The Gribovsky G-22 (russian: Грибовский Г-22) was a low powered, single seat sports

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 ...

monoplane 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 ...

, designed and built in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the mid-1930s. It set at least one class record and flew from 1936 to at least 1940, though only one was completed.

Design and development

Before the G-22 all of Gribovsky's powered aircraft had

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

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 ...

s and almost all had two

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, ...

wings. Though a wooden aircraft like them, the

low 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 ...

G-22's structure was different, with a flat sided,

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

framed fuselage and single spar wings. In plan its wing had a short parallel chord centre section and strongly straight tapered outer panels with the greatest taper on the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

s and with elliptical tips. The wing was

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 ahead of the spar and fabric covered aft. There were short span Frise ailerons hinged to the upper wing surface. Over its lifetime the G-22 was powered by three different engines. It began in 1936 with an inverted in-line engine, the four cylinder,

Walter Mikron The Walter Mikron is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted straight engine for aircraft. Development Developed in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s, the engine saw limited use in late 1930s and early 1950s. In the 1980s an initial batch of eng ...

. This was replaced in 1938-9 by a

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

, the seven cylinder,

Pobjoy Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft was a British manufacturer of small aircraft engines. The company was purchased by Short Brothers shortly before the start of World War II, production continuing until the end of the war. History Douglas Rudolf P ...

. In 1940 this was in turn replaced with a three-cylinder radial, the M-23. Its single seat, open cockpit was placed at about mid-chord and behind it the headrest extended in a long fairing to the tail as the fuselage tapered markedly. The

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 the fabric covered, unbalanced rudder together had an elliptic profile. The G-22's

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 ...

was broad and almost triangular, with the hinge of its one piece

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

placed at the extreme fuselage, behind the rudder's trailing edge. The G-22's tail skid undercarriage had a pair of faired main wheels on short, vertical legs. Its rear skid was quite long, to protect the overhanging elevator. On 3 June 1938 Ekaterina Mednikova set a class speed record of in the G-22, and there were other outstanding performances. Pobjoy Niagara Science Museum London

Specifications (Walter engine)

References

External links

Грибовский Г-22
AviaDejaVu.ru (Russian)

avia-museum.narod.ru (Russian)

ram-home.com
Лёгкий самолёт Г-22
aviamuseum (Russian) {{Gribovsky aircraft 1930s Soviet sport aircraft G-22 Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936