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Ralf Roggeveen
March 8th, 2013, 11:18
This is a mystery even to the good old boys at Air Britain (http://www.air-britain.com/) (who know a thing or three about aeroplanes), so there will be much kudos for anyone who can i/d it.

As you can see from the background, it's in Moscow, so likely to be a Russian/East European type. Any ideas?


82539

Willy
March 13th, 2013, 12:08
No idea Ralf. Hopefully someone will come along who does.

lefty
March 13th, 2013, 14:59
First obvious comment, Ralf, is that it doesn't appear to have any form of propulsion - the nose seems to be faired over. And the undercarriage looks very flimsy.

Ralf Roggeveen
March 13th, 2013, 22:29
Er...yes! These are just lying about in a sort of run-down 'Museum' that doesn't have proper security, so the exhibits have been vandalised, grafittied and even destroyed by arson in the case of one tragic Il-14. Mystery seems to be balanced on a sort of wooden base? Presumably the engine has gone, along with the prop. Was there once some sort of exhaust coming out of the 3 holes in front? I thought the tail had a vaguely Stearman look to it. But maybe it's a home-built one off?

I'm relying on you, Lefty! :kilroy:

FentiFlier1
March 13th, 2013, 23:13
I can't help but I'm interested...

Do I spot seriously oversize flaps? They seem massive for such a light looking plane. Also, I find the windows vaguely reminiscent of a PZL creation.
Maybe a prototype...:ques:

Cheers,


Owen.

lefty
March 14th, 2013, 00:48
I'm relying on you, Lefty! :kilroy:

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ralf !

But Wout is the man for this, surely........? There is not much in the way of postwar flying machines that he hasn't I/D'd.

lefty
March 14th, 2013, 01:01
I found this in Janes 81-2. Built by the Kuybyshev Polytechnic, it is a much smaller machine than this mystery.

However, the one salient feature mentioned is the 'almost full-span auxiliary aerofoil ailerons.'

Which is exactly what this machine has. Plus a single-strut high wing.

Coincidence ? Maybe, but food for thought.

PeteHam
March 14th, 2013, 01:01
The first pic has a vague look of a Dornier Do 27 ..... sort of.

Pete.

FentiFlier1
March 14th, 2013, 01:22
"auxiliary aerofoil ailerons" - Ah, OK, that's what they are. Bit like on the Ju-52?

Here's a pic to show what I meant about the PZL look. It is a PZL-105.
There was a drawing-board design called the PZL 108 which seems to have looked a bit like the mystery plane.

lefty
March 14th, 2013, 01:38
I see where you are coming from, Owen. Also the positioning of the (missing) horizontal tail surfaces would be similar. Can't get any further with this.

FentiFlier1
March 14th, 2013, 10:33
Found another picture. What about the paintwork? It's still in its primer coat, isn't it? Looks like it was never painted.

There was a prototype PZL Wilga fitted with "special ailerons" - couldn't find any pics.

Moses03
March 14th, 2013, 11:24
Here it is with a prop fitted. Windshield is not broken yet either.

http://i47.tinypic.com/1enypt.jpg

FentiFlier1
March 14th, 2013, 12:43
Looks like remnants of red paint under the left wingtip...

Ferry_vO
March 15th, 2013, 07:27
Definitely looks like a Wilga, except the Wilga is a much larger aircraft than it appears to be in photos. This seems much smaller. I've tried to find a photo of the original Wilga Mark 1 which was much different from the production version but no success. This Mark 1 didn't have the upward opening doors though and the aircraft in the photos looks like it does have those.

lefty
March 15th, 2013, 08:07
You just have to ask, Ferry......

Ferry_vO
March 15th, 2013, 08:22
Thanks Mike!

Ralf Roggeveen
March 15th, 2013, 22:47
Some good detective work, Gentlemen. It is almost certainly a one off prototype. Russian or East European, so it could even be by Wilga. The clearer photos show that it's on a rickety road trailer, whatever undercarriage it might have once had is long gone. And it may never have had a paintscheme at all, since that buff colour does indeed look like just a primer. Awful to see it getting more & more vandalised too... :blind:

If anyone can get a definite fix on it, perhaps we'll send this thread to Air Britain as a link? :salute: