“Flying Saucer” ln Russian Military Museum

[maximus otter]

l have just learned of the existence of the Military-Technical Museum at Chernogolovka, 25 miles from Moscow:

• gorodskoy okrug Chernogolovka, str. 1, Chernogolovka
• +7 916 958-25-59
• gvtm.ru

l mention it because it holds what even the Russians describe as a “Flying Saucer”, though unfortunately not one of extraterrestrial origin.

Here’s what a machine translation of the museum’s own website says:

“Amphibious aerodromeless highly economical aircraft of a new type "EKIP" (flying saucer).

The human dream has amazing power. Years, tens of years may pass, but dream, perseverance and work will still lead to the intended goal. The creation of the EKIP aircraft is another vivid example of a person's dream of free flight, another achievement of Russian scientists, specialists in the aviation and rocket and space industries. The amphibious non-aerodrome highly efficient aircraft of a new type was named EKIP, short for ecology. and "progress". It was developed in the 80-90s by the leading domestic industry enterprises, as they say, all over the world: Saratov Aviation Plant, Aviation Concern EKIP, NPP Triumph, RSC Energia named after S.P. Korolev, MKB Progress, NPO Saturn, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (FSUE TsAGI) named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky, Research Institute "Geodesy" and other enterprises. After a complex of theoretical and experimental studies, full-scale automatically controlled vehicles EKIP L2-1 and EKIP L2-2 were manufactured. In 2001, the project was stopped due to lack of funding.

Flying saucers of the EKIP family are fundamentally new aircraft with unique performance characteristics. They are designed to carry passengers and goods.”

http://xn--b1ab2ax.xn--p1ai/exhibits/exhibits_36.html

Etc.

lf you happen to be passing, it might be worth a look.

maximus otter

 

[Trevp666]

Yes, I remember seeing film of tests of a flying model of one of these (the item pictured might be the actual thing).

 

[EnolaGaia]

In case the EKIP configuration is confusing ... The large central section is actually part of a radically "fat" aerodynamic structure that generates lift. Here's a cutaway model of the EKIP concept from the early 1990s. As you can see it has stubby winglets on either side and a tail section.

The hypothesis was that the central bulging area could generate considerable lift and allow EKIP type aircraft to be much larger than conventional aircraft.

 

[Trevp666]

It wasn't only hypothetical, it worked, as the test flights on the models proved. It had reasonably stable flight characteristics too, but I think it's likely that the unconventional design was not considered acceptable to the mainstream, so it never got developed into a full scale aircraft.
I expect also that as it was a 'sea plane' design that that went against it.

 

[maximus otter]

Its name - “EKIP” - leads me to wonder whether its design/ purpose was somehow linked to the Ekranoplan, an advanced seaplane that the Russians developed, then abandoned.

FTMB has a thread on it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lun-class_ekranoplan

maximus otter

 

[EnolaGaia]

Its name - “EKIP” - leads me to wonder whether its design/ purpose was somehow linked to the Ekranoplan, an advanced seaplane that the Russians developed, then abandoned. ...

Since you asked ... No, the two labels aren't related.

EKIP:

EKIP (translated from ЭКИП, the Russian acronym for "Экология и Прогресс," which means "Ecology and Progress"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKIP

Ekranoplan:

The vehicle came to be known as an ekranoplan (Russian: экранопла́н, экран screen + план plane, from Russian: эффект экрана, literally screen effect, or ground effect in English).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-effect_vehicle

 

[Analogue Boy]

In case the EKIP configuration is confusing ... The large central section is actually part of a radically "fat" aerodynamic structure that generates lift. Here's a cutaway model of the EKIP concept from the early 1990s. As you can see it has stubby winglets on either side and a tail section.

View attachment 50629​

The hypothesis was that the central bulging area could generate considerable lift and allow EKIP type aircraft to be much larger than conventional aircraft.

Irwin Allen did it better.

 

[RaM]

If you search "lifting body's aircraft " assorts of wonderful aircraft come up.

 

[Kondoru]

But do they work?

And thats not just concerns over lack of conservatism in design

 

[RaM]

They do work but I suspect they are not for the faint hearted.

 

[RaM]

Ground effect can be fun, it can happen with normal aircraft when it is about 1/3rd
the wing span above the surface, had it once in a Cessna bloody thing just floated
across the airfield taking sod all notice of efforts to make it land, common sense
tool hold in the end and we shoved the throttle open and did another circuit.