The Gribovsky G-21 (russian: ГРИБОВСКИЙ Г-21) was a single engine cabin monoplane designed and built in the USSR in the mid-1930s. Intended for touring and civil utility rôles, only one was completed.

Design and development

The G-21 had much in common with that of the earlier G-15, a two-seat touring aircraft, with a two spar wing of similar construction and geometry and a monocoque fuselage. The G-15's side-by-side

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

was replaced with an enclosed cabin able to seat two or three. Suggested rôles included that of air ambulance. Like the G-15 it had a completely

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

covered wing centre section which was an integral part of the fuselage. The outer wing panels were ply covered from the leading edge back to the rear spar, with the rest fabric covered. In plan the wings were strongly tapered, mostly on the trailing edges, and ended in long, elliptical tips. Its automatic leading edge slats were interconnected through the fuselage with a steel tube and its

aileron 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 roll (or movement around ...

s were slotted. The G-21 was powered by a five-cylinder

M-11Ye The Shvetsov M-11 is a five-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engine produced in the Soviet Union between 1923 and 1952.Gunston 1989, p.158. Design and development The Shvetsov M-11 was designed under a 1923 competition in the Soviet Union ...

radial engine, installed with its cylinders projecting out of the smooth cowling for cooling and driving a two blade

propeller 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 ...

. Behind the engine the fuselage was smoothly ply covered. The front of the cabin was over the leading edge, with panelled glazing that extended aft to about three-quarters

chord Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

. The G-21's cabin roof line extended rearwards unbroken, tapering only slightly to the tail, where a forward set, mid-fuselage mounted tailplane was braced on each side by a single strut to the fin-fuselage junction. The fin and unbalanced rudder had a curved profile; the rudder was broad and extended down to the keel. The G-21 had a tail skid undercarriage; like the G-15, its legs were attached to the end of the wing centre section with wheels mostly enclosed in large round profile spats. The tail skid was also faired. It made its first flight in 1936. Equipped with extra fuel tanks, it made several notable long distance flights.

Specifications

References

{{Gribovsky aircraft 1930s Soviet sport aircraft 1930s Soviet civil utility aircraft G-21 Aircraft first flown in 1936