By: Ja Worsley
- 22nd June 2004 at 19:32Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Art: please correct me if I'm wrong (which I probably am) but the WIGE craft can also fly across land as well can't they? Much the same as a very high floating hovercraft or a very low flying plane!
Mo taken this into account would the Russians have moved the craft from Gorky down to the Crimea at night when all prying eyes were asleep and if they happen to have heard it and rushed to see what it was making the noise, then the shape would belie a plane flying low, right?
New
Posts: 103
By: Sammie
- 22nd June 2004 at 20:42Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Art: please correct me if I'm wrong (which I probably am) but the WIGE craft can also fly across land as well can't they? Much the same as a very high floating hovercraft or a very low flying plane!
Yes given that the land should be flat, the dynamic air cusion should not be disrupted. The C class WIGs can fly outside the groundeffect, 14M1P should be such a WIG. The KM, Orlyonk and Lun could fly over less flat terrains, like snow.
By: Arthur
- 22nd June 2004 at 22:00Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I have no doubt the terrain between Gorkii and the Caspian Sea is flat enough for an ekranoplan to ekrane over. But it is F-A-R. I've driven it... Along the Volga river, it's about 3000 kilometres, not quite the distance for a hush-hush ferry. Ah well, i guess they must have been disassembled and transported by barge (there are incidentally very, very large barges rowing gently down the Volga stream). Besides, a 200 metres long 'aircraft' flying lower than 100 metres, with a big bubble of overpressurised air beneath it's wings... not only would it be very hard to mistake something like that for a regulair aircraft, i'm also curious what would happen to little Volodya who just happened to be walking right under the KM's flightpath. At best, his ears will hurt a whole lot...
As for the dump at Taganrog: yes, there were parts of the Be-1 and of a VVA-14 there back in 1996, as well as a few other WIG-like pieces of metal (speedboats with wings, stuff like that). But there were also much bigger parts i have yet to identify. Most impressive was a large box-like forward fuselage, looking roughly like the forward part of a C-119 fuselage, only bigger and with a more square central-section. The pictures were unfortunately seized (the ones with the factory's DOSAAF-Wilgas were considered fit for public consumption :rolleyes: ).
By: Flanker_man
- 23rd June 2004 at 12:26Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
But there were also much bigger parts i have yet to identify. Most impressive was a large box-like forward fuselage, looking roughly like the forward part of a C-119 fuselage, only bigger and with a more square central-section. The pictures were unfortunately seized (the ones with the factory's DOSAAF-Wilgas were considered fit for public consumption :rolleyes: ).
It wasn't this one was it Art ?? :-
Although why it would be at Taganrog I don't know - I think these were taken at Nizhni Novgorod and show an A-90 being broken up.
By: Arthur
- 23rd June 2004 at 17:12Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Nope, it wasn't an Orlyonok. The cross-section is about right (bit smaller than the A90 if my memory is correct), but since it was a nose/cockpit section it was pretty obvious - no intakes! Also, the piece at the Taganrog dump had a much more square cross-section, not the curved top like the Orlyonok's fuselage.
It could well have been little more than a cockpit/bridge mockup, to be dragged across the Sea of Azov at high speeds to see what operating such a large vessel is like. Considering the Beriev dump is right next to the taxiway going to the water ramp, and only metres away from the sea.
New
Posts: 1,180
By: Blackcat
- 2nd July 2004 at 23:03Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
and hope this new design will see service in future ..... and was not that Gaint one intended to carry 1,000 Soviet marines ...
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Posts: 1,180
By: Blackcat
- 2nd July 2004 at 23:17Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
one more picture of Be-2500, resized image from beriev's site
Posts: 6,208
By: Ja Worsley - 22nd June 2004 at 19:32 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Art: please correct me if I'm wrong (which I probably am) but the WIGE craft can also fly across land as well can't they? Much the same as a very high floating hovercraft or a very low flying plane!
Mo taken this into account would the Russians have moved the craft from Gorky down to the Crimea at night when all prying eyes were asleep and if they happen to have heard it and rushed to see what it was making the noise, then the shape would belie a plane flying low, right?
Posts: 103
By: Sammie - 22nd June 2004 at 20:42 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes given that the land should be flat, the dynamic air cusion should not be disrupted. The C class WIGs can fly outside the groundeffect, 14M1P should be such a WIG. The KM, Orlyonk and Lun could fly over less flat terrains, like snow.
Posts: 7,877
By: Arthur - 22nd June 2004 at 22:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I have no doubt the terrain between Gorkii and the Caspian Sea is flat enough for an ekranoplan to ekrane over. But it is F-A-R. I've driven it... Along the Volga river, it's about 3000 kilometres, not quite the distance for a hush-hush ferry. Ah well, i guess they must have been disassembled and transported by barge (there are incidentally very, very large barges rowing gently down the Volga stream). Besides, a 200 metres long 'aircraft' flying lower than 100 metres, with a big bubble of overpressurised air beneath it's wings... not only would it be very hard to mistake something like that for a regulair aircraft, i'm also curious what would happen to little Volodya who just happened to be walking right under the KM's flightpath. At best, his ears will hurt a whole lot...
As for the dump at Taganrog: yes, there were parts of the Be-1 and of a VVA-14 there back in 1996, as well as a few other WIG-like pieces of metal (speedboats with wings, stuff like that). But there were also much bigger parts i have yet to identify. Most impressive was a large box-like forward fuselage, looking roughly like the forward part of a C-119 fuselage, only bigger and with a more square central-section. The pictures were unfortunately seized (the ones with the factory's DOSAAF-Wilgas were considered fit for public consumption :rolleyes: ).
Posts: 3,652
By: Flanker_man - 23rd June 2004 at 12:26 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It wasn't this one was it Art ?? :-
Although why it would be at Taganrog I don't know - I think these were taken at Nizhni Novgorod and show an A-90 being broken up.
Ken
Posts: 7,877
By: Arthur - 23rd June 2004 at 17:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Nope, it wasn't an Orlyonok. The cross-section is about right (bit smaller than the A90 if my memory is correct), but since it was a nose/cockpit section it was pretty obvious - no intakes! Also, the piece at the Taganrog dump had a much more square cross-section, not the curved top like the Orlyonok's fuselage.
It could well have been little more than a cockpit/bridge mockup, to be dragged across the Sea of Azov at high speeds to see what operating such a large vessel is like. Considering the Beriev dump is right next to the taxiway going to the water ramp, and only metres away from the sea.
Posts: 1,180
By: Blackcat - 2nd July 2004 at 23:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
and hope this new design will see service in future ..... and was not that Gaint one intended to carry 1,000 Soviet marines ...
Posts: 1,180
By: Blackcat - 2nd July 2004 at 23:17 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
one more picture of Be-2500, resized image from beriev's site