Aviation of World War II

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I-16 type 24

Multipurpose Fighter

Polikarpov

i-16 type 24

I-16 type 18 with M-62 engine . The modification represents Type 10 with a new, more powerful motor. The alterations concerned the reinforcement with motors, the installation of a protected gas tank, and a significant change in the oil system. An additional 12 l oil tank has been added (due to the reduction of the main oil tank to 23 liters). The oil cooler is increased to 8 inches, its installation is slightly lower, which is why the hood in the lower part "sags" slightly. The branch pipe (intake) of the oil cooler is enlarged. Above appeared the nozzle of the high-speed pressure of the carburetor. The drift on the bonnet ring for the tensioning tape has been moved from the bottom to the side, opposite the drifts for the skis. The first batch of Type 18 machines was equipped with a fixed pitch propeller (FPP) - in this case, the propeller spinner was installed from type 10. On machines equipped with a variable pitch propeller (VSP), a new spinner was installed, specially made for this propeller. On the last machines, the propeller was installed AB-1, while the spinner was already new from type 24. The electrical equipment was two-wire with a voltage of 24 volts. The power source - a 12A-10 type storage battery was installed between the third and fourth ribs of the center section. Access to it was provided through hatches in the lower plating of the center section.

I-16 type 24 with M-63 engine. Further modification of type 18, in accordance with the 1937 strength standards.

1. A VISH AV-1 and a new spinner were installed.

2. The motor is equipped with a constant speed regulator "R-2", which enables the pilot to keep the required speed.

3. A suspension strut with a two-link chassis was supplied, instead of the previously used spline connection. At the same time, the shock absorption efficiency is increased, the shock absorber travel is increased to 96 mm compared to 30-36 mm in the previous version.

4. Crutch on the type 24 found a small wheel and oil-pneumatic shock absorption.

5. Mechanical landing flaps have been introduced. The handle was located on the left behind the pilot's seat.

6. Installed the second tailgate on the right side of the cockpit. Although the tailgate on the right side was officially introduced on the Type 24, there was a similar improvement on other types.

7. The aircraft is equipped with a manual launch system from the RI starter handle. The handle in the stowed position, stored in the cockpit, was inserted on the right into a special hole in the fuselage at launch. On the starboard side of the fuselage between frames No. 7 and No. 8 a radio hatch is cut.



I-16 Polikarpov
type 18 type 24 type 29
Year 1938 1939 1940
Dimensions
Wing span, m 9.004 9.004 9.004
Height, m 3.250 3.250 3.218
Length, m 6.074 6.130 6.130
Wing area, m² 14.54 14.54 14.54
Powerplant
Engine M-62 M-63 M-63
Power, hp h.p. 800 900 900
at altitude, m 4500 4500 4500
Weight, kg
Wing load, kg/m² 125.5 129 130
Loaded weight, kg 1830 1882 1940
Empty weight, kg 1433.5 1382 1496.5
Performance
Maximum speed, km/h at sea level 413 410 427
at altitude 461 462 463
m 4400 4700 2000
Time to 3000m, min 2.9 3.4 3.2
Time to 5000m, min 5.4 6.0 5.55
Time of turn, sec 17 17-18 17-9
Service ceiling, m 9300 9700 9950
Service range, km 485 440 -
Armament
Machine guns ShKAS 4 4 2
Cannon ShVAK - - 2
Photo Description

Drawing I-16 type 24

I-16 type 24 Lieutenant Krichevsky. Airfield Budogoshch, Leningrad Front, 1943 (V.Stankov)

In 1939, flight studies of the I-16 were carried out, proving that further improvement of the fighter as a type is impractical.

One such work concerned pulling I-16 fighters into a dive. This happened when the stabilizer was installed at positive angles of attack. Several disasters have prompted research into this phenomenon. It turned out that the I-16 is extremely sensitive to changes in the stabilizer angle. At the same time, with the neutral position of the stabilizer and the rear centering, the pilots experienced extremely high pressure on the stick. The fact that earlier the phenomenon of pulling into a dive was not observed was associated with a gradual shift in the center of the aircraft back, from series to series, due to the installation of a battery, shields, armored backrest and radio. On some machines, the centering value has already reached 35% MAC. An additional diving moment was created by fixed skis.

Tests carried out at the beginning of 1939 showed that the zone of complete instability during a dive begins between 32-33% of MAR with the landing gear retracted. The danger of the phenomenon was very high, test pilot Captain Taborovsky, who was engaged in these risky flights, died. His car No.1021101 crashed into the ground with a MAX value of 33.6% and a stabilizer angle of + 2 °. As a result, the CG value for all operated machines was limited to 33%, and the instability of the I-16 in flight was finally said as a disadvantage. The opinion of the pilots was unanimous - the car has the best flying qualities with a front centering. In the case of the I-16, all the troubles rested on the unsatisfactory layout of the aircraft, the pilot who was flying on it was accustomed to incorrect piloting, flying with a "thrown" handle was out of the question, and aimed shooting from an unstable machine was a very difficult task.

Another work, called "Determination of the efforts on the handle from the elevator, ailerons and on the pedals from the rudder of the I-16" was carried out in the summer of 1939 at TsAGI. Test pilot Stankevich, who carried out these flight studies, wrote the following as conclusions: "Due to the instability of the aircraft, even small longitudinal forces" from oneself ", of the order of 4-5 kg ​​at steady flight conditions, are unpleasant for the pilot (the hand gets tired). figures, there are sharp pressure drops on the handle, unpleasant for the pilot. Open flaps impair the longitudinal stability and increase the forces "from oneself." When the flaps are opened, the aircraft pitch-ups, during cleaning it falls sharply and has a tendency to dive. ... When switching to large angles of attack instability sharply increases ... During takeoff, the aircraft does not raise its tail for a long time, the handle has to be pulled away from itself with great effort. ... At high leveling it falls on the right wing, the effect of ailerons to parry a stall is insufficient. "

Bibliography

  • "The history of designs of planes in USSR 1938-1950" /Vadim Shavrov/
  • "The planes of Stalin falcons" /Konstantin Kosminkov and Dmitriy Grinyuk/
  • "Fighter I-16" /Mikhail Maslov/
  • "The Soviet planes" /Alexander Yakovlev/