Prototypes and projects from Latvia's RKIIGA

[Stargazer]

The world-famous RKIIGA (Riga Red Banner Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers) will celebrate its 106th anniversary in May 2025. Its history started in 1919 when the School of Aviation Mechanics was opened in Kyiv, which later continued its work in Riga. The institute changed names several times along the way, being known as the RKVIAVU from 1947 to 1960, then as RKIIGA (1960-1992), as RAU (1992-1999), though the name RKIIGA has stuck.

SKB RKIIGA (1964-1991) was a the student design bureau of the institute, and one of the first in the Soviet Union. Created at the initiative of students F. Mukhamedov, G. Ivanov, S. Ivanov, A. Lesikov and V. Prishlyuk, its experience became the basis for the decision of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the USSR, which in 1968 approved the "Model Regulation on Student Design, Research, Project, Technological and Economic Bureaus of Higher Education Institutions" (SKB), designed to develop research and design work of students. This document not only defined the structure of the SKB, but also the remuneration of students in such design bureaus, serving as a model for the formation of similar SKBs throughout the country from 1968 onwards.
In 1972, the SKB became an independent structural division, which included mechanics departments, a radio department, and an aircraft section. It was headed by V. Blokhin, a teacher at the institute. After graduating from the institute in 1978, the SKB was headed by one of its most active employees, V. Yagnyuk, who led the bureau without interruption until his untimely death in 1990. At the general meeting of the SKB, it was decided to name it after V. Yagnyuk, but the decision was never implemented due to the political changes that befell the RKIIGA.

From 1961 to 1988 students of the institute designed and built airplanes, helicopters, autogyros, hovercraft, and gliders. "We came to the institute, by and large, for design. Our SKB was brewing up absolutely fantastic projects, and everyone was possessed by a simple idea - to do something brilliant, for which the whole world would fall," said Andrey Sipkevich, an RKIIGA graduate with a PhD in engineering. That being said, compared to the design bureaus of other former Soviet Union institutes such as KAI (Kazan), KhAI (Kharkiv) or MAI (Moscow), RKIIGA's contribution was overall modest: a few autogyro prototypes (Riga-50/-50M, Riga-AS-2, Chaika-1/-2, Riga-72), a couple of motor hang gliders (Erglis, Delta-Agro), and a series of prototypes designed under the supervision of Tajik designer Fatidin R. Mukhamedov (who would later became head of MiG's Dushanbe office in Tajikistan). Under his supervision, RKIIGA developed the RIIGA-1 light plane, the RIIGA-2 motorglider, the RIIGA-3 Turist light plane, the elegant Entuziast sports plane and the RKIIGA-74 Experiment, also known as the "Lodka-Samolyeta" (Boat-Airplane). Mukhamedov's team also collaborated with Moscow's MAI on the experimental ELA-01 ekranoplane.

RKIIGA also built in 1978 a full-scale replica of the Sikorsky S-22 Ilya Muromets for the Mosfilm movie Поэма о крыльях (Poema o krilyakh, or "Poem of Wings"), and in 1983, started work on a full-size replica of the Polikarpov R-5 for the Main Museum of the USSR Civil Aviation in Ulyanovsk, which was never completed because of the collapse of the country (I'm attaching a few other RKIIGA projects, one of which, based on the Antonov An-2, was eventually built).

A water-motor section also operated at the SKB, manufacturing racing boats. Their design was carried out by a student and then a teacher at the RKIIGA, Yuri Pribylsky. Finally, the RKIIGA did some work on air cushion vehicles (ACV) and dynamic support vehicles (DSV), producing the Aerojeep, a light multipurpose hovercraft (AVP) capable of moving over land and over water and designed for year-round transportation of passengers, mail and small cargo along numerous rivers and lakes, along the tundra and in the steppe regions. Built in the early 1990s, the prototype fully passed sea trials and could have gone into serial production. All materials for it were transferred to the customer, which was the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Production Association.

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In this topic, I will deal with all those projects and prototypes in separate posts, starting with the conventional aircraft, followed by the ground effect/ekranoplane/ACV types, then the autogyros, and motorized hang gliders, the replicas, and a few other projects.
NOTE: Information in this topic was adapted mostly from:

• the Russian Wikipedia page on RKIIGA
• the RKIIGA-RAU Museum website
• the airwar.ru website
• Aircraft designed in Latvia in the 20th century — Aircraft museum project, by V. Shestakov & N. Kuleshov (PDF file)

 

[hesham]

Here is a 3-view to Riga-50M,

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/soviet-student-universities-projects-mai-khai-etc.4168/page-2#post-355493

 

[Stargazer]

RIIGA-1 (1965)

In 1963, third-year students of the mechanical faculty F. Mukhamedov and G. Ivanov began developing a draft design for a light single-seat aircraft with a motorcycle engine. Soon they were joined by A. Lesikov, S. Ivanov, V. Prishlyuk and Yu. Baldayev. The students' initiative was supported by the faculty leadership, and the departments of aircraft design and strength, technology, and repair. The students received a workplace in the institute's training and production workshops, and the design calculations they performed were counted (after checking by teachers) as homework, calculation and graphic works, and course projects.

The aircraft design did not have any new elements - a braced wooden wing and empennage, and a welded truss fuselage were used. A production engine from a K-750 motorcycle was fitted with a gearbox to increase the diameter and efficiency of the propeller. Direct assistance during the work was provided to the students by the teachers and employees of the institute Yu. D. Milenkiy, D. P. Osokin, R. G. Nugis, A. L. Passek, V. Lazarev and others.

In 1965, the aircraft, designated RIIGA-1, was built. Ground tests revealed the need for some modifications, in particular, improving the shock absorption of the chassis. Since it was not possible to obtain permission to conduct flights, the aircraft was never able to take off.​

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[Stargazer]

RIIGA-2 "Rekord" (1967)

Under the supervision of F. Mukhamedov in 1963-1967, the RIIGA-2 motor glider was designed and built in the RIIGA design bureau, and meant for training flights as well as for setting a flight range record for piston aircraft of the 2nd category (according to the international classification of sports aircraft — flight weight 500-1000 kg).

The authors of the preliminary design and construction - F. Mukhamedov, G. Ivanov and V. Prishlyuk - took the Antonov A-13 of aerobatic glider as a basis, but with a new fuselage middle section including the pilot's cabin, and a piston engine M-332 with a capacity of 105 hp (77.2 kW) located in its nose. With a takeoff weight of 950 kg and a fuel weight of 600 kg, the estimated range of the motor glider was about 5,500 km. A full-scale demonstration model was made, but no tests were conducted.
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[Stargazer]

RIIGA-3 "Turist"

The four-seat RIIGA-3 tourist aircraft was designed and built in 1965-67. The authors of the draft design and construction were 5th and 6th year students F. Mukhamedov, R. Shchavinsky and M. Zarutsky.

The prototype was built using the chassis, wing and engine of a Czechoslovak Aero-145 aircraft, as well as the tail section of a Yak-12R. Like the RIIGA-2, it used a Czechoslovak M-332 air-cooled engine, rated at 140 hp (102.9 kW). The estimated flight range was 900 km, cruising speed was 180 km/h.

The RIIGA-3 was one of the first attempts to create a tourist-class aircraft in a student design bureau. The aircraft had a spacious, comfortable four-seater cabin and dual control wheels. It was noted for a number of original solutions, including a single-wheel landing gear that retracted in flight and a V-shaped tail unit. Unfortunately, the aircraft was built, but it was not tested.
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[Coiler]

The RIIGA-3 looks a little like an F4U Corsair with its wings.

 

[Stargazer]

"Entuziast"

Very little information is available on this beautiful sports plane which was designed by F. Mukhamedov at RKIIGA. Work on the project began in 1970, and once again, the engine was the Czechoslovak M-332, this time rated at only 110 hp. Since the RIIGA-2 and -3 were never flown, it is likely that the students reused the selfsame engine on every project.

The Entuziast was exhibited at the was exhibited at the VDNKh (USSR Exhibition of Economic Achievements) in 1976 and was awarded a silver medal. Unfortunately, like all the previous prototypes, it was never flown.

 

[hesham]

From JAWA 1971/72

 

[UpForce]

@Stargazer , interesting. 1919 is a significant year (not least in terms of the history we're now living) as that was when the newly formed Soviet army invaded and occupied the newly independent Ukrainian People's Republic. Kyiv changed hands several times around the founding of the School of Aviation Mechanical Technicians and sadly due to Russia's current invasion we can all too well see the cost of war to education while marveling at its resilience as well.

Said School of Aviation Mechanical Technicians was affiliated with the Kiev Polytechnical Institute (currently the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"). I don't quite know who or what will celebrate Riga Civil Aviation Engineers Institute as it was closed in 1999 and incorporated in Riga Technical University due to "the higher school fac(ing) a number of internal and external problems (Wikipedia)". At this point some of the faculty of the institute founded a new private establishment, a "Transport and Telecommunications Institute". I'm guessing this convoluted evolution lets KPI, RTU and TTI all lay some claim to parts of its history should they so desire. Perhaps others as well I didn't bother to investigate.

While this history is in many ways more colonial, Soviet and random even than Latvian (even though the name incorporates "Riga"), through the institute's (many times stymied) student projects we can still witness human aspirations of flying. There as here in the pages of Secret Projects many a plane occasionally fly in our imaginations unburdened by the limitations and failings of our time.

 

[Stargazer]

RKIIGA-74 "Experiment"
also known as the "Lodka-Samolyeta" (Boat-Airplane)

Arguably the best known of all RKIIGA aircraft projects, the RKIIGA-74 was started in 1972 by a small group of students, including Yu. Pribylsky, A. Shveigert, and V. Yagnyuk. The group was led by F. R. Mukhamedov (who had already defended his PhD thesis), and engineer R. V. Shchavinsky. Actually, some of the ideas for the RKIIGA-74 originated in an earlier diploma project for a light amphibious flying boat, defended successfully in 1967 by student V. Z. Zeitlin.

The RKIIGA-74 was a two-seater seaplane, the design of which was based on the Progress boat and elements of the KAI-12 Primorets glider (strutted wing and tail unit). Students O. Baryshev, V. Pikalov, and A. Lovtsov joined in the final stages, and active assistance was also provided by the institute's teachers V. F. Bukharov, the research institute's engineer V. Ya. Biryukov, and teacher V. Z. Zeitlin (who had designed the earlier 1967 project).

The motorboat was subjected to maximum "lightening" and aerodynamic "refining". Some of the units and parts intended for water-motor operation (floorboards, benches, brackets, etc.) were removed from the boat. However, the frames to which the motor tail boom were attached were reinforced. The windshield was shifted back, and its angle of inclination was increased, which, together with the installation of a fairing on the transom of the boat, made it possible to significantly reduce its aerodynamic resistance. The rear part of the boat's cockpit was decked with a duralumin sheet. Under it, in the middle part of the boat, a 90-liter gas tank and an accumulator were installed, and the oil tank and engine oil system units were located in the nacelle fairing.

The boat was equipped with dual controls (two steering wheels and two pairs of pedals), and a dashboard with flight, navigation and engine control instruments. The cockpit was open and the seats were arranged in a row, which allowed the right or left pilot to perform the pilot's duties alternately and use the RKIIGA-74 as a training machine. The flying boat had a takeoff weight of 900 kg, a structure weight of 60 kg, a maximum speed of 165 km/h, and a flight range of 900 km. Once again, the engine used was the same Czechoslovak M-332 piston engine rated at 140 hp, fitted with a metal propeller from a production Czechoslovakian aircraft.

By the end of the summer of 1974, the construction of the aircraft was completed (hence the designation "-74"), andits ground and water tests began on Lake Baltezers, near Riga. After completing the required modifications, in particular the installation of an overhead redan, the RKIIGA-74 seaplane was prepared for its first flight, which took place on September 17, 1974 with the Captain of the Latvian Civil Aviation Administration, 1st class pilot V. N. Abramov, at the helm, assisted by V. Z. Zeitlin. At an altitude of about 150 m, the plane made several circles over the lake. A. A. Bodyagin, a Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor of the Department of Aircraft Design at MAI, congratulated the creative team on their first flight. The designers' calculations were fully confirmed. The plane responded well to the controls and was stable in flight. In total, 15 flights were performed during the tests, for a total of about 2 hours.

In April 1975, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper sent its special correspondent T. Ilarionova to Riga to tell the whole country about the future engineers who had raised their first plane into the sky and were already thinking about a new one.The RKIIGA-74 boat was named "Experiment" and in the summer of 1976 represented Latvia at the All-Union Exhibition of Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth, which was held at VDNKh. The USSR Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education awarded Yu. Pribylsky, V. Yagnyuk, A. Shveigert, O. Baryshev and V. Pikalov, all participants in the construction of the flying boat, with gold medals and a diploma "For the best student scientific work".

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[Stargazer]

[I don't quite know who or what will celebrate Riga Civil Aviation Engineers Institute as it was closed in 1999 and incorporated in Riga Technical University due to "the higher school fac(ing) a number of internal and external problems (Wikipedia)". At this point some of the faculty of the institute founded a new private establishment, a "Transport and Telecommunications Institute". I'm guessing this convoluted evolution lets KPI, RTU and TTI all lay some claim to parts of its history should they so desire. Perhaps others as well I didn't bother to investigate.

Well, I certainly didn't invent the fact that the anniversary of the institute's foundation is celebrated — my starting point was an article about last year's 105th anniversary: https://tsi.lv/events/the-legendary-rkiiga-105-years/ (I assumed there must be some kind of similar celebration every year or so, which may not be the case, I'll admit, though it doesn't keep the former students from celebrating, anyway!):

In May 2024, the world-famous RKIIGA will celebrate its 105th anniversary. The history started in 1919 when the School of Aviation Mechanics was opened in Kyiv, which later continued its work in Riga.
TSI is one of the traditions’ successors and previous anniversaries organizers, and traditionally will open its doors to meet everyone who studied and worked at RKIIGA-RAU.
We are waiting for everyone on May 25, from 12:00 pm to 14:00 pm, at the conference room!
You will have the opportunity to visit the Alma Mater, go on tour of classrooms and laboratories, the TSI Professional and Academic Aviation Center and relive fond memories.
The territory of the former university will be open to the public.

Also note that my post DID mention the fact that 1°) RKIIGA had not always been called thusly, 2°) RKIIGA had become RAU in 1992, and 3°) RAU had closed in 1999!

 

[Stargazer]

"ELA-01"
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From 1975, the SKB RKIIGA conducted research and development on the creation of aircraft and other vehicles for use in off-road conditions, under the supervision of prof. V. Z. Shestakov and engineer R. V. Shchavinsky. These were either air cushion vehicles (ACV) or dynamic support vehicles (DSV), including ekranoplans.

The ELA-01's design was envisaged as part of a comprehensive program for the creation of aircraft with a lifting . It was a piloted model for studying the characteristics of a heavy ground effect vehicle being developed at the Alekseev Central Design Bureau. Unlike previous projects with a straight wing, this project was developed using a load-bearing fuselage scheme. With such a scheme, an air cushion is formed quite simply. The ELA-01 control system included foot and manual control of the elevator and rudder with water rudders, flaps, ailerons, elevator trimmer, and control of the cruise and lift engine speed.

The ELA-01 ("ELA" stood for "Eksperimentalnei Letatelnei Apparat", or Experimental Flying Machine) was designed and built from June 1976 to October 1978, and tests lasted until 1985, after which it was handed over to Moscow's own MAI institute, which was the customer for the project. By that time, F. Mukhamedov (seen here with the M-332 engine and with his team) had already worked at MAI and, knowing the capabilities of his native SKB, facilitated the conclusion of an agreement between MAI and RKIIGA. He was also the Chief Designer of ELA-01, and the scientific director from MAI was A. A. Badyagin. From RKIIGA, the project manager was V. Shestakov, and the person in charge was R. V. Shchavinsky.

The ELA-01 was one of the first aircraft to be made of mainly composite material (fiberglass). It was built, not in Latvia, but in Lithuania, at the experimental LAK (Lietuviškos Aviacinės Konstrukcijos) sports aviation plant, in the city of Prienai, since it had vast experience in producing fiberglass gliders, and possessed its own airfield and flight test station with a staff of certified test pilots. The plant was located near the Neman River, on the straight, long sections of which the tests were conducted. The director of ELA-01 from the plant was V. I. Pakarskas, and the person in charge was A. A. Shveigert, a graduate of RKIIGA and an enthusiast of the SKB.

The first stage of testing was conducted by pilot I. Bagdonas in October 1978. The ground effect vehicle made its first short-term flight on November 4, 1978. All flights were conducted over the Neman River in the Kaunas region. The device demonstrated good stability and controllability characteristics in the ground effect flight mode at an altitude of 0.5-1 meter, easily entered the gliding mode at speeds of 40-45 km/h, stably and without much splashing at speeds of 70-75 km/h took off from the water and developed a speed of up to 150 km/h in the ground effect flight mode and could perform flights like an airplane, separated from the ground effect at an altitude of 3 km. A large volume of research was obtained in the unexplored area of flights near the ground effect; during the tests they tried to foresee all possible situations that the future large ground effect craft might encounter.

In 1979-1983, MAI employees designed, manufactured and installed an automatic motion control system and a motion parameter measurement and recording system on the ELA-01 in order to study the dynamics of uncontrolled and controlled motion of the craft in various motion modes on a static air cushion, on gliding takeoffs, in low-altitude flight and on landing in conditions of various wind and wave disturbances. The modes of takeoff, flight and landing of the ground effect craft with a chassis on a static air cushion in automatic mode were studied and it can be stated that this was a world's first. This project laid the foundation for the second generation of ekranoplans, which had increased maneuverability and controllability, increased maximum flight speed, and reduced engine power required for cruising flight over the ekranoplan, as well as increased seaworthiness, since its hovering altitude above the supporting surface in this case increased 5-6 times. Thus, thanks to ELA-01, unique results were obtained in a virtually unknown (at that time) area of transport new types: dynamic support devices — in other words, ekranoplans of the new generation. The project participants — employees of MAI and RKIIGA — patented over 75 technical solutions for the ELA-01 with USSR author's certificates of invention.
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NOTE: some sources claim that two examples of the ELA-01 were built,
but that is not consistent with the photos and data obtained from the more reliable sources.​

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[UpForce]

Ah, so the event in question will be hosted by the private institute TTI/TSI which was founded by RKRIIGA's legacy staff, as stated on their website. How TTI/TSI has evolved since I'm not familiar with. I cursorily tried to trace nature of the "internal and external problems" of 1999 prior to the effective dissolution of RAU mentioned in Wikipedia but - as the task proved too resource intensive for me atm - dropped the effort for now.

I've been quite averse of visiting Russian/affiliated websites for a while now (apart from the exiled opposition etc.). Naturally visiting a topic sourced from Russian Wikipedia, airwar dot ru, etc. then (apart from purely technical content, save for the cyrillics) even second-hand, edited material does seem to have a particular and uncanny combination of emphases, style and omissions. It's of course more subtle than what I'm familiar with through Russian media monitors concentrating on treatment of more contentious contemporaneous issues.

Not that I've been very conscientious with my sourcing either (it's indeed often the case that I can't easily trace what I've read and where) but we do live in circumstances where meticulous and easily decipherable contextualization is of value, even (or perhaps especially) in agglomerate.

 

[Stargazer]

"Aerojeep"

Since the ELA-01 combined elements typical of an ekranoplane, an air cushion vehicle (ACV) and even a hovercraft, the knowledge gained made it possible to create an ACV. In 1985, RKIIGA, through its SKB, signed an agreement with the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Production Association (TANTK-Beriev) to develop an air cushion chassis for an aircraft. V. Shestakov was appointed scientific director, while R. Shchavinsky, who was also the chief designer of this project, was responsible for the project, and E. V. Zaremba was the project manager from the Taganrog Production Association.

The vehicle was called the "Aerojeep", based on the VAZ-2103 car model and various aviation units, was developed and manufactured in metal. It underwent full sea trials in Taganrog in the early 1990s, including on the Azov Sea, and could float and move on a flat surface - asphalt, earth, snow, ice. The possibilities of using the acquired knowledge in relation to an air cushion aircraft were calculated and studied. The research results and the prototype itself were transferred to the customer, many original developments were protected by copyright certificates for inventions.

In 1989, the "Aerojeep" was exhibited at the All-Union Review of Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth and was recognized as one of the most popular exhibits, appearing on the cover of the March 1990 issue of Modelist-Konstructor. After publications about the creation of this device, especially in the magazine TM ("Tekhnika Monodyezhi", or Technology for the Youth), numerous applications from various organizations for this device appeared. Several operating prototypes were manufactured in Taganrog, but series production did not work out, since there was no financing.
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Other ACV designs were studied at KNIIGA, as exemplified by the following photograph,
depicting Cuban student Antonio Cabrera and head of laboratory of Department of
Electrical Equipment for Aircraft Yuri Dubakov with several different projects in model form.



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[Stargazer]

"Riga-50"

We've explored the aircraft and ground-effect vehicle departments of SKB KNIIGA, but there was also a rotorcraft department that was quite busy during the 1960s and 1970s. The organizer, manager of the work and designer of autogyros at RKIIGA was Valentin Leonidovich Ustinov. As a student of the mechanical faculty, he headed the SKB and organized the development, construction and testing of a whole series of autogyros.

Work began at the end of 1966, when a group of students of the mechanical faculty (V. Kapustin, V. Savelyev, O. Garbarenko, E. Makhotkin, V. Zhuk, Yu. Dunaevsky) began designing a light single-seat autogyro with an M-61 motorcycle engine. Under the guidance of the instructor of the Department of Aircraft Design and Strength D. P. Osokin, methods of weight, aerodynamic and strength calculations were worked out, the autogyro layout was selected and its main parameters and dimensions were determined. At the same time, work was underway to boost the M-61 engine in order to increase its power to 45-50 hp. By July 1967, all the main calculations were completed and the manufacture of parts and units of the structure began. In September 1967, the autogyro was assembled and received the name Riga-50.

Ground tests of the autogyro, secured in the body of a GAZ-51 car moving at a speed of 55-60 km / h, confirmed the correctness of the calculations. The rotor "caught the wind" well and quickly reached operating speed. No vibration of the structure was observed, and control efficiency was quite sufficient. The Riga-50 autogyro with a working engine, mounted on a car, was shown at festive worker demonstrations in Riga in November 1967 and May 1968.

On August 26, 1968, the Riga-50 performed its first flight, piloted by teacher D. Osokin, but it flew only about 200 m; when the towing vehicle braked, it capsized and was significantly damaged.
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NOTE: The Riga-50 was planned with a partial enclosure as shown, but this was never fitted.
The improved Riga-50M, however, had one but it was different from the one in this plan.

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[Stargazer]

"Riga-50M"

Based on the test results, the design was modified and a modernized version of the autogyro, designated Riga-50M, was created. The team of enthusiastic gyroplane builders grew, as engineers V. Litansky, V. Prishlyuk, students R. Lukashun, S. Danilin, V. Aksyutchenko, V. Pozdnyakov, O. Vorobyev, I. Churkin, A. Stefansky joined the work.

During the construction of the new model, the design was simplified: the riveted fuselage beam was replaced by a welded truss. Compared to its predecessor, it also featured a more modern shape and high quality finishing; the pilot was placed in a semi-enclosed cabin with all the necessary instrumentation, and was protected by a windshield. Construction of the Riga-50M autogyro was completed in the spring of 1969. Later in the spring, it was awarded 1st place at the exhibition-competition of student scientific works of universities of the Latvian SSR.
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[Stargazer]

"Chaika-1" and "Chaika-2" (1970)

After graduating from the institute, V. Ustinov continued working at SKB RKIIGA, his group replenished with new enthusiasts: V. Litansky, V. Prishlyuk, R. Lukashun, S. Danilin, V. Aksyutchenko, V. Pozdnyakov, O. Vorobyov, I. Churkin and A. Stefansky. The main emphasis was placed on creating a series of motorless sports "rotochutes", or towed autogyro-gliders. The concept was that many young men and women throughout USSR would be able to acquire their first flying skills on such machines.

V. Ustinov attracted young people from the Rigaselmash plant to his research: Yu. Bezmatny, I. Kalashnikov, V. Voronov, L. Korotun, V. Belousk, and some of the further work began to be carried out. The Chaika, as the new project was called, was an extremely simple design made of thin-walled steel sections.

In the summer of 1970, ground tests of the lead vehicle for the engineless series, the Chaika-1 autogyro, began, and on August 15, 1970, teacher Vladlen Zinovievich Zeitlin (a former civil aviation pilot) lifted the prototype into the air. By the end of the 1970 "flight season", five flights had been performed to test the aircraft's performance in the air, determine control efficiency and find optimal towing flight modes.

A second machine, designated Chaika-2, was built during the autumn season, differing mainly by the adjunction of twin floats. The rotor hub was an essential part of the autogyro's design, and was developed by V. Ustinov. It is noteworthy that the same pins were used to attach the blades of the Chaika autogyros as those used on Kamov Ka-18 helicopters.​

 

[Stargazer]

"Riga AS-2" (1971)

Next in the series of rotochute designs was the Riga AS-2. In August 1971, V. Z. Zeitlin easily lifted the AS-2 into the air, towed by a high-speed boat. On one of the following days, a flight altitude of 15-20 m was reached. During the testing and fine-tuning of the Riga AS-2 autogyro, the team included engineers R. V. Shchavinsky, V. P. Labendik, students V. Shabanov, S. Sapelkin, V. Golyshev, N. Frolov, V. Aleinikov and V. Yagnyuk.​

 

[Stargazer]

"Riga-72" and "Sparite" (1972)

In the spring of 1971, work was resumed on creating a light multi-purpose autogyro, the manufacturing technology of which they tried to bring as close as possible to the conditions of serial production. In the design of the new machine, designated Riga-72, the main load-bearing elements — the keel beam and pylon — were made of large-diameter duralumin pipes, parts and units that could be manufactured by stamping were widely used, the multi-part rod chassis was replaced by an elastic spring glued from fiberglass. A significant improvement in flight characteristics was achieved by using a powerful four-cylinder two-stroke engine. Engineer V. Ustinov, senior teacher D. Osokin, students V. Kapustin, O. Garbarenko actively participated in the design and construction of the "Riga-72" autogyro.

Tests were conducted by V. Z. Zeitlin. In the fall of 1972, the autogyro was demonstrated at the 4th VDNKh exhibition in Moscow, and received high marks from specialists. The authors of the development were awarded laureate diplomas and medals of the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy. At the same exhibition, the towed autogyro Sparite was presented, created under the supervision of V. Ustinov at the "Rigaselmash" plant. No information or photos seem to be available on that particular machine, but its name (which can be translated as "pair up") suggests it was a two-seater.

The following three-view arrangement was published as depicting the Riga-72. However, many differences are notable (partly enclosed fuselage, shape of the tail, etc.), which probably indicates that this might have been the improved, production-standard version, had the project been pursued further.
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Later works beyond RKIIGA

Interest in the development of autogyros at RKIIGA faded with the advent of a new type of aircraft: hang gliders and motorized hang gliders, which made it possible to solve practically the same problems with a simpler design and less labor costs for construction than autogyros. Ustinov went to work at the design bureau of N. I. Kamov, where his design experience gained at the SKB RKIIGA was in full demand. Other autogyros developed by V. Ustinov and his team in later years (no longer as part of RKIIGA but as the commercial products of the GiRos company) include the Adel, Eger, Farmer, GiRos-1, and GiRos-2.​

 

[Stargazer]

Ekranoplane projects

Following up on its work on the ELA-01 prototype, RKIIGA studied several applications of the ekranoplane principles to existing aircraft on original design, but also on existing aircraft such as the Yak-12, the Yak-40 and the An-2. Two examples of the latter were produced by Antonov in the late 1970s as the An-2E.​

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[Stargazer]

From hang gliders to motor hang gliders

In 1973, a hang glider section was formed in the SKB RKIIGA, consisting of a group of student enthusiasts. In the same year, together with hang gliding enthusiasts of the city of Riga, united by the editorial board of the newspaper Sovietskaya Molodezh ("Soviet youth"), the first hang glider to be built, not just in RKIIGA, but in all Latvia. That hang glider was designed and built at SKB RKIIGA by students A. Boydenko, N. Kuleshov and O. Ore, and the first flights took place on December 30, 1973 in Sigulda.

In March 1976, at the initiative of V. Yagnyuk and the editorial board of the magazine Tekhnika-Molodezh ("Technology for the Youth"), the first All-Union hang glider rally was held in the Carpathians, where Latvia was represented by the RKIIGA delegation. In the following years, the RKIIGA section would be the center of sports and methodological work, the main supplier of athletes to the national team of the republic for participation in rallies, training camps and national championships in hang gliding.

The natural development of hang gliding is motorized hang gliding, and those first flights showed the promise of motorized hang gliders.The first motorized hang glider with a light motorcycle engine was created in 1984 by V.E. Shevchuk, a graduate from RKIIGA who was part of the circle of young aircraft designers. The hang glider was equipped with an engine from a Minsk motorcycle with a working volume of 125 cm3 and a power of 11.5 hp (8.5 kW) at a maximum speed of 6200 rpm, with a gearbox reducing the speed of the 1.2-meter propeller to 2300 rpm. The hang glider had a conventional motor cart with a wheeled chassis. The weight of the structure was 90 kg, takeoff weight was 160 kg. The hang glider had a classic design with a 10-meter wingspan, a wing area of 14.36 sq.m., and an aspect ratio of 7. The hang glider was tested by its designer, who flew it for several hours. The motor hang glider took part in the All-Union competition of ultra- light aircraft in 1985 in Kyiv and received high praise from specialists.

A larger, more powerful machine, also developed ans built by Shevchuk, was presented at the SLA-87 meet as the Adazhi (Adaži, a city in Latvia) agricultural aircraft. Although appearing more as a personal project than an RKIIGA one, it is added here for the sake of completeness. Powered by a 30 hp engine, it had a 11.4-meter wingspan, a wing area of 19 sq.m., an aspect ratio of 7.5. Its top speed was 75 km/h and its takeoff weight was 310 kg. The Adazhi finished third in the "trike" category.

Another motor hang glider, also with a 30 hp engine, was designed and built in the SKB by Vasiliunas Virgis, a student of the Faculty of Marine Engineering, and demonstrated excellent flight characteristics.​

LA-7 "Erglis" (Eagle in Latvian)

N.S. Kuleshov and O.V. Ore made a great contribution to the development of hang gliding and motor hang gliding. They created the Erglis and Delta-Agro motor hang gliders, which took part in many exhibitions and competitions and won many prizes. The ultra-light motor hang glider LA-7 Erglis was presented at the exhibition of ultra-light aircraft SLA-85 in Kyiv by employees and students of the SKB RKIIGA. The authors and developers of the LA-7 project were O.V. Ore, N.N. Kuleshov and Yu. B. Pribylsky. To lighten the Erglis hang-glider design and simplify it, the developers abandoned the motorized trolley. They mounted the engine of their own design on the keel beam. The propeller was installed in a ring channel to increase the efficiency of the propeller and ensure its reliable enclosure. The hang-glider had a two-cylinder air-cooled engine, developed on the basis of the Druzhba chainsaw with a working volume of 210 cm, and a power of 10 hp (13.6 kW).

The motorized hang glider participated in unscheduled flights on the SLA-85, piloted by S. Drobyshev. The LA-7 took off confidently and had a vertical speed of over 1 m/s. The Erglis motorized hang glider was demonstrated at the USSR Exhibition of Economic Achievements and was awarded medals. The same authors, with the participation of Yu.B. Pribylsky, developed a motorized hang glider power plant based on the Vikhr-30 boat motor. Such power plants were successfully used on motorized hang gliders equipped with agricultural equipment for applying liquid fertilizers to fields in the Adazhi and Uzvara agrofirms in 1988.
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"Delta-Agro"

A power plant for a motorized hang glider based on the Vikhr-30 boat motor was developed with the help of Yu. B. Pribylsky. Such power plants were successfully used on motorized hang gliders equipped with agricultural equipment for applying liquid fertilizers to fields in the Adazhi and Uzvara agricultural firms in 1988.

The Delta-Agro motorized hang glider was developed and built at the SKB RKIIGA by A. Belevkin, N. Kuleshov, O. Ore and Yu. Pribylsky. It was the first monocoque motorized hang glider with a semi-closed cockpit. The device received a special prize from the Ilyushin Design Bureau.

A two-seater motorized hang glider was designed and built in the SKB under the leadership of A. Belevkin, intended for performing various types of work in the national economy. Later, when the time of cooperatives came, this device began to be replicated.

Motorized hang gliders developed and manufactured in the SKB RKIIGA were always distinguished by the originality of their designs, often using technical ideas that had patent protection, ahead of the technical and technological level of other teams. When designing them, computers were already used at that time to calculate and optimize the operating modes of the propeller, coordinating it with the operating modes of the engine.
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[Stargazer]

Sikorsky S-22 "Ilya Muromets" full-scale replica (1978)

When it came out in 1913, the "Ilya Muromets", designed by Igor I. Sikorsky and built at the Russo-Balt plant in Riga, was the largest aircraft in the world. Its construction was completed in October, and made its first flight on December 14. The aircraft also held the first aviation records. In 1915, at the Russo-Balt plant, engineer Kireyev designed the R-BVZ aircraft engine. The engine was a six-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled engine and was installed with some modifications on the "Ilya Muromets". The S-22 design turned out to be very successful, and all heavy aircraft were built in its image for another two decades. "Ilya Muromets" became the world's first passenger aircraft, it set a record for cargo capacity, and its combat modification was well armed. The aircraft was actively used during the First World War.In 1915, the heaviest bomb in the world (410 kilograms) was dropped from the aircraft. The aircraft was produced on wheeled, ski and float landing gear. In peacetime, the USSR used it on domestic airlines for cargo, mail and passenger transportation. A total of about 80 machines were built.

However, when in the late 70s the Mosfilm studio began filming the movie "Poem of Wings" about outstanding aircraft designers I. Sikorsky and A. Tupolev, there was no longer any of those machines in the country, so they turned to RKIIGA, suggesting the possibility of a cooperation in creating a full-size non-flying copy of the aircraft. An agreement was concluded through the Institute's SKB. The creative team, in addition to representatives of RKIIGA, also included employees of the Latvian Civil Aviation Administration, the Riga Aircraft Modeling Laboratory, and Moscow organizations. The following RKIIGA individuals participated in the project: V. Yagnyuk, Yu. Pribylsky, D. Osokin, D. Titov, G. Yagnyuk, and students A. Sipkevich, S. Shchukin, V. Kabanov. The institute's employees designed and manufactured the aircraft fuselage, the upper wing center section, controls, propellers and wing joints, and performed strength calculations of the fuselage, wings and joints. The final assembly of the aircraft was carried out in July-August 1978 in the hangar of the Nakotne collective farm, which provided overall coordination of the work and communication with the film studio.

The aircraft was not intended to fly, but during filming it had to take off on its own, with its tail raised, simulating a real takeoff. In connection with this requirement, the aircraft was equipped with four M-337 aircraft engines with a total capacity of kW (840 hp) and a fully operational control system for the rudders and ailerons. Filming took place in Moscow and Cuba. After completion, the aircraft was demonstrated at the VDNKh USSR, where in the summer of 1979 the exhibition "60 Years of Soviet Cinema" was held, and then it was transferred to the Air Force Museum in Monino, where it is currently located. It arrived at the Air Force Museum in 1979 and has been on display since 1985 after restoration repairs.


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[Stargazer]

Polikarpov R-5 full-scale replica (unfinished)

In 1983, by order of the Minister of Civil Aviation, the organization of the Main Branch Museum of the History of Civil Aviation was started at the Higher Flight School in Ulyanovsk. The collection of equipment was carried out throughout the country. Many aircraft had long since ceased to exist by this time. Therefore, drawings of non-existent machines were sought out and restored to life-size in metal. There was also a mandatory condition: the restored machines had to fly to their base in Ulyanovsk under their own power.

The restoration of aircraft was entrusted to educational institutions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, one of which was RKIIGA. By order of the head of the MGA Educational Institutions Department, Yu. Darymov, the Rigans were given the R-5, a Soviet multi-purpose single-engine aircraft from the 1930s, created in the Polikarpov Design Bureau in 1928 and mass-produced from 1930 to 1936. The difficulty of the work was the lack of aircraft of this type in domestic and foreign museums and even technical documentation for them. Thanks to the help of aviation enthusiasts from different parts of the country who sent letters and photographs, it was possible to find a technical description of the aircraft, a description and repair manual for the M-17f engine. Valuable materials on the history of the creation of the R-5 aircraft were provided to the SKB by the N. E. Zhukovsky Memorial Museum.

Based on the materials obtained, senior lecturer of the RKIIGA D. P. Osokin, together with students A. Dmitriyonok and A. Mikhalchenko, who were completing diploma projects on the restoration of the R-5, managed to restore the drawings of the general views and the layout of the aircraft. However, in order to clarify the technological nuances of recreating the aircraft and bringing the copy closer to the original, it was necessary to have at least the remains of this aircraft. It became known from the archives that in 1935-1940, during work on establishing the high-altitude air route Dushanbe-Khorog, two R-5 aircraft crashed.

In addition, in 1937, the test pilot of the N. N. Polikarpov Design Bureau, Mikhail Alekseevich Lipkin, who participated in providing support for the large Pamir expedition to Lenin Peak, having difficulty coping with a powerful descending air flow, managed to land the R-5 aircraft on a small gentle section of the slope of a snow dome at an altitude of 5,200 m. The pilot was not injured, but the aircraft had to be abandoned at the landing site (which has since been called Lipkin Rock and serves as a landmark for one of the frequently visited routes to Lenin Peak). Thanks to good and friendly relations with the Tajik Civil Aviation Administration (whose head of administration was Vladimir Ryazanov, a classmate of RKIIGA Vice-Rector V. Shestakov), it was possible to organize an expedition of employees and students of the Institute, first to search for the remains of the aircraft, and then to evacuate them. The mountain part of the expedition was led by Associate Professor, A. V. Romanov (Mountaineering Sports Teacher), who saw Lipkin's plane in 1968 during his ascent to Lenin Peak.

It was Romanov and the head of the SKB Viktor Yagnyuk who were able to bring to life the idea of returning the R-5 to people. Having flown over large mountain areas by helicopter, the remains of the plane were found on the slope of Lenin Peak, at an altitude of more than 5,000 m. The preserved front part of the fuselage and some other parts were delivered to Riga, to the SKB. Exact copies were made from them. A huge amount of organizational work was done by V. Yagnyuk, who, having established connections with the Civil Aviation units, found and delivered to Riga the control parts from the R-5 aircraft of pilot Bastanzhiev that crashed in Chukotka in 1934, four M-17f engines from the TB-3 aircraft that crashed between Okhotsk and Magadan, and a similar engine from Rudolf Island in Franz Josef Land, preserved there in its factory packaging since the time of Papanin's expedition to the North Pole. The chassis with the R-5 was also found in the Pamirs by Dushanbe aviators and transferred to Riga.

In 1984, the manufacture of parts, assembly of individual units and assemblies of the aircraft began. Under the leadership and direct participation of the SKB engineers I. Vasiliev and A. Shveigert, the fuselage, cowlings and wings of the aircraft were manufactured. A significant part of the design developments were carried out by students as diploma and course projects, calculation and graphic and homework assignments. However, in connection with the collapse of the USSR and the general structure of educational institutions of civil aviation, the aircraft remained for a while in the hangar of the now former SKB of the institute unclaimed, as a reminder of the interest and dedication of students in their love and thirst for knowledge in their chosen specialty.

In parallel with the restoration of the R-5 aircraft in Riga, similar work was carried out in Dushanbe. The source material for it were two aircraft that crashed in 1935-1940 during the construction of the high-altitude air route Dushanbe - Khorog. A group of enthusiasts from the Dushanbe aviation enterprise, including Andrei Perminov, took on the task of assembling one aircraft from two. The fate of the aircraft turned out to be no less tragic than that of its "parents", but with a happy ending. With the beginning of perestroika in the USSR in 1989, unrest, pogroms, and a mass exodus of Russians began in Tajikistan. By 1990, Perminov was the only one left in the initiative group of restorers. He spent almost three years assembling the plane alone, and when the plane was ready, he managed, not without great difficulty, to transport the plane to the aviation museum in Monino, unlike the one in Riga, which ended up in private hands, although it was intended for the museum.​

 

[Stargazer]

"Makhocyclet" (Ornithoplane) (1968 project)

In 1963, Zhukovsky student I.N. Vinogradov, in collaboration with his son R.I. Vinogradov, were granted a patent for a motor ornithoplan. The aircraft was designed as a strut-braced monoplane on a two-wheel landing gear, with both horizontal tail and vertical tail. The source of energy was an internal combustion engine driving a piston pump which served, through various devices in the wing, to create flapping oscillations. The exhaust gases of the engine were directed through an ejector device located in the center section to create jet thrust. The wing consisted of a center section, a hinge section, a middle lifting wing with a louver unit along the trailing edge, and a manus with feather-shaped blades.

In 1965-1968, a group of students at SKB RKIIGA, led by pilot-engineer and associate professor I.N. Vinogradov, carried out work towards creating a "Makhotsiklet" - an aircraft with flapping wings based on a moped (invented by I.N. Vinogradov and V.M. Andreev). The group who performed the work included at that time the students of the Faculty of Mathematics V.P. Labendik, Vladimir P. Labendik, V.M.Shabalin, V.A. Neifeld, B.I. Skurat, G.I. Vorotyntsev and others. Calculations of the flight characteristics of the device were carried out, drawings were developed, assembled from separate parts, and the manufacture of a wooden model of the "makhocyclet", based on production moped "Riga-3", was started. The immediate goal of this work was to create a test bench for full-scale tests of a flapping wing and to develop the mechanization of such a wing. The whole team understood that the lack of a complete understanding of the mechanics of flapping flight and experience in designing such devices, combined with the lack of very light and sufficiently strong materials, did not allow them to hope for quick success; yet they also understood that only specific work in the chosen direction would allow them to find ways to move forward and were eager to work in an unknown area.

The intermediate results of this work were reported in April 1966 at the XII student scientific conference of universities of the Baltic republics, Belarus, and the Kaliningrad region in the form of three reports by Vl. Labendik, G. Vorotyntsev, V. Neifeld, and then in February 1968 by I.N. Vinogradov at the 104th meeting of the section of the theory of aviation and cosmonautics of the Soviet National Association of Historians of Natural Science and Technology. This work was, as it were, a continuation of the study work on flapping flight conducted at RKVIAVU as early as 1956, also under the supervision of I.N. Vinogradov, P.N. Pyatkov and Ya.S. Segal, who had then conducted tests of a flapping model.

The natural dream of I.N. Vinogradov, like every inventor, to see his invention implemented during his lifetime — especially since I.N. Vinogradov, having started in the 1930s with the design of light aircraft and having become interested in studying bird flight, had already devoted almost 20 years to the problem of flapping flight. However, Vinogradov's vision was misunderstood by the then-head of the SKB. Without participating in the work himself and without coordinating it with any of the people performing it, he published articles of a purely advertising nature in the newspapers Ingenier Aeroflota (Aeroflot Engineer), Sovietskaya Molodezh (Soviet Youth) and Moskovsky Komsomolets (Moscow Komsomol Member) about the "mahocyclet", passing off wishful thinking as reality, as a result of which several letters arrived at the institute accusing the performers of this work of adventurism. This led to a deterioration in the attitude of the institute's management towards this work, delays in fulfilling orders in the training and production workshops and a gradual decline in the enthusiasm of the students participating in this work, to the effect that further research in this direction at the SKB RKIIGA ceased.​

 

[Stargazer]

"Taurenis", "Entuziast-2", "NordJeep"...
Before and after the Soviet collapse

In 1986, the Gromov Flight Research Institute opened a separate Riga Branch Department in the Latvian capital, where RKIIGA's Yuri Pribylsky was appointed chief designer, deputy head of the department, and later head of the department. He carried out the preliminary design of a light training aircraft as an entry in the design competition announced by the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry. The purpose of that tender was to provide small aviation machines to meet the growing need for pilot training while significantly reducing the costs of their training.

The light training aircraft designed by Pribylsky was called the Taurenis ("butterfly" in Latvian) and was awarded a 1st degree competition diploma in 1988. The project was defended at the head institute of the MAP SibNIIA in Novosibirsk. Pribylsky's design passed a technical examination and was accepted for financing by the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry, and Pribylsky was entrusted with the design and supervision of the production of structures and units. However, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the project was not implemented.

Also in 1988, the magazine Krylia Rodine (Wings of the Motherland) announced an all-Union competition to create an aircraft for initial pilot training. It is not clear whether this was totally independent from the government tender or connected to it, but many projects were submitted to the competition, including the work of SKB RKIIGA enthusiasts I. Vasiliev, L. Aleksankin, A. Zverev and D. Osokin. Their project received high marks and was even built in full-scale mock-up form, as can be seen in this photo. Osokin is specifically credited for a 1989 aircraft called the Entuziast-2, which was most likely that single-boom high-wing trainer project.

There are quite a few other RKIIGA projects from that period which are scarcely documented: an undated, unnamed propfan-powered administrative aircraft, presumably from the mid-1980s; a very crude-looking 1989 glider designed and built by Aleksandr Shveigert; a sleek 1990 twin-jet business aircraft developed by R. Shchavinskiy, resembling a Dassault Falcon and called the Aviastyer (the question of the design's paternity is unclear, as F. Mukhamedov's biography claims it to be one of his and also lists it as the Eurasia 18/50); a small 1990 cabin amphibian with a single engine atop the tail fin called the NordJeep, also developed by Shchavinskiy; and a weird 1993 tandem-wing design simply called the Small. Noteworthy is the fact that the Taurenis is listed by authors Shestakov and Kuleshov as a 1991 RKIIGA project, involving both Pribylsky and Osokin. Was the project carried over by Pribylsky from the Gromov institute to RKIIGA? Did Osokin help him to modify the design in 1991? These question can't be clarified for now.

In the early 90s, the activities of the SKB as a center for student creativity began to decline catastrophically. The collapse of fundamental and applied science in the educational institution and of the scientific and experimental base as a whole quickly destroyed the established connections and forms of the educational process with student scientific and technical creativity. But even though the material and technical base of the University was being taken apart, a team of enthusiasts, graduates of the University of different years, consisting of A. Belevkin, A. Smirnov, O. Ore, A. Prokofiev, E. Sokolov and D. Titov, continued creative work in the absence of elementary help from anyone. Following the established tradition, the SKB continued to receive orders for the implementation of certain national economic tasks.

Hang gliders built in RKIIGA have always taken part in sports festivals and various demonstration performances in different cities of Latvia. However, these are only episodes in comparison with the past successes of the SKB of the unique university RKIIGA-RAU, which was barbarously liquidated in 1999. In the period from 1993 to 1997, A. Belov and A. Smirnov, at the request of Agroprom and the fishermen of Rezekne, carried out experimental work on field pollination and reconnaissance flights over Lake Rezna. In 1994, a two-seater glider "Blanik" was equipped with a propeller-driven unit based on the "Buran" engine. The resulting motorized hang glider demonstrated excellent flight characteristics and was approved for flights by the Latvian Civil Aviation Administration, and a number of students underwent training and received the right to solo flights.

Using the experience gained, the same team created a second motorized hang glider with a Rotax engine and more advanced aerodynamics. In 1997, by order of the Latvian Hang Gliding Federation, A. Belevkin, with the participation of D. Titov, created a two-seater motorized hang glider-tower, which made it possible to lift a hang glider athlete taking off on foot. After the liquidation of the RAU (1999) and the formation of new educational institutions on its "wreckage", Dmitry Filippovich Titov became the custodian of the SKB base and the organizer of work with enthusiastic students and others.​

 

[hesham]

Nice work of course,and in my files a strange thing,there was a
design called Riga-59,I am not sure about it,and no reference
to the source.

 

[Maveric]

this one?

 

[Stargazer]

Nice work of course,and in my files a strange thing,there was a design called Riga-59,I am not sure about it,and no reference to the source.

this one?

If that's the one, then it was a typo, since the photo clearly shows the Riga-50M.

 

[Stargazer]

I have made a few adjustments and corrections throughout the topic, including the following:

• For the RIIGA-1 plan, I replaced "altitude" by "length", which was the correct translation.
• In post #20 I removed the Entuziast-2 mockup and replaced it with the ekranoplane Yak and Antonov projects.
• In post #25 I added the photo of the NordJeep project which I'd forgotten to include.

 

[Stargazer]

I have added the Shevchuk Adazhi agricultural hang glider to post #21.

 

[Stargazer]

Latvian aircraft after RKIIGA-RAU

On the ruins of the former Riga aviation training and scientific centers, new ones were formed, including aviation centers, which in one form or another continue the work of their predecessors. Today, amateur aviation has received wide recognition, as evidenced by regular rallies. The regulatory framework for the creation and operation of such aircraft has been resolved. The development of ultralight aircraft continues, including, albeit to a small extent, in Latvia. The traditions established in the RKIIGA-RAU SKB in the field of development and creation of aircraft for various purposes are continued by the employees and students of the ancestral successor of this university as the Aeronautics Institute of Riga Technical University (AERTI); the photos (right) show several of their activities and projects. Also, many graduates of RKIIGA-RAU, having maintained a commitment to aviation science and technology from their time of study, student scientific creativity in the departments and in the SKB RKIIGA, continue to do this now. For some, this is a passion for a favorite pastime. They restore and recreate historical examples of aircraft in models and copies.

Others develop and manufacture new aircraft and this is already a business. Unfortunately, there are not many such people in Latvia. One of them is the Latvian company Pelegrin (Pilgrim), located in Adaži, founded in 2010 by three businessmen-pilot-designers "passionate" about the sky : Igor Zvyagin, Valentin Vasyak and Anatoly Perekrestov. The company is engaged in the construction of ultralight class aircraft. As of 2012, they acquired the rights to the Millenium Master, after the Italian company Millenium aircraft went bankrupt, and the aircraft (above right) was presented in April 2014, at Aero Expo 2014 (the annual world exhibition of aviation achievements, held in the German city of Friedrichshafen), where it was noted as one of the best aircraft of this class. An improved version, the Tarragon TR-91 (above left) which is made of carbon fiber composite materials and uses a variety of 100-130 hp Rotax or EPA engines, has been in production since 2018. In 2020 it set an unofficial world speed record for ultralight airplanes at 402 km/h, and was purchased by the Latvian Air Force in 2022 for pilot training (right).

Valentin Vasyak is also interested in recreating historical aircraft. In 2009, a group of enthusiasts in Adaži presented a copy of the legendary aircraft Farman IV (left) developed in 1910 by the French designer Henri Farman and once built in Riga in the workshop of Sliusarenko-Lidiya Zvereva. In 2015, a copy of the Bleriot aircraft, which was the first to cross the English Channel, was presented. Both aircraft were reconstructed based on their old photographs and sketches, as well as on books in which descriptions were found. Another company, Aero Restoration, owned by brothers Yaroslav and Timur Galeev, also restores combat aircraft from World War II (in particular, modifications of the I-16 and Yak-7b aircraft) and more. Another enthusiast, also a 1985 graduate of the RKIIGA, Viktor Aleshin, independently assembled a unique aircraft Pitts 12 (right), designed for aerobatics. The aircraft is based in Spilve, in the Kurzeme district of Riga.

Special mention should be made of the enthusiasts who recreate the full-scale models of K. Irbitis's aircraft. In 2010, aviation history enthusiast J. Grinbergs made a full-scale model of the VEF Irbitis I-12 aircraft using original archival drawings and preserving the original technology. M. Gorodtsov, a graduate of RKIIGA, recreated a full-scale model of the VEF Irbitis I-17 aircraft. A. Barov, an employee of the RTU Aeronautics Institute, made models of aircr aft developed in Latvia in all periods of the last century.

In 2010, the idea of an model museum project for Aircraft Designed in Latvia was born. The idea was to recreate the history of aircraft design in Latvia in the form of a replenished museum and exhibition exposition displaying scale models, supplemented with archival photos and text materials. Ultimately, the exposition should contain from 35 to 50 exhibits. Author and project manager: Andrei Barov (photo) was helped by students and employees of AERTI, some of them working more actively, others more sporadically, among them: K. Eglitis, G. Struver, S. Kuznetsov, D. Titov, O. Gorbachev and others.​