Polikarpov I-1
Note: Don’t pull back on the brakes hard, or it will make the plane nose-over.
History:
The Polikarpov I-1 was a single-seat, low-wing, wooden aircraft. The first prototype, known as the IL-400, was designed around the 400-horsepower (300 kW) Liberty L-12 piston engine. It used the radiator and propeller of the Airco DH.9A. The fuselage and wings were covered with a mix of plywood and fabric. The landing gear was braced by wires and the wingtips were protected by tubular curved skids. On the IL-400's maiden flight on 15 August 1923, the aircraft stalled and crashed because its center of gravity was too far aft.
A second prototype, designated as the IL-400bis or IL-400B, was built, but it had to be redesigned to cure the center of gravity problem. A new, thinner, aluminum wing was designed and the tailplane and vertical stabilizer were enlarged. The cockpit and engine were moved forward and the radiator was replaced by a Lamblin type. It made its first flight on 18 July 1924 and was cleared for production on 15 October as the I-1. —Wikipedia
This was the first Soviet monoplane fighter to enter production. It had two synchronized .30 cal PV machine guns over the engine, but a few examples had two unsynchronized .30 PV machine guns located in bulges in the wings.
Specifications
General Characteristics
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- Wingspan 45.7ft (13.9m)
- Length 34.8ft (10.6m)
- Height 11.1ft (3.4m)
- Empty Weight 2,700lbs (1,224kg)
- Loaded Weight 5,624lbs (2,551kg)
Performance
- Horse Power/Weight Ratio 0.133
- Wing Loading 15.7lbs/ft2 (76.8kg/m2)
- Wing Area 357.6ft2 (33.2m2)
- Drag Points 2783
Parts
- Number of Parts 44
- Control Surfaces 5
- Performance Cost 213