The Beriev Be-1 was an experimental
wing-in-ground-effect aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the 1960s.
Design and development
In 1956,
Robert Ludvigovich Bartini
Robert Ludvigovich Bartini (russian: Роберт Людвигович Бартини; 14 May 1897 – 6 December 1974) was an Hungary, Hungarian-born Soviet aircraft designer and scientist, involved in the development of numerous successful and ...
approached the
Beriev
The PJSC Beriev Aircraft Company (russian: Таганрогский авиационный научно-технический комплекс им. Г. М. Бериева, , Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific Technical Complex), formerly Beriev ...
design bureau with a proposal for a
Wing-In-Ground-effect vehicle (WIG). The Be-1 became the first experimental prototype, used for exploring the stability and control of wing-in-ground-effect aircraft.
The Be-1 featured two floats with very low
aspect ratio wing sections between them and small normal wing panels extending outside the floats. Surface-piercing hydrofoils were mounted on the underside of the floats. The aircraft was powered by a single
Tumansky RU-19 turbojet, mounted above the wing. The Be-1 was also equipped with landing gear. The aircraft was operated between 1961 and 1964. The first flight from water was made in 1964.
Beriev Aircraft Company - Photos
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See also
References
{{Bartini aircraft
Be-0001
Ekranoplans
Be-1
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