Tumenecotrans Bella-1 Experimental Aircraft

"zipfuel" (zipfuel)
11/02/2020 at 09:30 • Filed to: planelopnik, Latvia, experimental aircraft

This amazing contraption I came across on EnglishR ussia today was developed in the 90s in what is now Latvia.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The fan in the middle blows down into a toroid hovercraft skirt allowing it to takeoff/land from any smooth terrain: water, ice, swamp etc.

My understanding of the logic behind it’s design was that the largest cost of flying into Russia’s resource rich far north-e ast was building runways. The calculation went that 70% of the freight cost was going towards paying off the infrastructure and hence a plane that could make use of natural landing areas would immediately be more competitive.

More on that logic plus specs and drawings here:

https://www.aviaru.net/english/articles/bellaEng.shtml

I guess when you’re chasing a 70% discount then you can do things that would seem like a ridiculous design compromise on any other aircraft. Like lugging an extra engine around just for takeoff/landing or having a donut shaped fuselage with a gigantic frontal area. Fuel economy and efficiency become secondary considerations if nobody else can even get there.

From what I can gather the prototype never really got off the ground -literally- it never flew out of ground effect and it seems like the funding dried up.

There was some mention that the full size design might even have made use of helium in the donut to further increase lift.

Interestingly this idea (with presumably some of the same team in Latvia) seems to have been given another lease on life in 2012-14 by the EU sponsored ESTOLAS: E xtremely S hort T akeoff and L anding O n A ny S urface project.

https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/92724-a-novel-aircraft-with-many-capabilities

Photos suggest they may have used the same prototype and worked to solve some of the stability problems:

“ESTOLAS set out to optimise the aerodynamic flanges to resolve stability issues for four different models accommodating small, medium, large and super-large payloads. Within the scope of the project, scientists also evaluated the performance of demonstrators in wind tunnel and remote-controlled flight tests and studied aspects related to runways, safety and certification.”

I love these wild, super- niche (frequently Sovi et) type designs and it makes me quite happy that this one is still being sorta kicked around instead of consigned to history’s dustbin of dead ends.

DISCUSSION (9)

facw > zipfuel
11/02/2020 at 09:39

Call me back when it’s also a submarine:

Kinja'd!!!

Though really, it’s quite neat.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > zipfuel
11/02/2020 at 09:41

All this needs is a Bond Villain!

RIP Mr. Connery

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > zipfuel
11/02/2020 at 09:54

I’m Curious where the cargo would go

Future next gen S2000 owner > zipfuel
11/02/2020 at 10:28

Wouldn’t it be easier to just build a big super STOL airplane and fly really slowly? I mean we have bush planes, just knock down some trees, put some big ass wings on it, and car ry 10-12 passengers.

What do I know.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Future next gen S2000 owner
11/02/2020 at 12:46

Or, maybe a helicopter?

Future next gen S2000 owner > BaconSandwich is tasty.
11/02/2020 at 13:26

Psht. That’s nonsense! With it’s inherent VTOL capabilities, why would you use the right tool for the job?

zipfuel > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
11/02/2020 at 13:58

I believe inside the donut fuselage sort of like jam filling, although that ESTOLAS concept shows a decent sized cockpit/cabin.

zipfuel > Future next gen S2000 owner
11/02/2020 at 14:12

I’m reasonably confident that the people funding this thing came to a similar conclusion...

The Buffalo comes to mind

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-5_Buffalo

zipfuel > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
11/02/2020 at 20:48

Y’know I don’t think there’s ever been a muskeg bond villian’s lair. Think of it: thigh deep swamp, permafrost and black flies for thousands of miles in all directions. Maybe it’s time, all those volcanoes, island hideaways and bikini beaches didn’t really seem to work out for them.