At the end of 2023, the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Building named after P.I. Baranov plans to complete a research work called "Circus Man". Andrey Kozlov, the company's CEO, told RT about this in an interview. According to him, the ultimate goal of the project is to form the foundation for the manufacture of a line of aviation piston engines, which will be equipped with training and sports aircraft, as well as small aircraft of Russia. The appearance of new power units will allow replacing aging Soviet engines and imported models. As the Director General of CIAM emphasized, the scientific and technical base obtained as part of the implementation of the Circus will help to create competitive Russian aircraft in the shortest possible time.
— Andrey Lvovich, the research work (R &D) under the name "Circus" provides for the creation, as well as experimental testing of systems and technologies that will later form the basis of a whole line of aircraft engines designed for sports and training aircraft. What is the idea of this project? And when is it planned to complete the work?
— Training and sports aviation is necessary for the formulation of initial flight skills, without it it is impossible to further develop technology in small aircraft. It is also used in a separate sports discipline, within which aerobatics competitions are held. The basis of modern training and sports aviation in Russia is made up of acrobatic category aircraft. As part of their power plants, aircraft piston engines (APD) are used.
In the USSR in the 50-80-ies of the last century, many aircraft were created that can be attributed to the acrobatic category. The most successful projects are the developments of the design bureau of Alexander Yakovlev (sports training Yak-52, aerobatic Yak-55) and the Design Bureau of Pavel Sukhoi (sports aircraft Su-26, Su-31, Su-29). Until recently, these machines were the basis of Russian training and sports aviation.
Due to a number of economic and technical reasons, the production of piston engines of the M-14 family for these aircraft was stopped (the last serial M-14P was produced about 15 years ago). To date, the vast majority of the fleet of sports acrobatic aircraft is not operated due to the lack of engines. Flight schools and training organizations of the DOSAAF system were forced to purchase foreign equipment.
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| CEO of CIAM Andrey Kozlov. |
| Source: CIAM Press Service |
The Central Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering named after P.I. Baranov (CIAM, part of the N.E. Zhukovsky Institute) started implementing the Circus project in 2021. His main idea is to work out the design and technologies that allow you to create nodes and parts of the APD for the modernization of existing and the creation of new powerplants of acrobatic category aircraft.
The deadline for completion of work in accordance with the terms of the state contract is the end of 2023. The research work ends with flight tests of the technology demonstrator engine.
— Who became the customer of these works?
— The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, and the results of the work can be applied to the creation of engines for the remotorization of Yak-52 aircraft in DOSAAF, and new training machines Yak-152 (equipped with a German engine RED A03T V12. — RT).
— What is the commercial calculation of CIAM for "Circus Man"? Is it possible to say that the demand for sports and training aircraft is growing in Russia?
— The word "commercial" is not quite applicable in this case. We, as a research institute, carry out work within the framework of a state contract, and the resulting scientific and technical reserve can be used in R&D (development work. — RT) on the development of serial engines. This is the procedure for creating any high-tech products, including engines: Research, followed by OCD, then serial production.
If we talk about the APD market, it is certainly growing, especially in modern realities, when Russia needs its own aircraft. In aerobatics (demonstration of aerobatics. — RT) first of all, training aircraft are in demand, and sports aviation is not lagging behind. Commercial structures are also interested. With the development of the infrastructure of airfields for small aircraft, the demand for aircraft with the possibility of implementing aerobatics is increasing.
— Research is conducted on the basis of a piston engine-demonstrator APD-500. Why was it taken as a basis?
— This engine was created by our team within the framework of previous research. It is the most understandable for us, it has been tested in altitude and climatic conditions and on board an experimental aircraft. And most importantly, it is the most powerful domestic piston aircraft engine to date with characteristics that are not inferior to the best foreign analogues. We plan to finish its development this year.
As part of the research "Circus Man", another demonstrator engine is being created - APD—A (acrobatic). It has significant design differences from the APD-500.
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| Domestic training aircraft. |
| Source: CIAM Press Service |
— What results are planned to be achieved within the framework of the Circus? What qualities should new engines have?
— Is there a planned OCD on this topic?
— Ideally, any research that ends with a positive result should be continued in the form of development work. Based on the results of the research work, we must prepare a technical task for the ROC for such engines.
— What, in your opinion, are the disadvantages of the current engines for sports and training aircraft?
— The most important drawback is their absence. As I said earlier, most of the M-14 engines have exhausted their resource, they are not mass-produced. And the acrobatics engines produced by the American company Lycoming cannot perform a number of aerobatics. And, of course, in the conditions of sanctions restrictions, the issue of import substitution is particularly acute.
— The Yak-52 was chosen as a flying laboratory for the Circus. Why was this decision made? What is the advantage of this aircraft?
— The Yak-52 is primarily a training aircraft. It is convenient for us because its functional systems can provide reverse aerobatics, and at the same time it has free space for the placement of equipment for flight tests of the demonstrator engine.
— What is the significance of the "Circus Man" in the context of the modernization of the training aviation of the Russian Federation?
— The development of small aircraft will entail an increase in the number of flight personnel and the need for modern training aircraft. The experience and scientific and technical groundwork gained as part of the implementation of the Circus research project will help to create competitive aviation equipment for the fleet of training and sports aviation of Russia in the shortest possible time.
Alexey Zakvasin
