History
In 1934 Soviet a/c designer A.S.Moskalev began to study the delta and
oval wing aircraft projects. He submitted the project of a high-speed
delta-wing fighter powered with two tandem "Hispano-Suiza" engines,
driving two coaxial propellers. The VVS authorities suggested to test this
idea on a more conventional plane.
The project of such flying test bed, called "Strela" ("Arrow"), was created
in three (!) days, the plane itself was finished in 70 days. It was a small
wooden airplane powered with one Reno (140hp) engine.
Flying tests began in spring 1937. Several flights were made by experienced
test pilots. They showed that the plane was obviously underpowered
and was very difficult to control because of the unusual wing
shape. Nevertheless Moskalev was told to continue the development of
a delta-wing fighter, based on "Strela" flight test results. Such project was
submitted by him in 1944, but by this time Moskalev himself realized that
such a project had to be powered with a jet engine to achieve the subsonic speed of flight.
It's interesting to note, that the same delta-wing projects were studied in
Germany by Dr. A.Lippisch, but somewhat later.
SAM-9 "Strela" data:
Length .....................6.15 m
Span.........................3.55 m
Wing area.................13sq.m
Take-off weight..........630 kg
Top speed.................310km/h
|
