Kharkov KhAI-2 (1931)

KhAI-1
Role	Airliner
National origin	Soviet Union
Manufacturer	Gorky Aviation Plant, Zavod 43, Kharkiv Aviation Factory
Designer	Kharkiv Aviation Institute
First flight	4 October 1932
Primary user	Aeroflot
Number built	45

The Kharkiv KhAI-1 (ХАІ-1) was an airliner produced in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s, unusual in that it was designed (and the prototype built) by students. An exceptionally clean design, the KhAI-1 was the first European passenger transport aircraft to feature retractable undercarriage, and boasted a top speed better than the fighter aircraft in service at the time. Some 40 KhAI-1s were operated by Aeroflot, but while a dedicated military version, the KhAI-1VV was developed and flown in prototype form, this did not enter production.

The project was the brainchild of Iosif Grigorievich Nyeman, then head of aircraft construction at the newly formed Kharkiv Aviation Institute. Deciding to provide students with practical, hands-on experience, he divided the students into two teams, each assigned to designing an airliner making use of cheap, easily obtained materials. One team, led by L. D. Arson, was to work on a design incorporating modern techniques and design features designated KhAI-1, while the other, led by A. Eremenko, was to work on a more conservative design designated KhAI-2. The challenge was laid down in May 1931, and the timeframe specified was that the better design would need to be completed and ready for construction by February the following year. The whole venture was to be supervised by the Ukrainian branch of OSOAVIAKhIM.

Soon, Nyeman selected the KhAI-1 as the design to proceed with. This was a low-wing, cantilever monoplane with a streamlined fuselage of oval cross-section, and retractable undercarriage. Construction was to be wood throughout, with fabric-covered control surfaces. The students were re-organised into ten teams of five to seven members each, and set to work on the detailed design of the aircraft's components and structures. The plans were completed on time, and in March 1932 work began at the Kharkiv Aviation Factory, then home to the design bureau of Nyeman's old mentor, Konstantin Alekseevich Kalinin. Construction of the prototype was undertaken by the students themselves, under the supervision of factory personnel, and was complete within 180 days. The aircraft first flew on 4 October at the hands of Boris Kudrin, with Nyeman on board as a passenger. The aircraft's high speed and good handling quickly became apparent, and following factory trials, the prototype KhAI-1 was flown to Moscow on 17 February 1933 for state acceptance trials, making the flight from Kharkiv in record time. These tests were completed by June, with test pilots I.F.Petrov and P.I.Stefanovskii confirming the aircraft's excellent performance, and recommending it for Aeroflot service, offering as it did a 50% increase in speed over the standard Kalinin K-5 airliner of the day. Nyeman was awarded the Order of the Red Star for the project.

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