Many dreamed in their childhood to lift a combat fighter or a multi-ton passenger liner into the air. Unfortunately, not all our desires are destined to come true, and the dream of heaven is no exception. But for failed pilots, there is still an opportunity to sit at the helm. It is provided to them by sports planes.
What is sports aviation
It is also called initial training aviation, or flying club. Sports aviation serves to establish the initial flying skills for beginners and is a separate sports discipline within which aerobatics competitions are held between real aces. In Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, sports aviation was in a deplorable state, but today it is gradually beginning to revive. Yak is a sports aircraft, which is the main one for our small aviation. Yak-52, Yak-54, Yak-55, Yak18-T are used. We also have sports aircraft SU-26 and AN-2, which is mainly used in parachuting. From foreign cars, the Cessna-172 and Piper PA-28 Warrior can be distinguished.
All flying clubs in Russia are private. In this regard, the lion's share of flights is made for commercial purposes. So, today the service is very popular - an entertaining flight on a sports plane. Basically, such flights are carried out on the Yak-52 and Yak-54. To fly, it is not necessary to be a member of an flying club - you can purchase an aircraft and, if you have a private pilot's license, fly on your own. Unfortunately, in Russia the infrastructure and legal framework for private flights are at an extremely low level of development.
What a good sports aircraft should look like
There are basic requirements that sports aircraft must meet. They must be light and at the same time withstand significant aerodynamic loads, they must be easy to pilot and have the ability to carry out long-term flight with overloads. There are aerobatic planes. They are specially designed for aerobatic competitions and have higher strength and maneuverability than their counterparts. The speed of a sports aircraft can reach 250 to 500 km/h, non-stop flight - from 500 to 1000 km, and they can climb up to 6000 meters.
There are special requirements that must be observed when designing aerobatic aircraft.
- Aircraft requirements define the very appearance of the aircraft, determine how much it will weigh, what the wing geometry will be, etc.
- Layout requirements determine the pilot's landing and visibility from the cockpit, they also set the characteristics that the aircraft must have when stalling into a tailspin.
- Enginemust necessarily work uninterruptedly under significant loads associated with the performance of aerobatic maneuvers. At the same time, engine control should be simplified as much as possible so as not to distract the pilot from complex maneuvering.
- The control panel must not be overloaded with appliances. Flights are always carried out in favorable weather, with good visibility, so extra equipment will only distract the pilot's attention.
- The design of the aircraft provides for extremely simple assembly and disassembly of the aircraft, good maintainability, flexible refueling and payload capabilities.
To build a sports plane, you need to consider many factors. Despite its apparent simplicity, this is a complex, in many ways perfect machine.
A bit of history
Everything in our country began in 1923 with the ANT-1 monoplane (Tupolev Design Bureau), a little later, in 1927, the AIR-1 biplane (Yakovlev Design Bureau) joined it. In the 30s, it was Yakovlev's sports aircraft that were mainly used for pilot training. At the same time, Gribovsky's planes and the famous U-2 Polikarpov appeared. In the 60s, the Yak-18PM took off for the first time, which showed excellent speed and flight qualities at the 1962 and 1964 World Championships. In 1966, our pilots won medals of all possible merits, not only men, but also women, and the Yak-18PM received the title of the best aircraft in the world championship.
The Yakovlev design bureau did not stop there and developed the Yak-30, a two-seat jet training aircraft. Furtherfollowed by a single Yak-32, which was equipped with a catapult. This wonderful aircraft set 2 speed records in the 60s. In 73, the famous Yak-50 was created. This aircraft brought many medals to Soviet athletes. The Yak-52 was developed to replace it, but it had some design flaws. In 1981, these shortcomings were eliminated in the Yak-55, which turned out to be very successful and is still popular with aviators.
In 1985, the Sukhoi Design Bureau creates a compact sports aircraft SU-26. The SU is much smaller in size than the Yak, and has greater maneuverability and speed, which allows it to perform aerobatic maneuvers faster and more accurately. It should be noted that carbon fiber was used in this aircraft for the first time in the world, which made it lighter and much more resistant to stress.
What is aerobatics?
This concept was born in the sky of war. Initially, aerobatic maneuvers were used to more effectively defeat the enemy in the air. Now it is primarily sports, demonstrations of both combat and sports aviation and, of course, training beginners in the sky.
Everything starts with simple figures, such as a spiral or a slide, that even a new pilot can perform. Further, more complex figures are studied, such as a barrel, a turn on a hill, various loops and, of course, a corkscrew. With such maneuvers, the pilot experiences overloads of 3g. It should be noted that aerobatics are performed at high altitude in order to achievemaximum security. And of course, no aircraft can be compared with a sports aerobatic aircraft in terms of speed and entertainment of the elements.
