R.E. Alexeev at work (shown during Ekranoplan TV documentary)

Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeev (December 18, 1916, Novozybkov, Bryansk Oblast, Imperial Russia – February 9, 1980, Nizhny Novgorod, USSR) was a designer of highspeed shipbuilding. He invented and designed the world's first Ekranoplans. His work has been compared to that of A.N. Tupolev in aviation and S.P. Korolev in space flight. An ekranoplan (Russian: , literally screen plane) is a vehicle resembling an aircraft, but operating solely on the principle of ground effect. ... In the Gregorian Calendar, December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Novozybkov is a historical city of Russia in Bryansk Oblast. ... Bryansk Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: ), colloquially shortened as Nizhny and also transliterated into English as Nizhniy Novgorod or Nizhni Novgorod or Nizhnii Novgorod, is the fourth largest city of Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. ... An ekranoplan (Russian: , literally screen plane) is a vehicle resembling an aircraft, but operating solely on the principle of ground effect. ... Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (Russian: ; November 10, 1888 – December 23, 1972) was a pioneering Russian aircraft designer. ... Aviation refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for atmospheric flight. ... Sergei Korolyov at the Kapustin Yar firing range in 1953. ... ISS in earth orbit. ...

Hydrofoil ships

Alexeev was the first to create high speed ships on the so-called low submerged underwater wings, the most popular ones beings passenger ships "Raketa", "Volga", "Meteor", "Kometa", "Burevestnik" with passenger capacity up to 150 persons and cruising speed up to 100 km/h. Raketa (Russian: ) was the first type of hydrofoil boats commercially produced in the Soviet Union. ... The Meteor, a unique boat of the experimental Whaleback design. ...

Ekranoplans

Alexeev revolutionised the ship-building industry (though in secrecy) by inventing crafts that use ground effect, whereby (in very simple terms) a wing traveling close to the ground is provided with extra lift by the "cushion" of air compressed under it - thereby enabling a combination of greater aircraft weight for less power and/or enhanced fuel economy. Men from Francisco de Orellanas expedition building a small brigantine, the San Pedro, to be used in the search for food Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. ... A Ground effect vehicle (GEV) refers to an aircraft that takes advantage of the aerodynamic principle of the Wing-in-ground effect (a form of ground effect). ...

Alexeev's "Caspian sea monster", the KM

The KM or "korabl-maket", the largest ekranoplan ever built, was one of the first very successful vehicles designed by Alexeev and built by his Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau. The KM was intended as a test platform to examine the possibilities of the "Wing In Ground" (WIG) effect. Image File history File links Ekranoplan. ... Image File history File links Ekranoplan. ... An ekranoplan (Russian: , literally screen plane) is a vehicle resembling an aircraft, but operating solely on the principle of ground effect. ... A Ground effect vehicle (GEV) refers to an aircraft that takes advantage of the aerodynamic principle of the Wing-in-ground effect (a form of ground effect). ...

The KM, powered by eight Dobryin VD-7 turbojets on the front of the fuselage, and two on the tail for extra thrust during take-off, first took to the air in October 1966. During its extensive test career, it was continually modified. The wingspan was altered to between 32m and 40m, and the length varied from 92m to 106m.^[1] Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engine. ... The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ...

The KM crashed in 1980, apparently due to the pilot ill-advisedly attempting to take off without giving it full throttle. An attempt to recover the leviathan from the depths was thwarted by its vast weight. 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 a cruise altitude of 5-10 m. In an engine, the throttle is the mechanism by which the engines power is increased or decreased. ... The A-90 Orlyonok (Russian: Орлёнок, English: Eaglet) is a Soviet ekranoplan that was designed by Alexeev Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau. ...

Death & Legacy

After the crash of the KM, Soviet military heads used the incident as an excuse to remove Alexeev from the ekranolan projects. He spent the rest of his life away from scientific work, concentrating mostly on sports. He died in 1980. The Military of the Soviet Union was the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from their establishment, before the USSR itself was formed, by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918, to the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. ... An ekranoplan (Russian: , literally screen plane) is a vehicle resembling an aircraft, but operating solely on the principle of ground effect. ...

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the details of Alexeev's work became known to public and generated a lot of interest from around the world. He is now generally considered as the father of Ground effect vehicle design. Several documentaries have shown details of his work (including the KM), most recently on Russia Today channel on March 13, 2007^[2] A Ground effect vehicle (GEV) refers to an aircraft that takes advantage of the aerodynamic principle of the Wing-in-ground effect (a form of ground effect). ... Russia Today TV, more often known as Russia Today is a global news channel from Russia that broadcasts in English and is owned by Russian news agency RIA-Novosti. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ...

References