Soviet Wind Tunnel Model

[Hood]

I've just brought Mark Holborn's 'Propaganda' an excellent selection of black & white offical Soviet photographs showing all the best acheivements of the Soviet system such as massive dams, rockets, Cosmonauts and high-rise blocks of flats for the consumption of the West.

I've more interest here is an untitled photograph on page 141 of an inverted aircraft in a wing tunnel with two young engineers.

The model itself is a mystery to me. First the rear fuselage and the tail exactly match that of the Aero L-29 Delfin, the wings show no wingroot intakes and the wing is rather like that of the L-39 but of greater span and higher aspect ratio. There is a prominent dorsal spine but the forward fuselage is quite wide and bulky and the canopy seems rather fatter than the Delfin.

It could be an early Aero L-29 design but that raises the question why its being wind-tunnel tested in a Soviet lab. Was this a common practice? Could it be some unknown design from a Soviet OKB or is it a generic model for some research project?

I have no scanner and in any case the copyright rules would forbid me to post it here but if anyone has any ideas or has the book to look at then maybe someone might be able to match it with something.

 

[Matej]

FOTON perhaps?

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,50.0/highlight,foton.html

 

[Silencer1]

Hi!

Perhaps, Yakovlev Yak-30?

http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other/yak30.html
I understand, this aircraft didn't exactly fulfill your's description, at least you could tell us, that windtunnel model was NOT Yak-30.

By the way, I couldn't find the picture at this moment, but there was a student-made design (even mock-up has been build) of small jet trainer in USSR, similar to L-29. The main difference was an air intake - as far as I remember, this was a prpo for the movie...

Sorry, no additional data.

Concerning the windtunnel tests of foreign aircraft in USSR - this is interesting theme. It's obvious, that Soviet aircraft industry has had a capabilities, greater, then Chezholslovakia, Poland etc. So its possible that such cooperation exists. There was a famous photo of L-39 fuselage, attached under Tu-16' belly for (I think) real jet testing in flying condition.

Good luck!

 

[martinbayer]

Could this perhaps be related to the L-29 based business jet concept by MiG shown in http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11496.msg13699.html#msg13699 ?

Martin

 

[flateric]

Could this perhaps be related to the L-29 based business jet concept by MiG shown in http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11496.msg13699.html#msg13699 ?

This is NOT MiG, but MAI/TSTU(Tashkent State Technical University)/TaPO 'Semurg' multipurpose aircraft project(1972-1975).
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=19066.0

 

[martinbayer]

Could this perhaps be related to the L-29 based business jet concept by MiG shown in http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11496.msg13699.html#msg13699 ?

This is NOT MiG, but MAI/TSTU(Tashkent State Technical University)/TaPO 'Semurg' multipurpose aircraft project(1972-1975).
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=19066.0

Thanks for the correction, flateric, but it would still be interesting if the wind tunnel model mentioned in the first message of this thread is of this design or not.

Martin

 

[Hood]

No, it wasn't the 'Semurg'.
I still have the book somewhere, at some point I'll have to post a picture of the image.

 

[Hood]

Sorry for the necromance of this thread, but finally got around to posting the image I was referring too.

 

[hesham]

Need good search my dear Hood.

 

[Mark Nankivil]

That is the roughest looking wind tunnel model I think I have ever seen!

 

[flateric]

Sorry for the necromance of this thread, but finally got around to posting the image I was referring too.

 

[hesham]

Yes my dear Flateric,

but the engine's intake was bigger ?.

 

[Hood]

I think Flateric has hit the nail on the head.
What I always assumed to be a cockpit is actually a dorsal intake. I'm convinced from the layout, wings and T-tail detail (with carrot fairing etc.) that this must be the Semurg.