Lun-class ekranoplan

Electric power: Two 200 kW (268 shp) gas turbines
Endurance: 5 days
Draft: 2.5 m (8.2 ft)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lun
Type	Ekranoplan
Manufacturer
Primary user	Soviet Navy
Number built	1

The Lun-class (Russian: "Hen Harrier") (NATO reporting name: "Utka") (Russian: "Duck") ekranoplan was an extremely unusual aircraft used by the Soviet & Russian navies from 1987 to sometime in the late '90s. Wing-in-ground-effect aircraft use the extra lift of their large wings when in proximity to the surface (about one to four meters).

The sole vessel of her class, MD-160 entered service with the Black Sea Fleet 1987. Eight JSC Motorostroitel NK-37 turbojets were mounted on forward-located canards, each delivering 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) of thrust. MD-160 had a flying boat-like hull with a large deflecting plate at the bottom of the hull to provide a "step" for takeoff.

[edit] Specifications (Lun)

General characteristics

Crew: 6 officers, 9 enlisted men
Length: 73.8 m (242 ft)
Wingspan: 44 m (142 ft)
Height: 19.2 m (63 ft)
Empty weight: 286 tons ()
Loaded weight: 350 tons ()
Powerplant: 8× JSC Motorostroitel NK-37 turbojet, 127.4 kN (28,600 lb_f) each