The aircraft appears to be Soviet and similar to
Designed by World War I aviator Konstantin Kalinin with a wingspan greater
than a B-52's and a much greater wing area, the K-7 was one of the biggest
aircraft built before the jet age. It was only one engine short of the B-52
as well, having the curious arrangement of six pulling on the wing leading
edge and one pushing at the rear.
The K-7's very brief first flight showed up instability and serious
vibration caused by the airframe resonating with the engine frequency. The
solution to this 'flutter' was thought to be to shorten and strengthen the
tail booms, little being known then about the natural frequencies of
structures and their response to vibration. On the 11th flight, during a
speed test, the port tailboom vibrated, fractured, jammed the elevator and
caused the giant aircraft to plough into the ground, killing 15.
Undaunted by this disaster, Kalinin's team began construction of two further
K-7s in a new factory, but the vicissitudes of Stalin's Russia saw the
project abandoned, and in 1938 the arrest and execution of Kalinin on
trumped up espionage and sabotage charges.
Seems they knew how to deal with their FEMA types.
"Blondie" wrote in message
news
Hello All,
Downloaded these pics and was wondering if this aircraft actually existed.
By the looks of its' mammoth size I think it is actually a very detailed
drawing. It looks like it has a wingspan wider than the Spruce Goose!
If this were an actual aircraft that had been constructed I am sure it
would have been in many TV documentaries.
Yello
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