Engineering:Rafaelyants RAF-1
| RAF-1 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Ultralight aircraft |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Designer | Aram Rafaelyants |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 7 September 1925 |
The Rafaelyants RAF-1 was a Soviet single-seat, single-engine ultralight aircraft built and flown in 1925.
Development
The RAF-1 was the first aircraft built by Aram Nazarovich Rafaelyants, then a student at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy.[1] Design of the aircraft began in mid 1923. It was supposed to be inexpensive to operate and easy to manufacture and repair. The aircraft was an single-seat low-wing cantilever monoplane of wood and fabric construction powered by a 18 hp (13 kW) Blackburne Tomtit engine. It had wooden undercarriage.
Construction was completed by 25 August 1925 and the aircraft was assembled at Khodynka Aerodrome. The RAF-1 was first flown on 7 September 1925. Later it also made successful flights near Feodosia and Koktebel in a glider competition.[2] Testing was complete by 23 March 1926. The RAF-1 performed well and its performance was comparable to the de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird.[3][4]
Specifications
Data from The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Length: 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 12.6 m2 (136 sq ft)
- Airfoil: Prandtl 426[2]
- Empty weight: 175 kg (386 lb)
- Gross weight: 273 kg (602 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Blackburne Tomtit air-cooled V-twin engine, 13 kW (18 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 105 km/h (65 mph, 57 kn) at sea level
- Endurance: 4.5 hours[2]
- Service ceiling: 3,250 m (10,660 ft)
References
- ↑ Shavrov, V. B. (1986) (in ru). Istoriya konstruktsiy samoletov v SSSR do 1938 g. (3rd ed.). Moscow: Mashinostroenie. pp. 452.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Avietka VNO Akademii V.F." (in ru). Samolet (12): 28. 1925.
- ↑ "Avietka VNO VVA konstruktsii Rafaelyantsa" (in ru). Samolet (5): 30. 1926.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gunston, Bill (1995). The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995. Osprey. pp. 314. ISBN 1 85532 405 9.
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