 C00174745
 Concatenated JPRS Reports, 1992
 Page: 26
 Page   1
 Classification:   UNCLASSIFIED       Status:        [STAT]
 Document Date:    01 Nov 92          Category:      [CAT]
 Report Type:      JPRS report        Report Date:
 Report Number:    FBIS-USR-92-156    UDC Number:
 Author(s):  G. Ponomareva: "The Difficult Fate of `Article 4000,111
 Headline:  Thermoplane Highlighted
 Source Line:  934AO324C Moscow VOZDUSHNYY TRANSPORT in Russian No 44,
 Nov 92 p 6
 Subslug:   [Article by G. Ponomareva: "The Difficult Fate of `Article
 4000011)
 FULL TBHT OF ARTICLE:
 1.  [Article by G. Ponomareva: "The Difficult Fate of 'Article
 4000???]
 2.  [Text] "We mustn't bury science!" was the refrain heard at the
 scientific-technical council of the " Thermoplane " program, which
 recently met in the Moscow Aviation Institute.
 3.  As we reported earlier, scientists of this institute have
 developed a dirigible with a disk-shaped hull that journalists have
 already christened the "flying saucer." The program to develop and
 utilize the thermoplane was approved by the government of the
 previously existing USSR. More than a couple of dozen enterprises
 were brought together for the "Thermoplane " program.  Including
 such well known ones as the " Energiya" and " Molniya"
 scientific-production associations, the Academy imeni Dzerzhinskiy of
 the Ministry of Defense, and the Design Office imeni Tupolev.
 4.  The unique craft is a qualitatively new transportation resource.
 It does not require airfield support. It is not difficult to operate.
 It is extremely economical (fuel consumption is three times lover
 than that of a Boeing).  Its chief merit is its high lifting
 capacity. It can be used to deliver large-sized cargo weighing up to
 600 tonnes to hard-to-reach areas of Siberia, the North and the Far
 East. It provides door-to-door transportation without transloading
 and intermediate bases. An undoubtable plus is its ability to perform
 installation operations.
 5.  Oilmen and gasmen are interested in the thermoplane as a means of
 delivering drilling rigs; builders, geologists, gold miners and power
 engineers are interested in it as well. They have even provided money
 for construction of an experimental scale model.. "Article 4000,"
 which is five times smaller than a full-sized thermoplane, was built
 i
 Approved for Release    3.4
 ell',
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 at the Ulyanovsk Aviation Complex (presently the Aviastar Joint-Stock
 Company). In the words of general designer Yu. Ishkov, the craft was
 destined to be born and to die in the assembly shop. It was
 dismantled in order to check out the residual stresses on the power
 generating structures. The main goal of the effort was to practically
 verify the theoretical calculations, to obtain experience in
 assembling the craft, and to test the reliability of the outer hull.
 Incidentally, administrators of Aviastar did not allow the thousand
 meters of excellent rubberized lavsan to go to waste. When the craft
 was dismantled, the silvery fabric was in great demand. It is said
 that it can be used to make tents, kayaks and other fishing
 essentials.
 6.  It looks as if "genus Thermoplane" has reached extinction
 following the first experimental model. The second was to undergo
 flight tests in Volsk, at the Aerostatic Equipment Testing Center,
 and in August of next year it was to be demonstrated at the air show
 at Le Bourget.  But nothing will come of this-the work has been
 halted for practical purposes, because there is no money. The
 "Thermoplane " program does not receive any financing from the
 budget. And the clients have reconsidered investing money into it.
 Representatives of the concern "Gazprom, " for example, wanted to
 wait until they saw the flight tests of the first model. They have
 doubts regarding the craft's stability. Millions have been spent,
 with nothing to show for them as yet. Obviously other sponsors feel
 the same way. This year all work on the thermoplane was done "on
 loan." The developers received only 5 percent of the sum they were
 promised.  This is the fourth month they have not received any wages.
 If things keep going this way, the idea itself of creating the
 thermoplane will be frozen for a long period of time. And in the
 worst case, the results of the work already done will be lost
 irretrievably.
 7.  It's regrettable. A burdensome path 10 years long has been
 traveled, the idea was carried through to the level of flight tests,
 and now everything is falling apart. Besides the fact that the craft
 is something the national economy needs, it is also a "child of
 conversion." Airplane fuselages, ground aircraft support equipment
 and some components of dismantled military technical facilities could
 be utilized in its construction. Not to mention utilization of the
 productive capacities of that same Aviastar. Shops containing unique
 equipment and cranes capable of millimeter precision are now
 assembling furniture.
 8.  In the meantime interest has been shown in the thermoplane idea
 abroad. In just the last few months, eight foreign delegations have
 visited Ulyanovsk. Australian television has asked for filming
 permission. France's National Aerodynamic Research Bureau has offered
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 its assistance. Businessmen would like to establish a joint-venture
 on the basis of the well known principle: "Your ideas, our money."
 For the moment the collective of the Thermoplane Design Office is
 rejecting the tempting offers from beyond the border. Will their
 patience last?
 9.  Must our science have only one path open to it-a westward one?

