A-90 Orlyonok

Infobox Aircraft
name = A-90 "Orlyonok"
type = Ekranoplan
manufacturer = Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau



caption = A-90 "Orlyonok" in Moscow
designer = Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeev
first flight = 1972
introduced = 1979
retired = 1993
status =
primary user = Soviet Navy
more users =
produced =
number built = 5
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The A-90 Orlyonok (Russian: Орлёнок, English: Eaglet) is a Soviet ekranoplan that was designed by Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeev (1916-1980) of the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau.

History

The A-90 is not a conventional aircraft, but uses the ground effect to fly a few meters above the surface. Thus it is properly called GEV or ground effect vehicle or ekranoplan in Russian.

The Soviet Navy command of the 1960s was very interested in a fast military transport capable of carrying a large payload. The Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau was one of the organizations working on this top secret project, about which little was known until the fall of the Soviet Union.

Chief Designer R.E. Alexeev designed several prototypes in the 1960s, some of which were later built as the Lun-class ekranoplan. At the start of the 1970s, Alexeev designed a medium-sized Ekranoplan to be used as a military transport. The new vehicle was named "Orlyonok" ("Eaglet"). The first flying unit (S-23) was initially tested on the Volga River in the autumn of 1972, and the next year dismantled and transported to the Caspian Sea for continued testing. In 1975 the S-23 crashed during testing, later proved to be due to a deficiency in the alloy used for the hull. A different alloy was used in all subsequent units built.

Overall only five units were built:
* Non-flying unit for static testing, scrapped
* S-23 flying unit, crashed in 1975
* S-21 rebuilt "S-23", completed in 1978, lost during an accident in 1992
* S-25 completed in 1979
* S-26 completed in 1980

The A-90 entered military service in 1979. Units S-21, S-25 and S-26 remained in active service at least until 1993.

Operators

;USSR
*Soviet Navy

pecifications (A-90)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=both
ref=
crew=6
capacity=150 personnel
payload main=28,000 kg
payload alt= 61,730 lb
length main= 58.1 m
length alt= 190 ft 7 in
span main= 31.5 m
span alt= 103 ft 4 in
height main= 16.3 m
height alt= 53 ft 5 in
area main= 304 m²
area alt= 3,272 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main=
empty weight alt=
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 140,000 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 308,647 lb
more general=
engine (jet)= Kuznetsov NK-8-4K
type of jet=turbojet
number of jets=2
thrust main= 103 kN
thrust alt= 23,155 lb_f
thrust original=
afterburning thrust main=
afterburning thrust alt=
engine (prop)= Kuznetsov NK-12MK
type of prop=turboprop
number of props=1
power main= 152 kN
power alt= 34,171 lb_f
power original=
max speed main=
max speed alt=
cruise speed main= 400 km/h
cruise speed alt= 248.5 mph
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 1,500 km
range alt= 932 mi
ceiling main= 3,000 m
ceiling alt= 9,842 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
avionics=

External links

* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/904.htm FAS.org]
* [http://aquaglide.ru/history_e.htm Short summary on Soviet Ekranoplans]
* [http://www.hs-ships.ru/e_pages.phtm?f=2&p=1 The Alexeev Bureau (now a public company) page in English, with a color photo of the A-90 Ekranoplan]
* [http://www.warlib.ru/index.php?id=000149 An article in Russian about Lun and Orlyonok ekranoplans]
* [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/22/caspian_sea_monster/ Register article]