Reprinted
with permission
from Myraid
Research Website
What do a
rat, a fly, an eagle and a little
donkey have in common? In
Russian, Rata, Mosca, Yastrebok
and Ishak are all names for the
Russian I-16 fighter. The
question kept running through my
mind as I prepared to fly the
I-16 Polikarpov. How could one
plane have so many names that
seem to have no link? The pilot's
manual held no clues or insights
into the many names for this
little Russian fighter plane but
I would soon find out.
My
adventure began when Bob Reiss
decided to augment his role in
preserving significant military
aircraft. Bob had previously
donated a General Motors FM2
Wildcat to the Confederate Air
Force. I became a pilot sponsor
on the Wildcat and have flown it
for several years. Bob decided to
donate an I-16 to the CAF and
asked me to fly it at Air Show
2001 (the CAF yearly air show) Of
course, I agreed. Then I got on
the computer to try and find out
what an I-16 was!
My
web search kept coming up with
some group in New Zealand. This
was odd, as I was pretty sure it
was a Russian plane. Enter the
Alpine Fighter Collection (a
division of Alpine Deer Group
Ltd.) created by Sir Tim Wallis
and based at Wanaka Airport, near
the township of Lake Wanaka in
the South Island of New Zealand.
As the name implies, the
collection consists primarily of
ex-military fighter aircraft of
the World War Two era. Started
from relatively humble beginnings
in 1984 with the purchase of
Tim's first P51-D Mustang, the
collection now consists of a wide
array of aircraft from various
nations that were involved in the
major conflict of 1939 to 1945.
Of
historical rarity are the
Polikarpov fighters that the
Alpine Fighter Collection has had
restored in Russia. They are a
significant addition to the
world's warbird movement. Both
the Polikarpov I-16 and I-153
comprised the majority of the
Russian Fighter force when
Germany invaded Russia. This is I
believe where the ishak (little
donkey) name comes from as they
were called upon to carry the
great load of national defense.
Plus they played a significant
role in the Spanish Civil War
where they were called mosca
(fly) by their pilots, and in
China, in the conflict with Japan
prior to the Great Patriotic War.
To the Russians, the Polikarpovs
were as historically significant
as the Spitfire and the Hurricane
are to Britain. The Polikarpov
I-16 monoplane, in particular,
was at the forefront of fighter
development worldwide when it
went into production in 1933 as
the first mono wing fighter in
the world with retractable
undercarriage. Likewise the
Polikarpov bi-plane evolved as
the world's fastest biplane
fighter with a top speed of 279
mph back in 1939! The Polikarpovs
were the first fighters in the
world to employ rockets as an
airborne weapon and these proved
devastatingly effective against
the Japanese in Mongolia. This,
by the way, is Bob's theory on
the origin of the name Rata, the
feared rat, small and powerful,
spreading plague across the
world.
The
restoration of these aircraft
within Russia is a tale itself
and was a challenge that many
lesser men would have walked away
from. A Russian historian was
constantly searching Russian
Museum archives and gathering
together the entire original
design data and drawings
available on the Polikarpov. The
Russian Aeronautical Research
Bureau and Plant spared no effort
as they went through the
restoration process. In every
instance, workers were carrying
out the task in accordance with
drawings and technical
specifications on the bench
beside them. The aircraft were
being painstakingly restored to
the original specifications and
design data that supported the
type during the Russian service.
From
a slow start in October 1992,
history was made in September
1995 when the first I-16 took to
the air in Russia. Their test
department took it through a full
test program to confirm all
flight parameters and that the
aircraft performed within the
required and expected design
envelope. The test pilot found
the aircraft remarkably stable
and easy to control, contrary to
much of the criticism leveled at
it through out the years. Stalls
and spin recovery were entirely
predictable and normal and
yielded no nasty surprises. Being
only 20' long and with 1000 hp up
front, take-offs and landings
require good stick and rudder
coordination by pilots well
experienced on performance tail
wheel types.
A
Russian historian researched the
background, operational theater,
color scheme and markings of each
of the wrecks and advised the
institute on the authentic color
scheme and markings for each
aircraft. Following completion of
test flights, the aircraft were
disassembled, crated and shipped
to New Zealand. On arrival at the
Alpine Fighter Collection
workshop in Wanaka, New Zealand,
each aircraft had a radio fitted
and the necessary preparation for
the issue of a New Zealand
Experimental Airworthiness
Certificate for testing. New
Zealand CAA required up to 10
hours of flying on each aircraft
prior to the issue of the full
Experimental Airworthiness
certificate and this was the
ideal period to iron out any
gremlins and small developmental
improvements necessary for a
modern operation of these
fighters. A total of six
Polikarpov I-16 and three
Polikarpov I-153 made their way
out of Russia from September 1995
through September 1999.
My check
out started with a phone call
from Ray Mulqueen of the Alpine
Fighter Museum. He would assemble
the plane at Midland after it was
trucked in from Houston and act
as support crew for the week. His
team included Steve Taylor, one
of the demo pilots, who performed
at Air Show 2000. Steve would
test fly the plane after
assembly, then oversee my
checkout in the single-seat
fighter.
Ray
sent me a Pilot's Handbook and a
video. Unfortunately, I spent a
lot of time reading the manual
before watching the video. I
thought that the video was just
airshow footage and sales stuff.
Instead, it was Ray at a
blackboard with diagrams,
interspersed with video of the
systems discussed in action, a
really great and thorough
instructional video. The bad news
was that every segment started
out with the statement
"Although counter to the
manual, we've found through our
flight experience, this to be a
superior operating
procedure." I also spent
time on Alpine's website and
found that the plane I'd fly,
Poly 45, had a history. This
would be my first warbird that
was a combat veteran! Poly #45
registration ZK-JIP (say that
fast and you'll understand why
the tower at midland allowed me
to use the call sign Poly 45) The
wreckage of this airplane was
discovered in 1991, half a
kilometer from the Osinovets
settlement, in the Leningrad
region. The plane could have been
part of the Leningrad Front
Fighter Squadron or the Baltic
Fleet Air Forces, and was
constructed at the Gorky aircraft
plant # 21, probably in 1939. The
aircraft has been restored by the
Aeronautical Research Bureau in
Novosibirsk, Siberia, as a Type
24 and is painted in a camouflage
scheme of medium green and dark
green.
When
I arrived at Midland, Ray and
Steve had #45 on jacks so I could
try my hand at the gear
retraction cycle. The main gear
are pulled up by a series of
drums and pulleys with cables and
a strong-armed pilot. On the
Wildcat, the pilot also cranks
the gear up by hand, 29 turns and
depending on airspeed, a lot of
effort or if too fast, no
movement till you slow down or
get a stronger pilot. The Poly
requires 45 turns and when I flew
it, I was pleased that the force
to operate the gear was much less
than the cat.
Steve
stood next to the cockpit and
reviewed their procedure which
had very few steps compared to
the Russian manual, which had you
setting breaks, cranking,
releasing, resetting, etc.
Alpine's version was set the
levers during preflight then move
the selector to up and crank.
Reverse the procedure for down
and when you're done flying,
release the winch break and be
done with it.
My
cockpit familiarization was over
and Steve got in to test the Rata
after its assembly. Because the
breaks are so poor, you start in
the chocks, warm up and then do
the run-up
before you taxi. All went well
with the test flight and now it
was my turn. It was getting late
in the day and the afternoon
winds had picked up. I elected to
do my first flight early next
morning.
Clear,
crisp and cold, driving out to
the airport I remembered that
this was an open cockpit fighter.
I wonder what the wind-chill
factor will be at 300kph?
Strapped in, chocked, and power
cart plugged in we were ready to
start. After warm-up and run-up,
I signal chocks away and start my
taxi. I'm always a bit nervous on
first flights in new planes but
after a few turns I realize that
sinking feeling is not nerves but
the left strut going flat. Better
now than on landing. I stop and
Ray comes to the rescue with
nitrogen and reassurance that
after sitting for a year, the
seals are a little dry and the
cold night let the n2 out. A
little exercise, some oil and all
is well.
We
start the procedure again; start,
warm, chocks out, taxi. It's now
that I discover that when cold
and slightly nervous, I can't
seem to say Polikarpov November
Zulu Juliette India Papa. After a
few tries and butchered read
backs, we settle on Poly 45 and
get on with it.
It's
odd to get to the end of the
runway and just go. Everything
that could be checked was done at
the blocks, so switch to tower
and go. It's a very simple
cockpit, no trims, no flaps,
basically no breaks, throttle and
prop control stick and rudder.
What else do you need? It's a
little hard to line up as the
runway is very wide and forward
visibility is none but the edges
look about right, so power up and
hold on. Quite soon the tail
comes up and visibility is fine
then. I know the speed to fly off
but the airspeed gage is inside
and I'm looking out, so I just
wait and when she's ready, she
just flies off very nice.
It's
now, while collecting my thoughts
that, I realize my head is
slamming back and forth, left to
right. I try lowering the seat.
It's worse. I try raising the
seat. It's no better. This is
really not very comfortable. I
get to the practice area do a
stall, a few rolls and decide to
land before my neck wears out. On
the way back to the field, I
decide to try a slip, in case I
need to peek out to find the
runway on final. As I feed in
left rudder the plane responds
except at about half rudder it
gets very smooth. I mean the
engine is purring the sky is blue
and my head is staying over my
shoulders.
What
I had thought was engine
vibration was simply the
airstream attaching to my helmet
as the prop slipstream went
through the cockpit from left to
right. Knowing that this was the
source of the vibration, although
unpleasant, it was less
threatening. After my flight, Ray
did inform me that most people
after flying with a helmet, went
to a cloth helmet and goggles,
smaller and not as smooth, which
prevented attached airflow on
your head.
To
keep sight of the runway when
landing, you must do a turning
approach and end up as you roll
out of the turn over the
threshold of the runway. Except
for having to hold a lot of
elevator (no trim), the approach
is easy with a wheel landing and
roll .
In the next
few days, I'd fly four more times
in this little plane. During the
Russian front portion of the air
display, I'd get to shoot down a
JU-52 German transport equipped
with smoke on one engine. Of
course, I'd like to do so at air
show center. It was here that
this plane was really fun to fly.
Low pilot workload, very agile
and it could come down hill like
you wouldn't believe. I'd go out
to one side of the show, hold up
high and dive like an eagle
(Yastrebok!) on my prey.
Much
like many pre-WWII types, this is
an airplane that doesn't lend
itself well to normal operations
at civilian airports. An example
of this was the photo mission
that CAF wanted for its newest
plane. After the airshow waiver
is over, there is about an hour
and a half of daylight left for
the cameras. Most of the planes
join in groups of three or four
on a camera plane and take turns
on the camera side. This makes
the join up easy and sometimes
planes will go to several camera
ships orbiting over separate
landmarks.
The
first snag is the join up point
was 23 miles away. The Poly has a
60 gallon fuel tank and at power
burns about 70 gallons an hour.
In low cruise, it can be as good
as 35 gallons an hour. Combine
that with afternoon winds and my
low experience level, I want to
be landing 30 minutes after I
take off. Also it's very flat in
Texas. In formation, there is no
time to navigate and the compass
in the Poly always points 060
regardless of heading.
I'm
not familiar with any of the
local landmarks so I want to stay
near the airport. We brief that
Jim McCabe, flying the FM2 and I
would launch on the C46 and orbit
seven or so miles from the
airport. They want some solo
pictures of me and some of me and
the Wildcat together for Bob
Reiss who donated both planes.
The photographers swear they only
need a few minutes to get what
they need, then the C46 would
leave to the remote orbit and
other subjects. This was not my
first photo mission and I knew
that we'd have to call low fuel
before the photo guys would let
us go, and that's exactly what we
did.
At
this point I have to say a big
thanks to Jim. He took the lead
and got me home. The radio in the
Poly is invisible when the sun is
near the horizon. Midland
approach was turning us to
compass headings away from the
airport and giving us frequency
changes. I was counting clicks on
the radio frequency selector
trying to stay on the same freq
as my leader. We'd been up for
about 30 minutes and were headed
away from the airport when Jim
called approach and declared us
low fuel. In the towers defense,
everyone was on a photo mission
and we all were coming back at
the same time from all points of
the compass. Anyhow, on 5 mile
final, they cleared us to land
straight in. Jim asked for a
circle to land so I could find
the runway. Not only did they say
no, they informed us the big
runway was closed indefinitely
and told us to use the narrow,
short one. Jim replied roger but
he would be a low approach, only
then return to land thus leading
me to the runway and then getting
out of my way. Thanks Jim.
In
sharp contrast to this, was my
last flight, which was one of the
great flights of the year for me.
Much like a combat sortie, we
briefed our flight and flew our
brief. I taxied out after the Yak
and was launched with the Russian
flight. Our mission was to
intercept the Germans at air show
center and shoot them down, then
racetrack around for some photo
passes. Everyone had their
assigned places and on the
head-on passes, altitude and
runway sides assigned. It was a
gas. I circled high and waited
for my target then dove down to a
trail position at mid-field and
shot out his right engine. I had
to laugh when it was his left
engine that smoked. Oh well, my
imaginary bullets had a slight
curve. After the photo runs, a
nice tight pattern to my runway
and a slow taxi in waving to the
crowd finished my flight. This
was what the Poly was made for
and it really showed its stuff.
To me, that's what all CAF
airplanes are all about, time
machines that can share with
pilots and airshow crowds, events
and machines from times past. We
are lucky.
|
Dave
Morss is a professional
test pilot, advanced
flight instructor and air
racer. For more
information and more
interesting flying
stories, visit
Daves Myraid
Research website at http://www.ksql.com/myriad.htm |
|
|