• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

KASKR - Kamov-Skrzhinsky - gyroplanes

KASKR-1 “Red Engineer” and KASKR-2 (abbreviated KAmov SKRzhinsky) are Soviet gyroplanes jointly developed by N.I.Kamov and N.K.Skrzhinsky. KASKR-1 appeared in the autumn of 1929, and KASKR-2 was a modified and restored model of 1930. Outwardly, the KASKR-1 resembled the Cierva C.8L Mk.III gyroplane, had the fuselage of a U-1 aircraft with tail unit and an M-2 engine of 120 hp. The KASKR-1 autogyro was built in the autumn of 1929 under the leadership of Nikolai Ilyich Kamov and Nikolai Kirillovich Skrzhinsky

Nikolai Ilyich Kamov was a Soviet aircraft designer, creator of the Ka helicopters, Doctor of Technical Sciences. Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the USSR State Prize. Under the leadership of the aircraft designer N. I. Kamov, helicopters Ka-8 (1948), Ka-10 (1953), Ka-15 (1956), Ka-18 (1960), Ka-25 (1968), Ka-26 ( 1967), Ka-22 rotorcraft (1964), Sever-2 snowmobile and Ka-30, glider.

Nikolai Kirillovich Skrzhinsky was Soviet aircraft designer. In 1929, together with N. I. Kamov, he built the first red gyroplane KASKR-1 “Red Engineer” in the USSR, and in 1931 built its modification KASKR-2. In May 1931, an autogyro was demonstrated in flight over the Khodynka field to members of the government and representatives of the Red Army Air Force command. Further development of the theme of gyroplanes in the USSR was embodied in TsAGI 2-EA models.

In the 1930s there was an accumulation of scientific and experimental data in the field of helicopter construction, which served as a springboard for moving to a new level of design of rotorcraft. During the resulting “pause”, gyroplanes, a type of rotorcraft, came to the fore. The idea of a gyroplane with an autorotating rotor that does not lose rotational speed in the event of an engine failure in flight arose with the Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva, in the future a famous aircraft designer.

By its properties, the gyroplane occupies an intermediate position between the plane and the helicopter. With the achieved level of theoretical knowledge and mastered technologies, it was easier to build a safe and sufficiently reliable gyroplane than a helicopter. The autorotating rotor did not require a complex transmission to obtain torque from the engine, as was the case with the helicopter. The use of the hinged mounting of the rotor blades to the sleeve provided him with a higher dynamic strength, and the gyroplane required degree of stability in flight. When the engine failed, the screw continued to rotate at a sufficient frequency, making it possible to land the machine with low mileage. Sera created several gyroplanes. On a gyroplane S-4 with hinged blades in January 1923, the first successful short flight was completed. The most famous gyroplane S-30 (1934), which was mass-produced in England. Sera’s autogyros were built under license in France, Germany, Japan and the USA.

The first information about Cierva’s successful flights on the S-8 MK II gyroplane became known in Moscow in the second half of 1928. The first Soviet gyroplane KASKR-1 ("Red Engineer"), built by enthusiastic engineers N.I. Kamov and N.K. Skrzhinsky, took off on September 25, 1929. In the KASKR group, was an intern and student of the Novocherkassk Polytechnic Institute, M. Mil. The gyroplane was piloted by I.V. Mikheev, and its creator N.I. Kamov was in the rear cockpit. Structurally, the apparatus resembled the well-known model of the S-8 Cierva gyroplane. The main rotor, freely rotating, was mounted on a tetrahedral pyramid. The rotor blades had vertical and horizontal hinges and were interconnected by cables with weights to damp vibrations in the plane of rotation. They had no limiters at the bottom and rested in a horizontal position on pendants with rubber cord cushioning at the top.

In this first gyroplane in the USSR, its authors had to face many difficulties and surprises, and at the cost of great efforts, successes and failures, to gain experience. So, during the first engine test on the ground on September 1, 1929, the rotor blades started to rotate from the propeller stream, but when a certain speed was reached, something changed in their level and they knocked down the steering wheel, and they themselves were damaged. Then the initial form of the U-1 rudder had to be changed, and on all our subsequent gyroplanes it was already low, stretched back. Then, when taxiing began, the reactive moment of the screw threw the device on its side. I had to suspend a load of 8 kg under the right wing, but the tipping moment still remained due to the difference in the speeds of the blades on the right and left when the apparatus was moving. They didn’t learn how to deal with him right away, breakdowns and accidents occurred. Soon, the device, without even taking off, scotched, rolled over on its back and was badly damaged.

In 1930, young designers built the more advanced KASKR-2 gyroplane on the KASKR-1 base, which is a restored KASKR-1 vehicle with a more powerful 225-horsepower Gnom-Ron "Titan" engine. Specialists of the Research Institute participated in assessing the flight characteristics of gyroplanes. The more powerful engine markedly increased the capabilities of KASKR - the take-off run was 20 m for 5-6 seconds, and the maximum height reached on January 13 was 230 m. From 1930 to 1931 they completed 90 test flights with a maximum duration of 28 minutes (pilot D. A. Koshits).

On May 21, 1931, KASKR-2, along with other Soviet-built aircraft, was demonstrated at the Central Airfield to the government, headed by I.V.Stalin. All those present were delighted with what they saw, it was especially noted that KASKR made a good impression on Joseph Stalin.