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Is the Yi-16 a bad plane?

It seems that from Trotsky's accusation, this is true, because in the military operation representing justice, the I-16, who had just entered the Red Army shortly after serving, was full of bad comments, and almost few pilots liked this fat-headed bird with "very bad" manipulation.

Is this true? The pilot's low evaluation is true, especially for pilots who have just come into contact with the I-16, this is an uncontrollable dragon, and many people have paid the price of their lives for it.

Pilots generally reported that the I-16 is very harsh in handling and is not easy to fly at all. They also reported that the aircraft's take-off and landing performance is very poor, especially when it jumps sharply. Some people even complain that the I-16 is a big chimney, and each flight is equivalent to sucking two packs of second-hand smoke. In short, the pilots prefer the I-15, and they are a bit daunting about the I-16.

To be honest, the problems reflected by the pilots are objectively present. The manipulation of the I-16 is indeed very "bad", but please note that this so-called badness does not mean that the aircraft is a stupid duck, but the actual situation is exactly the opposite. The I-16 designed by Polykapov is not stupid at all, but is a bit too flexible.

Let me put it this way, in order to compete with Sukhoi's I-14 project, Polykapov maximized the maneuverability of the aircraft. The center of gravity moves along the three axes very small, and the longitudinal direction is not stable (Polykapov may be considered the founder of static and unstable design). At the same time, the aileron operation of the I-16 is light and sensitive, which is conducive to rolling. This design allows the I-16 to make precise flips and s-shaped gyrations. Its maneuverability is second to none among the single wings of that era!

However, the problem lies here, because it is too sensitive and has poor stability. For ordinary novice pilots, it is like driving F1 after just taking the driver's license. Lao Bo only cares about improving the relevant design of Yi-16, but does not consider designing a coach type. In addition, the Russian pilot's foundation is not particularly solid, and he prefers to commit suicide in the air. Naturally, he becomes a novice "killer".

Let me put it this way, for the pilots of the I-16, after being familiar with its flight characteristics and being able to maintain attention during flight, the sensitive control of the I-16 will be their favorite. To put it bluntly, this is a fighter jet that is only suitable for skilled pilots.

As for the poor take-off and landing performance of the I-16, it often takes flight accidents during take-off and landing. Even veterans, such as Chekarov, have experienced plane crashes. The reason is very simple. That is the retractable landing gear design of the I-16.

Judging from the future development, the landing gear with a squeezing is a trend and is also a highlight of the Yi-16, but the first person to try it out has to pay a little bit. In the era when the Yi-16 was born, the hydraulic power assist device was not practical yet, so the landing gear with a squeezing gear of the Yi-16 is purely manual!

Yes, you read that right, it's purely manual. The way for the pilot to retract the landing gear before taking off and landing is to shake the handwheel in the cockpit (thirty-three rounds). Think about it, when the pilot takes off and landing, he must focus on the runway and master the attitude of the aircraft, and on the other hand, he must fight with the landing gear to retract the handwheel - the movement must not be stiff, otherwise the very sensitive Yi-16 will fall head-on to the ground!

So often, the performance is seen that the flight trajectory of Yi-16 when taking off and landing is constantly rising and falling, just like riding a roller coaster. Think about it, how much pressure are the rookies who just flew the Yi-16?

After talking about the problem of take-off and landing, let’s take a look at the so-called prone to a tail spin during jumping. Is there any? It does, but this problem is not that terrible. According to the results of Chekarov’s test flight, after falling into a tail spin during jumping, as long as you keep calm and follow the modification method taught in the textbook, you will eventually change it safely. The specific operation steps are: tilt one side of the wing and make a small radius turn, and gently push the rudder puller.

Even the outstanding performance of the mass-produced model of the Yi-16 was changed to the spiral, which shocked the chief designer Polykapov. According to Lao Bo's original estimate, the Yi-16 should be more dangerous!!

Finally, let’s talk about the problem of excessive smoke in the Yi-16 cockpit. In fact, the engine exhaust gas is brought into the cockpit by airflow. Especially the early Yi-16-4 and Yi-16-5 used the closed cockpit. The exhaust gas slowly penetrated into the cockpit through the instrument panel. The closed cockpit is poor, which naturally makes the pilot suffer. As long as the fairing on the nose is modified, the problem can be solved.

Let me put it this way, Trotsky condemned the poor performance of the I-16, which is more of a political problem than a technical problem. As the first single-wing fighter to be put into use in actual combat, the I-16 does have many minor problems, but these minor problems are not impossible to solve or overcome. As long as the pilot is familiar with this new fighter, most of the problems will naturally disappear. As for those small problems, they will completely deny the I-16 and completely deny the development direction of the monoplane. This is called inexplicable and irresponsible!

"I object to this statement," Li Xiaofeng immediately stood up and counterattacked Trotsky: "The I-16 did expose a series of problems, but these problems are not unsolvable. In particular, it should be noted that the I-16 has just entered the Air Force for less than a year, and the pilots are not familiar with this advanced fighter jet... In this case, he hastily downloaded an irresponsible conclusion and even ended the development of a monoplane. This is an extremely stupid move!"

Trotsky was about to refute, and Alqueznis also stood up to support Li Xiaofeng: "I agree with Comrade Andre's statement. It is too early to talk about the problems of the I-16 and the monoplane fighter. Even if the I-16 exposed many problems, it should be noted that the I-16 fighter has also achieved considerable results. Our pilots have created a high-speed attack tactic that can take off with one blow (the I-16 is 80-100 kilometers faster than the opponents of the same era, especially the climbing speed and dive speed are quite fast. If you avoid fighting with your opponent in circles, you can use the tactic of "fighting and running". It is easy to achieve results). It is proved that the I-16 is a good aircraft. What we need now is to continue to improve it and let the pilots get familiar with it faster! Instead of choking and eating!"

Trotsky was still dissatisfied and insisted: "Then before improving the I-16 and before it proves that the monoplane does represent the future technological development direction, the development of the monoplane should be temporarily stopped. When the I-16 problem has not been solved, it is irresponsible to launch the new model in a hurry!"

"The I-20 project is a decision adopted by the Politburo and the Military Commission. If you say you will get off the horse alone?" Sverdlov finally couldn't help it and sarcastically said to Trotsky.

Not to mention, this sentence really works, because Trotsky was about to argue, when he discovered that Stalin, Voroshilov, Ubolevich, and Budoni were staring at him with malicious eyes. The meaning was very clear. As long as he dared to compete, he would face the end of a group fight.

At this time, Trotsky remembered that this is not the Politburo. He did not have an absolute advantage in the Politburo. He wanted to compete with the one-sided Military Commission? That was really a search for abuse!

However, Trotsky's words also reminded Li Xiaofeng. I really need to pay attention to the I-20 project. It is best not to let Trotsky catch any handle, at least not to create a lot of problems like I-16.

So at this moment, what was the situation with the I-20 project led by Polykapov? In April 1935, the first prototype of the I-20 project, Tskb-20, stepped down the drawing board. This is an aircraft completely different from the previous Soviet fighter jets. It has a streamlined nose and a real all-metal structure. It is equipped with a 12ycrs water-cooled engine imported from France. The airplane weighs 2.1 tons and the maximum take-off weight is 2.75 tons.

During the first test flight, this fighter with a cockpit was very back and flew out of a maximum speed of 493 kilometers per hour with a heavy sled. In the subsequent test flight, it even flew out of a super good result of 530 kilometers.

However, please note this. Polykapov seems to have not yet left the I-16 circle. This new fighter is also a vehicle with very problematic stability, especially its rear cockpit further deteriorates the longitudinal stability problem that the I-16 has. Moreover, the Tskb-20 is actually more "dexterous" than the I-16. In the 17th test flight, he took the test pilot Chikarov to take the big top during the takeoff. During the 20th test flight, he simply led the test pilot to hit the ground with his test pilot, and the plane was destroyed and killed...

At that time, Yakov's report to Li Xiaofeng was: "The aircraft was extremely sensitive, and because the center of gravity was very difficult to roll back, the range was quite limited..."

At that time, Li Xiaofeng was half cold, especially when he saw the photos of Tskb-20 with his own eyes, he was sweating because this Tskb-20 was too similar to the MiG-1 developed based on the Yi-200 project in history, and the problems with MiG-1 were almost exactly the same as Tskb-20.

Li Xiaofeng immediately realized that asking Polykapov to design a fighter is probably a mistake. Polykapov is more suitable for designing an interceptor. However, the I-20 project has been launched, how can people be replaced in this half?

Just when Li Xiaofeng was struggling, Yakov brought him good news. Yakovlev, the chief designer of the Light Aircraft Design Bureau, designed a light aircraft with all metal structure. This aircraft, which was originally planned to participate in the Schneider Cup seaplane competition in accordance with Stalin's requirements, showed good speed when using the frequently malfunctioning Am-34 engine. Unfortunately, due to funding restrictions, its design work has been progressing slowly. The aircraft that was supposed to participate in the 1933 competition was not completed until the second half of 1934, so naturally there is no question of participating in the competition.

Originally, this plane should have been forgotten to be moldy in the corner of history, and Yakovlev had to continue to grow mushrooms in the light aircraft design bureau. But who told him to meet another Yakov. At that time, he had run through all the design bureaus to find an aircraft that could be used to replace the Polykapovyi-20 project. When he saw Yakovlev's design, his eyes immediately lit up.

This light water racing machine is very fast (more than the most basic requirement of the Yi-20 project 450 kilometers per hour), and it has an all-metal structure (resistant to corrosion). The only disadvantage is that it is to reduce weight, resulting in a fragile structure. If you want to transform it into a fighter that can take off and land on an aircraft carrier, you may have to significantly strengthen the structure!

In the spirit of killing a dead horse, Li Xiaofeng immediately provided Yakovlev with sufficient funds and all the priority he needed. After Yakovlev's tense design, it was later called Yakov-1. A new type of fighter jet with no design number at that time was born (not a national project, so naturally there was no project number).

This single-seat fighter that uses a 12ycrs engine, uses a cantilever lower single wing and can be retracted and retracted in the landing gear, is quite beautiful! Its engine bracket is a steel pipe welded structure, the hood is a metal structure, and the rear fuselage is divided into two models. The offshore model uses an all-metal structure, while the land-based model is covered with plywood. The canopy cover is a three-stage plexiglass structure, and the middle section slides backward. The pilot seat is protected by an 8mm thick armor plate. All weapons are: the 20mm cannon with the muzzle located in the center of the propeller and two 7.62mm machine guns with the nose.

The aircraft has an empty weight of 2.6 tons (offshore model, land-based model 2.45 tons), a maximum take-off weight of 3.1 tons (offshore model, land-based model 2.95 tons), a maximum speed of 490 kilometers per hour (offshore model, land-based model 510 kilometers per hour), a ceiling of 10,000 meters, and a maximum range of 650 kilometers.

The prototype started a test flight in April 1935. During the test flight, the aircraft had very good handling. Compared with the overly sensitive and stable I-20. Yakovlev's aircraft said in the words of the test pilot: "Pilots who have received 30 hours of primary flight training can control it!"

Of course, the later Jacques-1 was not without problems. The first thing that was the unsatisfactory high-altitude performance. This fighter was only suitable for airspace below 5,000 meters, and the range was really small.

However, in 1935, you could not ask too much. A fighter with a maximum speed of more than 500 kilometers and extremely comfortable to operate was already particularly ideal.

Moreover, the test flight of Jacques-1 is smoother than that of I-20, and there have been almost no major flight accidents. In the words of the test pilot, "As long as you don't die, a fool can fly Jacques-1."

This is also the reason why Li Xiaofeng was calm when facing the aggressive Trotsky. Even if the Yi-20 project is not going well, the substitute Jacques-1 can solve the problem. Even Li Xiaofeng wants Polykapov to stop developing the Yi-20. Compared with the Yacques-1, the Yi-20 is really a mess. Let the old designer improve Yi-15 and Yi-16.

However, Li Xiaofeng was a little unspeakable. After all, Polykapov stood on his side in the previous engine dispute, and he always had to pay back his favors. With the old man's prestige, he suddenly took him down too much. After thinking about it, Li Xiaofeng could only comfort himself: "If it doesn't work, let Yi-20 do the interceptor work. If it really doesn't work, just be a high-altitude reconnaissance plane!"

Compared with the fighter project, the bomber project was more dangerous at that time. After all, the Stalin system was still on Li Xiaofeng's side on the fighter plane, and his luck was not so good in the bomber project, because the cavalry system led by Stalin and Voroshilov did not have much interest in long-range aviation. They hoped that the Air Force would pay attention to battlefield support missions, which means that in this regard, they were closer to Tukhachevsky and Trotsky's opinions.

For example, in this battle, the performance of tb-1 and tb-3 was very bad, and it seemed powerless to suppress the enemy airport, and the close-range support mission was even more ineffective. From this perspective, the value of long-range aviation was almost zero. Because Stalin and Voroshilov were quite dissatisfied, they were quite annoyed about long-range aviation, especially the B17, which was very expensive to purchase and take up resources.

Sure enough, after Trotsky fired around the B17 project, Stalin immediately became a silent Morcharin. As for Voroshilov, he began to stand on the Tropsey side, and strongly questioned the rationality of the four-engine long-range bomber project:

"From the previous battles, we can find that only the attacker troops can support the Red Army's ground troops to fight, and long-range bombers do not show any value... The purchase price of an expensive four-engine bomber is enough to purchase two twin-engine bombers and four attackers, and the latter can easily and happily complete the battlefield support mission... I can't figure out why the B17 was purchased. The battle proves that the Red Army does not need four-engine bombers! What the soldiers urgently need are attackers and twin-engine bombers!"

Li Xiaofeng and Alxnis could only patiently explain: "The performance of tb-1 and tb-3 is indeed not good, but this does not mean that long-range aviation is useless. It can only be said that the performance of tb-1 and tb-3 cannot meet the needs of long-range aviation. Unlike b17, its ammunition capacity, range and speed are greater. If there is a sufficient number of b17s, it is entirely possible to destroy the enemy's airports, and even directly attack the enemy's industrial facilities for war. Such strike capabilities are no less than battlefield support missions, and they can even directly destroy the enemy's war machines!"

"This is just a verbal statement!" Trotsky said sarcastically.

"Doesn't you say it? After the B17 is in service, we can see that if there are enough B17 bombers, the Air Force can now paralyze the enemy's airports in Hailar and Manzhouli, and even destroy the enemy's enemy aircraft on Harbin, Qiqihar and Fengtian Airports, and even take off from Vladivostok to bomb Tokyo! And this is something that the frontline aviation force can absolutely not do!"

Voroshilov sneered and said sarcastically: "But we don't need to bomb Harbin, Qiqihar and Fengtian now, and there is no need to bomb Tokyo. What our soldiers on the front line urgently need is to blow up the enemy's railway lines and destroy the enemy's fortifications, and these missions B17 are absolutely impossible to complete!"

"B17 does not really fail to complete these tasks, but these tasks can be solved by the dive bomber and twin-engine fast bomber under development. This is not inconsistent with the B17 project!" Li Xiaofeng glared at Voroshilov and emphasized: "Long-range aviation and front-line aviation are the two legs of the air force. They cannot be thicker than the other. If there is no leg, our air force will become a lame!" (The novel "The Heavenly Soldier in 1917" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there is also a 100% lottery gift for everyone! Open WeChat now, click the "+" sign in the upper right to "Add Friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up!) (To be continued, please search for Piaotianwen, the novel is better, updated and faster!
Chapter completed!