Antonov A-1

The Antonov A-1 and related designs were a family of single-seat training gliders produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 40s. All were derived from the Standard-2 (Стандарт-2) (designed and flown by Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov in 1930^[1]), which in turn were derived from the Standard-1.^[2] They were produced in large numbers, with around 5,400 built of the U-s3, U-s4 and P-s2 major versions alone.^[3] The same design formed the basis for the Antonov A-2 and its related group of two-seat designs. Altogether, including the two-seaters, production exceeded 7,600 by 1937.^[4]

While members of the family varied in detail, they shared the same basic design, and parts were interchangeable between them.^[1][5] The design featured a typical primary glider layout with a conventional empennage carried at the end of a long boom in place of a conventional fuselage. The boom could be folded sideways for storage.^[6] The monoplane wing was carried high on a pylon above this "keel" and was further braced to it with two struts either side.^[7] The pilot sat in front of the wing, and was enclosed in a simple U-shaped wooden fairing that was removed by sliding it forward to allow him or her to enter and leave the craft.^[8] The undercarriage consisted of a single skid underneath the "keel", but this could also be fitted with small wooden wheels.^[9]

While the original primary training versions (designated У – "U") featured wings of constant chord,^[7] subsequent variants designed for soaring flight (designated П – "P") had longer-span wings with tapering outer panels and a streamlined nose fairing.^[10] The ultimate development in the line were gliders intended for towed flight (designated Б – "B"), which shared the longer wings and streamlined fairing of the P-types, but added a canopy to enclose the cockpit.^[10]

Unlicenced copies of the P-s2 were produced in Turkey following World War II by THK as the THK-7, and of the U-s4 by THK as the THK-4.^[11]

Variants

In each case, the "s" stands for serii (серии – "series")

Prototypes

Standard-1 (Стандарт-1)

Standard-2 (Стандарт-2)

Uchebnyi (Учебный – "Trainer")

U-s1 (У-с1)

U-s2 (У-с2) - First version built in series^[2]

U-s3 (У-с3) - 1,600 built^[3]

U-s4 (У-с4) - Redesignated A-1 – major production version (3000 built^[3])

Paritel' (Паритель – "Sailplane") aka Upar (Упар, portmanteau of uchebnyi paritel' – учебный паритель – "training sailplane") (800 built^[3])

P-s1 (П-с1)

P-s2 (П-с2)

Buksirovochnye (Буксировочные – "Towed") (265 built by 1937^[4])

B-s3 (Б-с3)

B-s4 (Б-с4)

B-s5 (Б-с5)

Specifications (A-1)

Data from Krasil'shchikov 1991, 230

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Length: 5.60 m (18 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 10.56 m (34 ft 8 in)
• Height: 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 15.6 m² (168 ft²)
• Empty weight: 92 kg (200 lb)
• Gross weight: 164 kg (361 lb)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 70 km/h (40 mph)
• Rate of sink: 1.2 m/s (240 ft/min)

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antonov aircraft.

• "Antonov Oleg Konstantinovich". Central Museum of the Air Force website. Retrieved 2008-10-06. 
• Deniz, Tuncay (2004). Turkish Aircraft Production. Munich: Levent Başara. 
• Krasil'shchikov, Aleksandr Petrovich (1991). Planery SSSR (Gliders of the USSR). Moscow: Moskva Mashinostroyeniye. 
• Sheremetev, Boris Nikolayevich (1959). Planery (Gliders). Moscow: DOSAAF. 
• Shushurin, V.V. (1938). Atlas konstruktzii planerov (Directory of glider construction). Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel'stvo oboronnoi promyshlennosti.