The Gidroplan Che-22 Korvet ( en, Corvette) is a three-seat,

parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

designed and built in Russia from the 1990s. It can have one or two engines and may be configured as an

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

. At least eighty have been produced.

Design and development

The Korvet is one of several

light

Boris Chernov designs of similar appearance, stemming immediately from the Che-20. The Che-22 Korvet made its first flight in 1993 and achieved certification in December 2001, with significant structural, control and instrumentation revisions made along the way. It proved successful, with 80 completed by January 2011. Since 1995 Chernov's designs have either been built by the Gidroplan (Hydroplane) Company or by Gidrosamolet. The wing of the Korvet has no sweep and is of constant chord, with 1.5° dihedral; its thick

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

section has a

thickness-to-chord ratio In aeronautics, the thickness-to-chord ratio, sometimes simply chord ratio or thickness ratio, compares the maximum vertical thickness of a wing to its chord. It is a key measure of the performance of a wing planform when it is operating at tra ...

of 0.15. It is a single

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

, riveted

duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''. Its use as a tra ...

covered structure, apart from its full span slotted

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while s ...

s, which are fabric covered, and

GFRP Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

sandwich, down turned, buoyant

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

s which support the wings when the aircraft is moored. Later aircraft have remodelled tips which include integral miniature float bodies to provide stability at speed on the water; they may also have separate flaps and

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

. The wing is braced to the mid-

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

by a single streamlined

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

on each side, with the assistance of

jury strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in c ...

Cabane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s carry the wing over the cabin. The tail unit is a

structure with a straight edged, tapered, swept

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

and

balanced rudder Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevators and ...

which carries the unswept, straight edged

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

, braced from above, a little above the upper fuselage line. The

elevators An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...

are split by the rudder; the port surface has a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a pa ...

. Different variants of the Korvet have been fitted with several different engine types; some have a single engine and some are twins. In all cases the engines are mounted over and above the wing

leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

. Twins have their engines as close together as the

propellers A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

diameters will allow. Most engines have been from the Rotax range: the

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. As of 2011 the Ro ...

UL-2V and the

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

UL two cylinder two strokes, the first air-cooled and the latter with mixed air and water cooling, and the

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

UL water-cooled

flat four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...

. The

Jabiru 2200 The Jabiru 2200 is a lightweight naturally aspirated, pushrod four-stroke, flat four, air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft. Design and development The conventional direct-drive engine is fitted with an alternator, silencers, ...

has also been fitted. Some drive two blade propellers, though others have three blades. The Korvet's fuselage is a flat sided, two step hull design, built from GFRP. The cabin is completely enclosed in a blister

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

which is all transparent apart from the underwing roof, giving all round views. Entry is by upward canopy sections on each side. The flying boat can be equipped as an

with short spring

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

legs with small mainwheels, the legs rotating through 90° for water touch-downs. There is a small tailwheel below the rudder. Skis are another option.

Operational history

The first delivery of a Korvet was in 1990, when a pre-production aircraft went to a forest control organization. The first production aircraft flew in 1993, four years after the prototype. After receiving Russian certification at the end of 2001 and JAR/FAR certification a few months later, the Korvet sold quite well, with 60 built by the end of February 2002. An early Korvet 582 was sold in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, then bought by the Vietnamese and used as a model for the locally built

A41 Factory VNS-41 The VNS-41 is the first amphibious microlight aircraft made in Vietnam. The A41 Factory (officially Aircraft Repair Company A-41) under the Air Force and Air Defense Department (Ministry of Defense) manufactured the aircraft based on the Russian C ...

. Two Korvet-Js went to Cuba in military markings in 2008. Another Korvet-J was equipped for Earth resource survey with large underwing aerials; after successful trials these aerials were internally accommodated. By January 2011, eighty had been sold, the most recent to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. Of the eighty built, seventeen were Jabiru powered. As well as selling flyaway aircraft, Gidroplan also sell

kits Kits may refer to: * Kitsilano, a neighbourhood of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada *Kits, an American taffy candy made by Gilliam Candy Company *KITS, a San Francisco, California radio station *Kottayam Institute of Technology & Sci ...

in different stages of finish.

Variants

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2009-10 and 2013-14 ;Che-22P1: One

. ;Korvet 503 (Che-22P2): Two Rotax 503 UL. Discontinued by 2013. ;Korvet 582 (Che-22RS): Two Rotax 582 UL. Precursor to the Korvet-L. ;Korvet 912 (Che-22D): One Rotax 912 UL. Discontinued by 2013. ;Korvet-J : Two Jabiru 2200. Tip floats as Korvet-L. Flown by 2003. ;Korvet-L (Che-22RS): Two Rotax 582 UL. Static buoyant tips revised to include miniature hydrodynamic float extensions. Flown by 2003. ;Korvet single: One Jabiru 2200 with three blade propeller. Flown by 2008. ;Korvet Kabriolet: Open cockpit version, under development in 2010; probably one Jabiru 2200. ;Refly Pelican: Appeared at Oshkosh 2000, but not authorised by Gidroplane. Two Rotax 582 UL. ;Chernov Che-23: Two seat version, shorter and lighter empty than the similarly powered Korvet 912. Raised tailplane; combined tailwheel and water rudder just aft of rear step. One Rotax 582 UL or 912 UL; three blade propeller.

Specifications (Korvet-L)

References

{{Chernov aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Flying boats Amphibious aircraft 1980s Soviet civil utility aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1989 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft