Bartini and his Projects: A Review of Volume 2.

Column by Gabriel Orozco

The next volume of the book by Konstantin Udalov and Marek Rys "Bartini and his projects",
dedicated to the legendary aircraft designer who worked in Novosibirsk for many years, has been
published. CHS-INFO publishes a review of it by Brazilian expert Gabriel Orozco (translated by
aviation historian Konstantin Udalov).

Today I had the opportunity to look at the newest book by our friends Konstantin Udalov and
Marek Rys — the second volume of the collection "Bartini and his projects". It is important to note
that this book is one of the largest written by Mr. Udalov, numbering more than 260 pages, which
is not bad for the subject of Bartini's projects.

The book covers the period from 1946 to 1952, with projects T-107, T-117, special aircraft M-RD,
ying boats of the Kalamar series, T-118, supersonic missiles SS-49, T-200, T-210 and T-217 and
their variants. All these projects are described in detail, with original documents and digital
photographs for each aircraft.

The book begins with the T-107 project, a double-decker twin-engine aircraft designed as a very
comfortable airliner to ll the gap for passenger aircraft after World War II. Although development
began in the 40s, the T-107 had a very advanced layout for its time, undoubtedly serving as a
base for future similar aircraft.

The next chapter describes the multi—purpose transport aircraft - the T-117 project. As expected
from Bartini's genius mind, this aircraft featured some innovative design features, such as a very
wide triple fuselage, which not only increased the interior space, but also acted as a supporting
fuselage, providing a great aerodynamic advantage. This feature will be present in some of
Bartini's later projects. The T-117 was designed to perform both military and civilian tasks and has
been extensively tested using full-size mockups. His military tasks included the transportation of
vehicles, parachutists, aviation medical evacuation and transportation of personnel. As an airliner,
the large cabin will provide space for a wide range of con gurations, which will turn this aircraft
into a " ying hotel" with a level of comfort comparable to ocean liners. The T-117 reached the
prototype construction stage, but did not y for reasons that will be disclosed in the book.

The next project after the T-117 is the M—RD record-breaking aircraft. The M-RD project
consisted of four di erent variants, each of which was designed to accommodate two pilots, with
the exception of the rst variant, which was with one pilot. In order to y at very high altitudes and
increase fuel e ciency, these aircraft had a special aerodynamic con guration with a very long
wing present in all versions and a di erent number of engines. Two cockpit equipped with folding
seats provided a safer environment, as each pilot could rest during the ight, leaving one pilot at
the controls. All unnecessary weight was removed, and the nal version had a very advanced
layout, even by today's standards. This version had no landing gear, only ski pads, and takeo
was carried out using rockets (JATO system), which allowed saving fuel. One engine provided
power to two propellers rotating in opposite directions using a complex gearbox system.

And now let's move on for a while to Bartini's new exotic design, the Squid project. This project
consisted of a series of six ying boat designs, the main purpose of which was to test several
aerodynamic con gurations of jet-powered ying boats. All aircraft of this project had two jet
engines and almost the same wing layout. The di erence was in the design of the fuselage and
the presence or absence of PGO, as well as in di erent air intakes and engine exhausts.

Returning to more conventional aircraft, the next chapter of the book discusses another
interesting project — the T-118. This aircraft was conceived as a land-based and long-range anti-
ship and anti-submarine bomber capable of carrying o ensive and defensive weapons. The T-118
had a high-wing, twin-engine con guration with a long fuselage equipped with a huge armament
compartment on the "belly". The o ensive armament consists mainly of torpedoes and bombs,
the defensive armament consists of two twin rotating turrets and one mounted on the tail. The
cabin was heavily glazed, which provided the crew with a very good view during patrol ights.
Special weapons have also been developed for this aircraft, to which the next chapter of the book
is devoted.
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 The SS-49 project, designed as a large jet anti-ship missile, was supposed to be a powerful
weapon against naval targets with a ring range of up to 100 kilometers. The large size did not
allow these weapons to be placed inside the fuselage, they were supposed to be carried on the
outer pylons of the wing, one in each wing of the T-118 aircraft.

After describing the T-118 project, we turn to the section devoted to the project of the T-200
transport aircraft and its variants. This aircraft was very similar in general layout to the T-117, but
had an improved design with signi cant modi cations. The rst version had two engines and was
intended for both military and civilian purposes, thanks to the very wide fuselage. The military
version could be equipped with defensive weapons, as well as perform all tactical airlift tasks. A
special civilian version was developed, equipped with an innovative tracked chassis. This feature
provides the aircraft with the ability to y in icing conditions, increasing its versatility. A variant
with four engines with an increased ight range and payload was also developed, capable of
performing all the above tasks.

Based on the T-200 project, the T-210 is the next aircraft in the book. The T-210 was a military and
civilian airliner project equipped with some improvements with a special engine system designed
to provide better performance during landing and takeo . He could perform all the tasks of the
T-200 project with defensive weapons installed in the military version. This chapter is well
illustrated with historical photographs and documents, some of which have never been published
before.

The next and last aircraft (unfortunately) in the book is the T-217 transport aircraft project, a very
advanced project that is the culmination of the experience gained during Bartini's development of
his previous projects. The T-217 had four di erent variants, some of which di ered in radical wing
con guration features and the possibility of vertical takeo and landing. The rst version of the
T-217 was a four-engined high-wing aircraft with a new system designed to replace conventional
landing gear. This aircraft used the same wide cargo cabin as in previous Bartini designs, with
better aerodynamic characteristics and a huge cargo compartment. It was equipped with four
Kuznetsov NK-12 engines, which are by far the most powerful turboprop engines. The aircraft did
not have a landing gear, instead it had two sponsons on both sides and along the fuselage, each
of which was covered with a pneumatic system, which allowed the aircraft to operate unchanged
in di cult terrain.

The second version of the T-217 was almost identical to the rst, with a new cabin and the ability
to perform vertical takeo and landing (VTOL). The aircraft had six lifting engines mounted under
the fuselage, providing vertical thrust, as well as the possibility of a shortened takeo and landing
(KVP). These design innovations gave the aircraft tremendous versatility, allowing it to operate in
restricted areas where others could not access.

The last two variants of the T-217 can also be considered one of the most advanced transport
aircraft with specialized vertical takeo and landing capabilities, providing a great tactical
advantage when performing air transportation operations, taking into account aircraft of this size.
The rst of them, the T-217-3, had the same fuselage as the previous one, but the wings were
replaced by six rotary engines in ring fairings. Like a real tiltrotor, all its engines were in an upright
position during takeo , and as they climbed, they moved to a horizontal position to y like a
normal aircraft.

The most recent development, designated T-217-4, was no less innovative. This unit had the
same fuselage and lifting engines as the T-217-2 for vertical takeo and landing operations. In this
version, the wing was replaced by a single ring wing with six Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines,
each mounted on separate pylons. Perhaps one of Bartini's most bizarre developments, the
concept of a large transport aircraft capable of landing and taking o vertically, is still a vision of
the future, but developed in the 50s!

It is worth noting that these last two projects contained no more than a few preliminary schemes,
but with the help of the SibNIA Institute, combined with Marek's modeling skills, a fantastic job
turned out.
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I really recommend this book to all aviation professionals and enthusiasts, not only as a historical
guide to Bartini's projects, but also as a tool that will be used in the present and near future of
world aviation.