The Grigorovich I-1 was a
Soviet
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 ...
fighter prototype of the 1920s. It was the first land-based fighter developed by the
Grigorovich Design Bureau, who had previously concentrated on water-borne aircraft such as the
Grigorovich M-5 of 1914.
Development
Initially, design was started on a single-seat fighter by
Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich, to compete with the
Polikarpov I-1 biplane. The finished aircraft, finalised in 1924 and produced at Factory No. 1, at
Khodinka, near
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, was a single-seat, single-bay
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
of wooden construction, with the forward portion of the fuselage being covered in
plywood and the rear having fabric skinning. In development, a major problem was that of engine cooling - various methods were tested including radiators attached to the undercarriage legs, but in the end a radiator suspended beneath the engine was used.
Operational history
After an initial flight in January 1924, testing took place in the spring of that year. The I-1 was found to have adequate speed for its purpose but its construction and therefore its flight were unstable, and its
climb rate was found to be insufficient with repeated
stalls. Therefore, the prototype was abandoned, and Grigorovich refined the design into the
Grigorovich I-2 which later entered service in the
Soviet Air Force.
Variants
;
Grigorovich I-2
:Aerodynamically more refined version of the I-1, entered service in 1926.
Specifications (I-1)
See also
References
{{Soviet fighter designations
Biplanes
Grigorovich aircraft
1920s Soviet fighter aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1924