This is one of the weirdest exhibit of the Air Force Museum in Monino, the Moscow Region: a Bartini plane that was turned into an ekranoplan. There is pretty much chances you have never heard of this type of planes “Ekranoplanes”. They are unique to Russia and today you’ll become a bit more smarter by seeing something truly unique which is a less known part of our civilization.
Sadly the plane today is in a poor condition.
The wings and the empennage are dosmantled, no engines are left. VVA-14 was made on the basis of an amphibian project MVA-62 developed in 1962. The main constructor – R.L. Bartini. Both the amphibian and its creator were quite unusual for their time.
Heavy “pits”
The cab’s nose, we can see mounts for auxiliary lift engines which were used in the attempts to make an ekranoplan from VVA-14.
MVA-62 became a basis for designing a bigger anti-submarine vertical takeoff amphibian VVA-14.The plan gave lots of reasons for doubts but was too revolutionary not to give it a try.
The back view, do you sea a hatch?
The right end of the aft body, someone tried to bite it off?
The left was bitten off
VVA-14 had to become a part of an aviation anti-submarine complex consisting of the plane itslef, target search and track system “Burevestnik”, anti-submarine weapon and the afloat fuelling system. The complex was intended for search and destruction of submarines located 1200-1500 km away.
The left side
Wings attaching point
Pontoons
VVA-14 represented the whole complex of unusual technical solutions and each of them demanded a lot of engineering efforts before test flights.
Basically, Ekranoplanes didn’t fly high. They were supposed to glide not higher than a few meters above the sea level.
The cabin’s view from the portside.
For the tests of the control system, there were made two piloting stands: with a movable and a stationary cabins.
Another view.
A fuselage of a semimonoqoque structure turning to a center-section. In the forebody is a three seater cabin.
Before turning into an ekranoplan
Various hatches
The attaching point of the right empennage group
Part of the cowling shutter
Pontoon – the rear view
Another rear view
Looks like a mount attachment for transportation and wings dismantling
The cowling shutter from the outer side of the pontoon
Some devices under the cabin
The view from under the cab
A ready ekranoplan
A rear view from the left side
Cowling shutter
The cabin
The pontoons and their retraction-extansion system is just filled with various unique devices.
The forepart chassis
Its rear view
The cavity for forepart chassis retraction
Main gear
The cavity for its retraction
Side gear
The left one
The right one
Looks fragile
Cavity for their retraction
Ekranoplan layout
The tail hatch
The bottom view from the rear
Cavities in the pontoons
The hatch inside of the pontoon
The hole in the left tail-end
Main engines frame
Here how it looked like in the past.
Lift engines frame
Left main wing
Ports inside
Empennage
Another one
The results of VVA-14 tests gave a huge experience and important data that were further used for the development of the largest amphibian A-40 “Albatros”.
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via igor113
FIRST!!!
Yout shouting at after Sex too eh ?
You shouting at after Sex too eh ?
Starwars hypothetical spaceship design is now real ! Long life too the Millennium Falcon brother !
And many thanks to you, at englishrussia, for all that nice pics…
Cool concept for aircraft. Very cool pictures. Thanks for the upload…
Never does man show greater ingenuity than in devising more efficient ways of killing his fellow man.
Why do you think it had military purposes?
AFAIK it was not armed.
As a search and rescue plane it could have saved lives…
Yeah, but did it every fly?
It is a pity that not a single effort by the museum to restore the plane even to the modest degree.
It is a fantastic design with an unfortunate end.
And is not an ekranoplan but yes, it uses the WIG effect.
Cool so cool, but that kind of plane should not end like that. I see pictures before of VVA-14 but never so close thanks. That end is unfair I insist.
I wish I could do something to restore it.
Where is Luke and R2?
If they’re here, they’re proudly wearing red stars.
Then they must be with the empire!All hope is lost!
It’s boat, not a plane.
That amazing.
I wonder how much money have this people spent for this!!!
I’d pay to have one. It would be great for fishing.
This is not antique aircraft. It is Aeroflot awaiting departure this day from Monino to St. Petersburg.
ROOOOOOOOOFL!!!!!!!!
Looks like the wings on that thing were VERY small compared to the rest of the plane.
That’s the idea, it’s a ground effect machine (ekranoplan) ie. it takes advantage of the increased lift you get when flying sufficiently close to the surface, so it only needs small wings. Check out the other ekranoplan pages on this site.
Looks like a Firefly spacecraft.
Don’t be fool… it’s not a plane!
Oh,you’re so dumb. You’re really dumb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAk3kwXfEWk
yea this is a nice aircraft mates
http://kaakotech.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAk3kwXfEWk
That’s one of the most bizarre looking planes I’ve ever seen! How much of this cool stuff does Russia have? When America has tested so many “top secret aircraft” over the years, it really makes you wonder what kind of stuff the Russians have been looking into also!
Yes it is a plane, and yes apparently it did fly. Better images of the original with the wings on. http://www.testpilot.ru/russia/bartini/vva/vva_e.htm
Thanks for the link. Here, he really looks like a plane. A dismemberment at the museum – one disgrace, you’d better do not show.
I love that…. Get a load of old planes, leave them in a field to rot….and then call it a “Museum” Dear God…
So you have been to the Pima Air Museum in Arizona as well.
Very strange bird, i hope the staff of Monino Museum could get all the parts together and restore it for exhibition.
Great pictures.
Regards from Argentina.
Weird!
There Is no one here beside me that know exactly what that plane is ???
Actually here The Aircraft has been cut in piece ‘cuz the wing are not there
It’s more called a WIG (Wing In Ground-effect)
A WIG boat is a boat with wings that cruises just above the water surface, it is floating on a cushion of relatively high-pressure air between its wing and the water surface. This cushion is created by the aerodynamic interaction between the wing and the surface, called ground effect. This is where a WIG boat is different from an aircraft, it cannot operate without ground effect, so its operating height is limited relative to its size
As You Escaped with Snake And Eva in The Metal Gear Solid 3 Opus on Playstation 2 your in a WIG
This is exactly a complete version of the VVA-14
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hVOW2U7K4-M/SiO0X5yN2eI/AAAAAAABCGo/1CBRFDYvWHc/s640/17.jpg
http://www.testpilot.ru/russia/bartini/vva/vva_e.htm
Still, by design the VVA could and did perform high-altitude flights, which makes it so much cooler than other Soviet WIGs
You shoulda shown a diagram of it with the wings attached, otherwise it just looks confusing!!
i don’t think Air Force Museum would do such a careless maintenance..
i don’t think that it could ever fly, too big and without an aerodynamic design
yeah, they just slapped it together for kicks after a bong or two. It was 60s after all. The designer even died in the process, that being so funny and all
PARESE UNA NAVE ESPACIAL
It looks like something out of star wars or perhaps a new Japanese model futuristic car design
It’s not a plane, it’s a high speed boat.
Looks vaguely like the derelict spaceship in “Alien”.
I like the concept and the capabilities however to copy a soldier at war with a camouflage colour this place need to be camouflage by the sea in another word a sub-plane to copy a surface to air missile to allow for copying a doctor with a trumpet with Bill gate below the surface ETC ASAP
You a lie in site name.
This site not englishrussia
– englishsovietunion(bloody-Red army star & ets .SU artifacts), all 70 years killed or GULAG terrored russia’ns peoples.
It‘s crazy！
Here is footage of actua test flights of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZgWjxYTJS8&ebc=ANyPxKpT3EmaNLkF8tdLzLIzZGWDg3w1n7Pv_FYQVmYGKoiP5yjGnH1dCJyr_ht58dgtAcQKjXhzuEQrn0vvhSlRLu5fCOt-Xg
Isto é muito fantastico parece-me um Cagado. Russia para sempre.
Irreplaceable relics at the mercy of the elements! Was there earlier this year. Monino charges rb300 (US$4) per person. They should at least charge five times that and get some funds to pamper their exhibits (and staff!)
Was it built to fly or float?
Fly, float and skim.