Ekranoplan "Petrel-24" or stop halfway

The demand for this type of transport for boundless Yakutia is obvious. Winter lasts here for most of the year, the rivers freeze and you can get to remote uluses on foot or by helicopter. And in summer, the picture is not better, when communication between settlements is possible by river or air. In such a situation, the ekranoplan will help out: when moving over a flat surface, it consumes relatively little fuel. And the carrying capacity of the model described below is higher than that of a helicopter.


The development of the twin-engine Burevestnik-24 was carried out by the Sky and Sea company with the support of the leadership of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia. Previously, this LLC was already engaged in ekranoplans: several projects were consistently implemented. The first involved the creation of a car designed for 16 passengers, then their number was increased to 20.


The first copies did not go into the series - technologies were worked out on them, errors and shortcomings were taken into account. The third project made it possible to make an ekranoplan, taking on board 24 people, which is clear from the full name of the device.

What can be said about the design of the "Petrel"

There is nothing unusual in it: almost everything is according to the traditional scheme. Although there is one difference: there is no blowing under the wing from the motors placed in front: they are located at the back, with pusher propellers. The section of the fuselage in the center and front is almost rectangular, the tail is divided into a pair of beams, on which the keels are placed, and already on them - the tail unit.



The design of the wing allows you to call the car a polutoraplan. The upper plane is “full-fledged”, developed, the lower one is shortened, but thicker, with endings, on which there are floats.

Power point

It includes a pair of AviaSmart B-V12K twelve-cylinder piston units, developing a total of 824 hp. With. The motors are enclosed in closed cases on the upper wing. The ekranoplan moves due to the action of pushing six-blade carbon fiber propellers, located in an annular “frame” for safety.


However, after passing the preliminary tests, it was decided to upgrade. The number of blades was reduced to 4, so they thought it would be more reliable for the difficult Yakut climate.

Plans

It was assumed that the 24-seater car would run from Yakutsk to Olekminsk. The time spent on the one-way route should not exceed 5-6 hours. The developers assured that after the launch of Burevestnik-24, they would create a 100-seat machine. The manufacturer has published some technical data of the tested ekranoplan:

✅ own weight - almost 4 tons
✅ load capacity - up to 3,5 tons
✅ range - up to 2000 km
✅ maximum speed - more than 200 km / h

The machine is capable of moving in three modes. The first involves sailing like a conventional ship at speeds up to 30 km / h. At a set of 120 km / h, gliding begins: contact with water is minimal. Upon reaching 240 km / h, the Burevestnik rises and soars above the surface.

Today

There was information that 6 cars were built. At least one of which is in Mytishchi, the second was tested in Yakutia in 2013. But out of the planned 700 km, the ekranoplan overcame only 85 and broke down. This is a natural thing - this is not uncommon in tests. However, at that time the developer had no money, and somehow no one was going to support him, including the leadership of the republic. The latest news refers to 2017: the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Yakutia was optimistic, saying that ekranoplans are very needed here, but things do not go beyond words to this day. The general opinion of the manufacturer and government officials is the lack of state interest in this case.


It’s not enough just to make a technique: it needs to be checked, refined. Machines are made by private traders and by the piece, but this is not enough: comprehensive tests are needed in the most remote regions of the North, in the Arctic, which requires finance.