The Antonov A-11 is a single-seat, high performance, all-metal

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

built in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the late 1950s. 150 were produced.

Design and development

The almost all-metal A-11 was Antonov's first non-wood framed sailplane. It is a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

mid-wing monoplane, with straight tapered wings mostly swept on the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

and set with 1.5° of dihedral but no washout. A single spar with a metal-skinned

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

forward of it and fabric covering aft forms most of the span but the curved tips are supported by twin spars. The fabric-covered

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...

s are slotted, with set-back hinges and mass balances. They can be drooped together through 8° to act as flaps. Inboard, there are slotted flaps on the trailing edges and spoilers, mounted at mid-chord and quite close to the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, of the gapless kind opening upwards only. The fuselage of the A-11 is a metal

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

of pod and boom form, with a gradual transition between the two. It carries an all-metal, straight edged 90° V- or butterfly tail, its control surfaces mass-balanced with external weights. The three-piece

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

stretches smoothly from the nose to above mid-chord without a stepped windscreen. There is a retractable monowheel undercarriage, sprung but without brakes, assisted by a rubber-mounted skid forward of the wheel and a tail bumper aft, formed by a short, shallow

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

The A-11 first flew on 12 May 1958. It was approved for

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

spins The spins (as in having "the spins") is an adverse reaction of Substance intoxication, intoxication that causes a state of vertigo and nausea, causing one to feel as if "spinning out of control", especially when lying down. It is most commonly as ...

and cloud flying.

Aircraft on display

''Information from'' Ogden *Central Russian Air Force Museum,

Monino Monino () is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: History Monino was founded in the Muninskaya Wasteland () on August 23, 1792. The name "Monino" or "M ...

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

Airfield Monument

Specifications (Antonov A-11)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Antonov aircraft 1950s Soviet sailplanes

A-11 A11, A 11 or A-11 may refer to: Military * Aero A.11, a Czechoslovakian bomber produced before World War II * Consolidated A-11, an attack version of the Consolidated P-30 fighter plane of the 1930s * HMS ''A11'', an A-class submarine of the Roya ...