The PS-89, the first Soviet high-speed passenger aircraft, never went into mass production
Although not many people are familiar with this car, this project can be considered fully realized. The car went into production. It’s just that the production run was very small—only 7 units. The history of this very interesting and little-known car will be discussed below.
In the early 1930s, civil aviation faced the need to increase speeds by more than 50 percent—from 200 to 300 km/h. In an effort to accelerate the development of such an aircraft, the Civil Air Fleet (GVF) leadership placed orders for prototypes not only with aircraft manufacturers but also with Aeroflot’s maintenance facilities. Engineers at the Goltsman Moscow Maintenance Plant received one such order. Under the leadership of A. Lavil and A. Kulev, development began on an all-metal, twin-engine, 14-seat aircraft designed for the busiest and longest routes. The previous design, with its numerous struts and braces that created significant drag, was unsuitable for a high-speed aircraft. Thanks to the low wing placement, the engine nacelles and landing gear struts could be integrated, which offered a major advantage, especially if it were possible to retract the landing gear in flight.
However, in the early 1930s, designers were reluctant to install retractable landing gear on large twin-engine aircraft due to a lack of experience. Therefore, engineers at the Goltsman Plant opted for “trouser-type” fairings. At that time, a number of other experimental passenger aircraft were also built using this design: the twin-engine KAI-1, designed by Z. Itskovich, as well as the single-engine OKO-1 by V. Tairov and the SAM-10 by A. Moskalyov.
In an effort to create an aircraft resistant to the effects of moisture during long-term operation, the designers chose duralumin coated with an anti-corrosion layer as the primary material. To minimize drag, the skin was made smooth, and the fuselage was given a rounded cross-section.
By 1938, a series of seven aircraft had been built, which Aeroflot designated as the PS-89, meaning “passenger aircraft, 89th prototype.”
In the spring of 1938, S. Fokanov’s crew successfully completed a test round-trip flight on a PS-89 aircraft across eleven Soviet republics. That summer, following several successful nonstop flights to the Far East, Aeroflot organized a test flight of the PR-5 and PS-89 aircraft on the Moscow–Irkutsk route. Despite adverse weather conditions, both aircraft successfully completed the flight. The PS-89 stood out in particular, reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h during certain stages of the flight.
By the spring of 1941, all PS-89s had logged several thousand flight hours, achieving an average speed of 250 km/h on commercial routes.
Technical Specifications:
- Length — 16.25 m,
- Wingspan — 23.10 m,
- Wing area — 75.00 m²,
- Height — 4.78 m,
- Takeoff weight — 7,200 kg,
- Maximum speed — 284 km/h,
- Range — 1,300 km,
- Ceiling — 4,400 m,
- Engine: two inline M-17F engines, each rated at 730 l. s.,
- Crew: 2 people,
- Payload capacity: 14 passengers or 1,300 kg of cargo.
Based on material from https://dzen.ru/a/WuNV33fQ5lBLzlsl
