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ANT-1 Single-seat sport aircraft, experimental

In 1920, the General Directorate of the air fleet of the young Soviet republic set the task for scientists to create light and durable alloys for aircraft construction. After difficult searches carried out by a group of specialists (it included the engineers I.Sidorin, V.Butalov, Yu.Muzalevsky and others), at the Gospromtsvetmet plant (in the village of Kolchugino, Vladimir region), the first ingots of the new alloy, called kolchugalyuminiem, were obtained. The alloy was lightweight and of sufficient strength. In the fall of 1922, sheets and curved profiles were made of it, and in 1923, corrugations and rolled profiles were made. A special commission of TsAGI, thoroughly investigating the properties of aluminum armor, concluded that the alloy can be used in aircraft construction.

At the same time, the commission decided to use aluminum ["kolchugalyuminiy" in the ANT-1 light sport aircraft under construction. The development of the ANT-1 was carried out in the aviation department of TsAGI on the initiative and under the direct supervision of A.N. Tupolev since 1921. This machine was the first in the large family of ANT and Tu aircraft. The ANT-1 was a 35 hp monoflane with an Anzani engine. mixed designs. Kolchugalyuminiy partially used in the design of the fuselage, wing and support. Despite the fact that in this experimental machine the main material was still wood and linen, the tests of the ANT-1 made it possible to evaluate the advantages of the new material in the aircraft design.

ANT-1 was built from April 1922 to October 1923. October 21, 1923 the plane made the first flight. In the first flight of the ANT-1 from the former Cadet parade ground in Lefortovo raised the engineer-engineer E.I. Pogossky. After a series of test flights and the failure of the only available Anzani engine, the aircraft’s flights were stopped. Later, until 1937, the firstborn of the OKB A.N.Tupolev was located in the assembly shop of plant No. 156. In 1937 the only copy of the ANT-1 was destroyed.

A replica of the ANT-1 was produced at the Pilot Sports Aviation Plant in Prinei, Lithuanian SSR in 1978-1979. The operator was Mosfilm. Specially manufactured on the basis of the Yak-18 at the LAK (Lithuanian aviation construction) Experimental Sports Aviation Plant in Prinei, Lithuanian SSR for the filming of the film “Wing Poem”. The dimensions were much larger than the original. He starred in the movie "Poem about Wings" in Moscow and in the Monino Air Force Museum. After filming the movie it was not preserved.