The nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century is regarded as one of the defining chapters of modern history. A central episode of that era was the emergence of strategic bombers. To cross the Atlantic or Arctic Ocean carrying a 5,000 kg bomb Read more…
As a result of defeats in two world wars, Germany suffered not only human losses but also enormous economic damage. The German merchant fleet was not spared either. But if after World War I only its best part was divided among the victorious countries, then after World War II almost everything was taken from the Read more…
The Peugeot 403 has a lot in common with the GAZ-21 “Volga”. They are roughly the same class and appeared at about the same time. For both Peugeot and the Gorky Automobile Plant, this was the second passenger-car model launched after the war. But unlike the “Volga”, the Peugeot 403 had a convertible body style Read more…
Almost a hundred years ago, when automobile manufacturing was taking its first steps, curious phenomena were observed in this field from the perspective of our contemporary. Today it goes without saying that an automobile is a vehicle with a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine (ICE). But in those days, firstly, the automobile was considered Read more…
What is the microplane “Wasp” created by Kronstadt craftsmen? At first glance, it seems there is nothing new in it. A strut-braced high-wing monoplane, a scheme that has become the most popular among amateur designers. This very scheme was the basis for the microplanes “Leningradets” by N. Tatsiturny, “Malysh” by L. Komarov, “Sputnik” by V. Read more…
During 1970, our magazine published a series of articles by a group of autogyro designers about the features of building these rotary-wing aircraft, about how to build autogyro models, how to fly gyrogliders towed by a boat or car. At the request of numerous readers, we tell in this issue about the autogyro control system Read more…
Throughout most of the Cold War, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and the Socialist Republic of Romania (SRR) were the most “rebellious children” in the family of socialist countries. Yugoslavia, under the leadership of Marshal Tito, not only did not join the Eastern Bloc but was one of the key countries of the Read more…
After the end of World War I, Czechoslovakia found itself in a unique situation. It inherited a powerful industry from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including automotive, comparable to Germany and France. However, the volume of the domestic market of the new state was small, and to survive, automakers had to focus on exports. In the early Read more…
“In recent times, hang gliders have become popular — unique successors to gliders. Hang gliders quickly won the love of our youth, and with it, the right to exist. Naturally, there is a desire to install a small boat or motorcycle engine on a hang glider to fly not only in updrafts…” This statement belongs Read more…
Numerous gatherings of amateur aircraft designers brought together hundreds of small aviation enthusiasts, and this clearly showed that interest in designing amateur aircraft is enormous. However, in many cases, an insoluble problem for ultralight aircraft enthusiasts is the engine problem — powerful, light, compact, and economical. I believe that if industry produced such engines, small Read more…
