in 1979 with three A-90s reportedly still operational in 1993. Thereafter, they were reportedly mothballed at the Kaspiysk naval base on the Caspian.
The 280 tonne, 74 metre long M-160 Lun was another ekranoplan developed from Alexeev designs. One was built in 1987, which entered service in 1989. A second example was under construction when the Soviet Union collapsed and, despite subsequent refitting as a search-and-rescue aircraft, remained unfinished when the authorities effectively pulled the plug on ekranoplan funding.
also The apparent success of these machines hid some very real problems, not least of which were serious stability and control deficiencies, as well as tremendous power requirements to get off the water. Under low flying conditions radar sensors measuring altitude, tilt and velocity of craft trace the variable profile of wave disturbance practically without averaging, thus making it difficult to gauge the motion parameters in relation to the undisturbed level of the sea surface. It is necessary to combine radar with other sensors in order to provide high accuracy. It has a massive turning circle, and is fairly slow to accelerate. Its poor manoeuverability means it cannot turn and run from a fight, and so is a fairly easy target if caught in a confined space, or if surrounded and pushed against the shoreline.
Also alexeyev was not the only soviet ekranoplane designer Robert Ludvigovich Bartini kept designing and testing ekranoplanes for the soviet hierarchy until his death, he was the designer of the bartini -beriev VVA-14(Pic below)
as for alexeyev
In 1975 during the tests the ekranoplane was sat on stones. Then the pilot switched the blowing-under on, and the machine left on water, flew up, and without any undue incident has reached base. But landing on stones did not pass without consequences. One case of the pre-series "Orlyonok" was made of an alloy K482T1, which is very rigid and strong, but fragile. Probably, the impacts with stones damaged the case, in the tail there were cracks, which were not noticed in the external survey. The next tests were spent at the heavy sea. During a rise from water, from impact of the damaged case about crest of a wave, the tail together with tailwings and mid-flight engine simply fell off. The pilot dumped gas of the start engines. R.E.Alekseyev, who sat in the pilot's cabin too (Main designer personally attended practically all tests), did not become puzzled, took control himself. He set the start engines on the cruiser mode, which kept the ekranoplane from plunging into water (in this case ship would sink, which would be unavoidable, as the tail was not present). This set the "Orlyonok" on the gliding mode and it landed on the coast. The people sitting in the ship got rid by a fright, but for Rostislav Alekseyev, this failure had much heavier consequences. Everyone expected, that Alekseyev would receive the rank of a Hero of the Socialist Labor for creation of ekranoplanes. But instead of the Minister of a ship-building industry B.E.Butoma, already "having a grudge" against Alekseyev for the independence of his character has used failure as the pretext and removed Alekseyev from his post of the Main designer and the CKB chief, by lowering him down to the chief of a department, and then to the chief of perspective sector.
credits for data
P.S- found a kewl pic of the Orlyonok unloading a BTR
Lun Class Ekranoplane - Project 903
In search of the Caspian Sea Monster "¢ The Register
Ekranoplanes
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