Tupolev A-3. Not exactly a plane, but...

This machine was at the Hilton Head Concours last weekend. According to the owner, it was built by Tupolev in the late 60s as a rescue vehicle for cosmonauts stranded at sea. Due to the prevailing water temperatures, it was essential to get to survivors as rapidly as possible. It was designed to be carried by a helicopter and winched up and down. Extremely cool!

Here's the Wiki entry. Different story than what I heard. It even mentions this particular "survivor".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_A-3_Aerosledge
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That's the same one that has appeared at several of the Atlanta "Caffeine & Octane" events. Every time he shows up, he tries to start the engine, repeatedly, and he hasn't gotten it to run yet!
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Also at Greenwich Concours last June

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosbyjohnwiley/7340988918/in/set-72157630064388040

 

Hmmm...

Thought they'd be counter-rotatating props.

But the metal edge guards look like they both rotate clockwise.

Anyone know?


Also, the props were painted between the first and the second set of pics, it looks like.

It's obviously running in a couple of the pics...


Edit: Since the prop offset is the same in all pics, I'm now assuming that they both rotate clockwise; staggered about 10 degrees or so. Strange.

 

Uh Tcar, it's rotating not rotatating. C'mon buddy...chop chop

 

I imagine that the small diameter limited the mass flow that was required. Two wide cord blades slightly offset seems like a damn good idea to operate them like a slotted wing flap. I don't know what the heck I said but it sounds really hi techinal.

 

I think that's basically the technology, Bob.

Not only have the props been refinished, but he's painted the beast's name on the bow and added a red stripe to the black one running along the side. I wonder if he can get the engine to run, now?

 

I am surprised they didn't go with a ducted fan design.
One of the most efficient in a small area.

 

Slotted flap... works for me.

Also, looking closer, the inside blade is a wider (chord?) than the outside blade... the inside blades almost look like paddles. Like a two-stage compressor.

The '57 Caddy fins are cool too.

 

But your last photo appears to show it running?

Pete

 

The Germans and us would most likely go for a ducted fan but the Russians are driven to do the simplest and most rudimentary solution to basic problems. They are good at it.The T-34 tank is a good example of it as was the Stormovik . You're correct, though, a ducted fan would probably be the most efficient but fancy and expensive for the Russians, maybe.

 

That was him trying to run it! The engine would sputter long enough for the prop to make a couple of revolutions, but it would never keep running. The engine is just a common aircraft radial, so I don't know why all the problems.

 

I remember this thing being on a BJ auction in Scottsdale some years ago. But I don't remember the year and the if it was sold there.

Matthias

 

Skills man.... you got skills!



Terry

 

It's running in the first and last pics...

 

Looks like a small version of the ekranoplan's the soviets built during the Cold War.

 

Sort of... Those were 'ground-effects' though, not air boats... and some were huge...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_vehicle

 

The Soviets used a lot of these, variously called "aerosleds", "aerosledges" or "aerosans".

Here are photos of a few plastic models of some of these. As you can see, some had wheels, some had skis, and of course the A-3 has a boat hull.
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Sir, great analysis, the only thing I would add is it probably requires 12 gallons of prop wash per mission.

 

Thanks, just my thoughts about it. The " Prop Wash" brings back the first day on the line at Hondo when an old hand told me to see if I could find a gallon of prop wash that they needed. Well, I spent the entire day tramping all over the flight line " looking " for that prop wash and checking out everything that was going on in all locations. I had the day off, had a good meal at the mess hall, and pulled a bit of a gag on the old hand because I knew damn well what prop wash was. Then I was sent to get a spool of flight line. The beat went on.

 

Those, in turn, remind me of the famous German "Rail Zeppelin" of the early 1930s. Capable of more than 200 kph!
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And that, in turn, reminded me of the "Black Beetle", a New York Central RDC that was modified with a twin-J47 jet pod from off of a retired B-36 bomber, and a special streamlined nose. In July 1966 it set a U.S. speed record of nearly 184 MPH (which still stands). Then the modifications were removed and the RDC was returned to normal service. The J47s were transferred to a snow-blower car that the railroad built.
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And I found out that the Soviets tried something similar with a car called the ER22 in 1970. I don't have any other details.
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That streamlined nose with the small windscreen "eyes" and NYC logo "mouth" looks meaner and more determined than Darth Vader.

 

But... that's 'only' about 120 mph...

Shoot, the 'Santa Fe Super Chief' went almost that fast (well over 100 mph) across Kansas and eastern Colorado in the 40's, 50's and 60's. It was just a stock EMC (General Motors) Diesel-Electric locomotive passenger train. I rode on it when I was a kid (Iowa to Albuquerque and Albuquerque to LA).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Chief