Backpack parachute. G. Kotelnikov is the story of one invention, the Russian parachute. Mass release of parachutes
Immediately after people began to take to the air, first in balloons and then in airplanes, the issue of rescuing them in the event of an accident at high altitude arose. On the first aircraft, long folded structures in the form of umbrellas were used for this, which were attached to the fuselage. These were very unreliable devices that greatly increased the weight of the aircraft, so they were used extremely rarely.
In hot air balloons, the evolution of means for a relatively soft landing when falling from a height of many kilometers went its own way. They used heavy and uncomfortable linen items that were tied to the bottom or side of the balloon. It is clear that in the event of an accident it was not always possible to competently use such a design.
Everything changed in 1912, when his backpack parachute tested by Russian inventor Gleb Kotelnikov.
Biography of the designer
Gleb Kotelnikov was born in St. Petersburg in 1872, his father was a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics. The parents' main hobby was theater, and the boy also fell in love with it. Since childhood, he has been playing the violin and singing. However, he also liked something else - making various toys and models with his own hands.
In 1894, Gleb graduated from Kiev military school and after 3 years of compulsory service goes into the reserve. Kotelnikov leaves for the provinces and lives a quiet, measured life - he serves as an excise official, helps in organizing drama clubs, and sometimes plays in plays himself. He does not give up his design hobby either.
Tragedy is like a shock
In 1910, Kotelnikov returned to St. Petersburg and joined the troupe of the People's House on the St. Petersburg side. He plays under the pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov.
On September 24, 1910 (old style), there was beautiful windless weather in St. Petersburg. The first aeronautics festival in Russia was scheduled for this day. The audience was delighted with the unprecedented spectacle, and suddenly one of the planes began to fall apart in the air. The pilot, who had no chance of survival, fell out of it from a height of 400 m. So in the first one for Russian Empire The famous aviator Lev Matsievich died in a plane crash.
Gleb Kotelnikov witnessed the tragedy, and at that moment he firmly decided that this should not happen again. So the 38-year-old actor turned into a parachute developer.
Making a parachute
Kotelnikov's work on creating the first folding backpack parachute was completed in December 1911, that is, 15 months after the death of Matsievich. The inventor replaced heavy linen with light and strong silk. Gleb Evgenievich sewed a thin elastic cable into the edges of the parachute. The slings were divided into two groups, attached to the shoulder girths suspension system. The result was a structure that a person could control while descending to the ground.
The main feature of Kotelnikov’s parachute was that he placed it in a small backpack. At its bottom was special shelf with strong springs underneath. Due to this solution, the parachute was instantly thrown out when the person pulled out the locking ring in the air. The first model was called RK-1 - an abbreviation for “Russian, Kotelnikova, model 1”.
After successful tests with a dummy, the development was proposed to the military department, but the Russian bureaucratic machine did not share the enthusiasm for the invention. One of the grand dukes even called the parachute a harmful thing for aviation, since with it the pilot will save himself, and not the plane, at the slightest danger.
Kotelnikov did not give up and continued to work on the invention, which Russian aviation nevertheless needed when it began.
After the revolution and Civil War Kotelnikov remained in Soviet Russia. In 1923, he introduced the RK-2 model, and a little later - the RK-3 with a soft backpack. Modern parachutes of Russian paratroopers have almost the same design as the RK-3. Airborne troops appeared in our country in 1929 precisely thanks to Gleb Evgenievich and his developments.
Almost simultaneously with RK-3, Kotelnikov created the RK-4 cargo parachute. It features an enlarged dome with a diameter of 12 m and the ability to lower loads weighing up to 300 kg. However, this parachute was not used. In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all his inventions to the Soviet government.
The inventor met the beginning in Leningrad. He survived part of the siege, and after the first winter in the besieged city was evacuated. Kotelnikov waited for the blockade to be lifted hometown, but did not live to see the end of the war. He died at the end of 1944 in Moscow and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.
The first test of Kotelnikov's parachute took place in the village of Salizi, which in 1949 was renamed Kotelnikovo (Gatchina district Leningrad region). It still stands next to the landfill small monument with a parachute depicted on it.
The grave of Gleb Evgenievich is a place of pilgrimage for paratroopers. They tie ribbons to the trees near his tombstone to tighten the parachutes.
It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci invented the parachute 530 years ago, in 1483. Why he did this, no one knows. Leonardo himself apparently did not know this. After all, in those distant, distant times it was impossible to use a parachute, because there was nothing to fly then - no balloons, no aircraft. And there was no landing force then either. Leonardo could only jump from different buildings, for example from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But why jump from it? For what? That is, the invention appeared before the need for it. Therefore, due to its uselessness, the parachute was forgotten for 300 years.
A parachute is a necessary thing
We remembered about the “anti-fall” device (and this is how the word “parachute” is translated) only in the 18th century, when the first Balloons, which often fell along with their passengers. Parachutes were then made from flax, and although they were strong, they were heavy. They were tied to the bottom or side of the balloon. Later, the fabric began to be rubberized, and the parachute became even heavier. In addition, the folded parachute took up a lot of space. Therefore, when the first airplanes began to fly, parachutes were either not used or were stowed along the fuselage. In short, this thing used to be very inconvenient to use.
And in 1911, an ordinary Russian actor of the St. Petersburg People's House, Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov (1872–1944), came up with a parachute design that became popular all over the world. Moreover, this design, with some minor changes, is still in use today.
Kotelnikov significantly reduced the weight of the parachute. He replaced heavy linen with strong but light silk. He sewed a thin elastic cable into the edge of the parachute, and divided the lines into two groups, which were attached to the shoulder girths of the harness. This allowed the parachutist to control the flight of his saving friend. People stopped floating aimlessly and limply in the air under the influence of the wind. It has even become possible to hold landing accuracy competitions.
And finally, Kotelnikov’s most important invention - he placed the parachute in a small metal backpack attached to the parachutist’s body. At the bottom of the backpack there was a special shelf, and under it there were strong springs that instantly threw the parachute out when the jumper pulled out the locking ring. The parachute has become maneuverable, compact and convenient.
Kotelnikov's backpack
Kotelnikov named the first parachute model RK-1, which meant “Kotelnikov’s Backpack”. A few years later he improved the RK-1, and the RK-2 and RK-3 appeared. The metal backpack was replaced with a canvas one in the form of an envelope, and there were also “honeycombs” that protected the lines from tangling. Modern parachutes have almost the same design.
To be sure of the reliability of the device, Gleb Evgenievich personally conducted numerous tests on smaller models. The rescue pack worked flawlessly!
A parachute in aviation is a harmful thing
Kotelnikov, of course, wanted to quickly register and put into production this important invention for aviation, which could save the lives of many pilots. But then he encountered the ruthless Russian bureaucratic system.
First, Gleb Evgenievich went to the Main Military Engineering Directorate. But the head of the department directly stated:
“A parachute in aviation is a harmful thing, since at the slightest danger pilots will escape by parachute, leaving the planes to die.”
Then Kotelnikov turned to the War Ministry. The inventor asked for subsidies to make an experimental parachute and conduct more serious tests. But even here he was refused, since one authoritative member of the commission believed that “the aviator’s legs would be torn off from the impact when the parachute opens.”
In 1912, Kotelnikov, with the help of St. Petersburg entrepreneur V. A. Lomach, was able to build two prototypes of his backpack parachute. Full-scale tests in the air were successfully carried out: different aviators dropped a dummy of Ivan Ivanovich with a parachute at different altitudes. Kotelnikov’s invention worked perfectly - it never failed, and Ivan Ivanovich did not receive any damage.
That same year in Paris international competition Parachutists Lomach showed Kotelnikov's invention in action. The French were delighted and bought both samples from him, and then set up their own production.
There is no prophet in his own country...
And in Russia they remembered about Kotelnikov’s parachutes only two years later, when the First World War began. World War. An experimental batch was made for Sikorsky aircraft, but then officials still decided to purchase parachutes abroad. Although foreign analogues were exactly the same as Kotelnikov’s, because they were made according to his samples.
Already in Soviet times Gleb Evgenievich developed the world's first cargo parachute RK-4. Its dome had a diameter of 12 meters, so it could lower up to 300 kilograms of cargo.
Overall material rating: 4.9
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What could be more beautiful than free flight? Since ancient times, humanity has been thinking about conquering the blue sky, but it was possible to overcome the force of gravity quite recently, just a few centuries ago. Lighter-than-air aircraft came to the rescue, and much later, at the end of the 19th century, prototypes of modern aircraft - airplanes - appeared. However, dreams of solo flights still haunted thousands of romantics living on all five continents. In this article we will remember the history brilliant invention, which allowed me to experience the feeling of free fall at least for a moment. As you probably already guessed, we will talk about a parachute.
It is generally accepted that the first inventor of a design that was capable of providing hovering and individual descent to the ground after a high-altitude jump was none other than the Renaissance wizard Leonardo da Vinci. The inventor indicated the exact proportions of the canvas sail, which ensured complete safety of the jump. However, the calculations for this parachute remained on paper.
Much later, in the 17th century, a prisoner, the Frenchman Lavin, preparing to escape, decided on a desperate experiment. The inventor made a semblance of a canvas tent, attaching a whalebone to it and, jumping out of the window, safely descended onto the water surface.
In Russia, the first parachutist was a certain Aleksandrovsky, who in 1806 made a successful jump from a hot air balloon flying over Moscow.
At the end of the century before last, the parachute was still a curiosity, but it was becoming increasingly popular among air explorers who used hot air balloons and airships.
The designs of parachute used in the late 19th – early 20th centuries, despite numerous improvements and design improvements, did not provide a 100% guarantee of a safe landing. Although, due to the active development of heavier-than-air aircraft, there is a need for means that could ensure a jump overboard and a subsequent successful landing.
The pioneer in the development and testing of such parachutes was an ordinary Russian guy, Gleb Kotelnikov, who from a young age witnessed the rise of the era of aeronautics. Coming from a family of scientists, Gleb became seriously interested in airplanes, but the accident he observed instantly sobered him up, freeing him from unnecessary illusions. In 1910, Kotelnikov witnessed the disaster that befell the plane of pilot L. Matsievich. The young inventor, having experienced a real shock, decided at all costs to create a parachute that would help pilots save their lives at all costs.
It took about ten months to develop the first model of the RK-1 parachute (Kotelnikov's first Russian parachute). The designer proposed sewing a dome from thin rubberized silk, the volume of which could easily be reduced into a metal backpack. Gleb attached two adjustable straps to the lines holding the canopy, with which the paratrooper could easily control the entire structure during the flight. According to calculations, such a dome with a diameter of eight meters and weighing only 2 kilograms could freely hold a person weighing about 80 kilograms in the air. Unfortunately, the Russian military and officials did not support the inventor, so Kotelnikov was able to obtain a patent for the invention under number 438,612 only in 1912 in France.
In the summer of 1912, Kotelnikov conducted the first test of his parachute design. Having accelerated in a passenger car, Gleb managed to slow down vehicle with the help of a parachute deployed during the movement. A little later, the RK-1 was tested from an airplane. So, a 200-kilogram dummy was dropped from the plane, which landed smoothly in the designated area without visible damage. Kotelnikov’s parachutes received their baptism of fire already on the fronts of the First World War and the Civil War.
This post will tell you how the parachute was invented and what they wrote about it in newspapers at the beginning of the last century.
The world's first backpack parachute with a silk canopy - that is, the kind that is still used today - was invented by the self-taught Russian designer Gleb Kotelnikov. On November 9, 1911, the inventor received a “certificate of protection” (confirmation of acceptance of a patent application) for his “rescue pack for aviators with an automatically ejectable parachute.” And on June 6, 1912, the first test of a parachute of his design took place.
This is what the popular magazine of that time, Ogonyok, wrote about this
Before this, there were attempts to invent a life-saving device for aviators:
The creator of what is today called a “parachute” had a passion for design since childhood. But not only: no less than calculations and drawings, he was fascinated by stage lights and music. And it is not surprising that in 1897, after three years of compulsory service, a graduate of the legendary Kyiv Military School (which, in particular, General Anton Denikin graduated from) Gleb Kotelnikov resigned. And after another 13 years he left public service and completely switched to the service of Melpomene: he became an actor in the troupe of the People's House on the St. Petersburg side and performed under the pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov.
The future father of the backpack parachute would have remained a little-known actor if not for the talent of the designer and a tragic incident: on September 24, 1910, Kotelnikov, who was present at the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival, witnessed the sudden death of one of the best pilots of that time - Captain Lev Matsievich.
His Farman IV literally fell apart in the air - it was the first plane crash in the history of the Russian Empire.
From that moment on, Kotelnikov did not abandon the idea of giving pilots a chance for salvation in such cases. “The death of the young pilot shocked me so deeply that I decided at all costs to build a device that would protect the pilot’s life from mortal danger,” Gleb Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. “I turned my small room into a workshop and worked on the invention for over a year.” According to eyewitnesses, Kotelnikov worked on his idea like a man possessed. The thought of a new type of parachute never left him anywhere: neither at home, nor in the theater, nor on the street, nor at rare parties.
The main problem was the weight and dimensions of the device. By that time, parachutes already existed and were used as a means of rescuing pilots; they were a kind of giant umbrellas mounted behind the pilot's seat on an airplane. In the event of a disaster, the pilot had to have time to secure himself on such a parachute and separate from the aircraft with it. However, Matsievich’s death proved: the pilot may simply not have these few moments on which his life literally depends.
“I realized that it was necessary to create a durable and lightweight parachute,” Kotelnikov later recalled. — Folded, it should be quite small. The main thing is that it is always on the person. Then the pilot will be able to jump from the wing and from the side of any aircraft.” This is how the idea of a backpack parachute was born, which today, in fact, is what we mean when we use the word “parachute”.
“I wanted to make my parachute so that it could always be on a flying person, without restricting his movements as much as possible,” Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. — I decided to make a parachute from durable and thin non-rubberized silk. This material gave me the opportunity to put it in a very small backpack. I used a special spring to push the parachute out of the backpack.”
But few people know that the first option for placing a parachute was... the pilot’s helmet! Kotelnikov began his experiments by hiding a literally puppet parachute - since he carried out all his early experiments with a doll - in a cylindrical helmet. This is how the inventor’s son, Anatoly Kotelnikov, who was 11 years old in 1910, later recalled these first experiments: “We lived in a dacha in Strelna. It was a very cold October day. The father climbed to the roof of a two-story house and threw the doll from there. The parachute worked great. Only one word came out of my father joyfully: “Here!” He found what he was looking for!”
However, the inventor quickly realized that when jumping with such a parachute, at the moment when the canopy opens, at best, the helmet will come off, and at worst, the head. And in the end, he transferred the entire structure to a backpack, which he first intended to make from wood, and then from aluminum. At the same time, Kotelnikov divided the lines into two groups, once and for all incorporating this element into the design of any parachutes. Firstly, it made the dome easier to control. And secondly, it was possible to attach the parachute to the harness system at two points, which made the jump and deployment more convenient and safe for the parachutist. This is how the suspension system appeared, which is still used almost unchanged today, except that it did not have leg loops.
As we already know, the official birthday of the backpack parachute was November 9, 1911, when Kotelnikov received a certificate of protection for his invention. But why he ultimately failed to patent his invention in Russia still remains a mystery. But two months later, in January 1912, Kotelnikov’s invention was announced in France and received a French patent in the spring of that year. On June 6, 1912, tests of a parachute took place in the Gatchina Aeronautical School camp near the village of Salizi: the invention was demonstrated to the highest ranks of the Russian army. Six months later, on January 5, 1913, Kotelnikov’s parachute was presented to a foreign public: Vladimir Ossovsky, a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, jumped with it in Rouen from a 60-meter-high bridge.
By this time, the inventor had already finalized his design and decided to give it a name. He named his parachute RK-1 - that is, “Russian, Kotelnikov, first.” So Kotelnikov combined everything in one abbreviation essential information: both the name of the inventor, and the country to which he owed his invention, and his primacy. And he secured it for Russia forever.
“Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing...”
As often happens with domestic inventions, they cannot be appreciated for a long time in their homeland. This, alas, happened with the backpack parachute. The first attempt to provide it to all Russian pilots ran into a rather stupid refusal. “Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing, since pilots, at the slightest danger threatening them from the enemy, will escape by parachute, leaving their planes to die. Cars more expensive than people. We import cars from abroad, so they should be taken care of. But there will be people, not those, but others!” - such a resolution was imposed on Kotelnikov’s petition by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Forces Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.
With the beginning of the war, parachutes were remembered. Kotelnikov was even involved in the production of 70 backpack parachutes for the crews of the Ilya Muromets bombers. But in cramped conditions On those planes, the backpacks got in the way, and the pilots abandoned them. The same thing happened when the parachutes were handed over to the aeronauts: it was inconvenient for them to tinker with the backpacks in the cramped baskets of the observers. Then the parachutes were pulled out of the packs and simply attached to the balloons - so that the observer, if necessary, could simply jump overboard, and the parachute would open on its own. That is, everything has returned to the ideas of a century ago!
Everything changed when in 1924 Gleb Kotelnikov received a patent for a backpack parachute with a canvas backpack - RK-2, and then modified it and called it RK-3. Comparative tests of this parachute and the same, but French system showed the advantages of the domestic design.
In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all rights to his inventions to Soviet Russia and was no longer involved in invention. But he wrote a book about his work on the parachute, which went through three reprints, including in the difficult year of 1943. And the backpack parachute created by Kotelnikov is still used all over the world, having withstood, figuratively speaking, more than a dozen “reissues.” Is it by chance that today’s paratroopers certainly come to Kotelnikov’s grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, tying retaining tapes from their canopies to the tree branches around them...
He didn’t leave a noticeable mark, although he certainly gravitated toward the “sublime.” 100 years ago he invented the parachute. Being a creative and subtle person, Kotelnikov witnessed a plane crash, and it shocked him so much that he decided to bring humanity down from heaven to earth.
“There are crowds of idlers hanging out in the sky, what have you done, Comrade Kotelnikov?” This parachute proverb perhaps best and most briefly describes the centuries-old evolution of the parachute from an exotic means of survival to a sport and hobby.
100 years ago, not only parachutes, but airplanes were a curiosity - they flew mostly in balloons. Crowds of spectators gathered to test the first aircraft. Among them was Gleb Kotelnikov. There is even a photograph still preserved that captures tragic moment: the device turned over in the air and the pilot fell out of it. “Kotelnikov was an eyewitness to this disaster,” says aviation historian Georgy Chernenko, “and it made such an impression on him that he decided to come up with some means of saving the aviators.”
Kotelnikov was not a designer - he was an actor. But he took on the new business with ardor. Rescue domes had already been used by balloonists; they had to be made into an emergency response tool that would always be at hand. Kotelnikov solved this problem with the help of springs located at the bottom of a metal box, which was attached behind the parachutist’s shoulders. At the right moment, the person pulled the ring, the lid of the box opened, and powerful springs threw the dome out.
RK-2 is a slightly modernized version of the first parachute by the author. There were few people willing to test the dubious devices of the self-taught engineer, or rather, only one. The volunteer's name was Ivan Ivanovich, and he was a dummy made by the designer himself. However, at that time no one even realized that a parachute could be controlled. “The parachutist was secured at one point. He hangs in this position like a puppy,” explains Stepan Tatenia, director of the Airborne Forces Museum. “And Kotelnikov divided these lines into 2 halves and attached them to the shoulders. And this idea is still used,” adds aviation historian Georgy Chernenko.
Kotelnikov's parachute could be maneuvered, which means it could be successfully used for landing troops. This sealed his fate. 20-30s - the time of the first heyday parachuting. On the eve of World War II in the Soviet Union, there were already parachute schools throughout the country.
Kotelnikov tried to improve his parachute, but without professional knowledge it was difficult: by that time the best engineers and design bureaus. The authorities, however, awarded him the "Constructor" badge, and a little later - the Order of the Red Star, but, by and large, former actor, whose invention is still used by the whole world, found itself out of work.
The parachute system quickly became a very complex device. “A parachute consists of not one, not ten, but a thousand parts. Each unit is assembled from certain parts. Therefore, each ribbon, each part has its own pattern,” says Vladimir Malyaev, leading designer of the parachute plant.
Diversity and accessibility have given rise to such a trend as parachuting. Enthusiasts perform the most incredible pirouettes in the air, engage in aerial acrobatics and assemble figures in free flight - so-called formations of up to 400 people.
The latest word in the development of parachuting is jumping without a parachute in a webbed suit, which allows you to experience the feeling of free flight, simply gliding, gliding through the air. However, it is not yet possible to get rid of the canopy completely - it is needed during landing. But, according to the athletes, the day is not far off when a person will be able to step overboard an airplane without the usual backpack on his back.
And here in the magazine look with 6:55
minutes about the invention of the backpack parachute by Kotelnikov
Newsreel “I want to know everything” - No. 49
100 years ago, St. Petersburg actor Gleb Kotelnikov patented the world's first backpack parachute. This invention was inspired by... his wife Yulia Vasilyevna
Aeronautics Festival
The beginning of the twentieth century was a time of powerful development of aviation. In 1910, the speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour was overcome. The world altitude record reached 2780 meters, and the duration of the continuous flight exceeded 8 hours. But these achievements were worth it human lives. The first victim of motor aviation was the American Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, who crashed in September 1908. And in 1911, 82 pilots had already died in the world. Aviation parachutes at that time there was no...
In the summer of 1910, the Imperial All-Russian Aero Club decided to organize air competitions in which famous Russian aviators took part. The venue for this first “air show” in Russia was chosen as Commandants Field, a vast area in the northern part of St. Petersburg. Part of it was allocated for an airfield; hangars, stands for spectators, and service buildings quickly grew nearby.
The competition received a wonderful name - “All-Russian Aeronautics Festival”. It opened on September 21 and lasted over two weeks. Among the participants were such celebrities as Mikhail Efimov and Sergei Utochkin. Figures were displayed almost every day aerobatics those years.
“For the first time we saw what Russian AVIATION had achieved, for the first time we were convinced that among Russian officers there were pilots who were not inferior in courage and skill to the French,” wrote the newspaper “Novoye Vremya”.
The aeronautics festival was coming to an end when a tragedy occurred on the Commandant's Field. Captain Lev Matsievich took off in his Farman. Only five minutes had passed since take-off; the airplane was at an altitude of 400 meters. But suddenly the spectators froze - the car seemed to split in half. The black figure of the pilot separated from her and quickly rushed down...
“There are no words to express the horror that gripped us all,” the reporter wrote. “We stood in a kind of stupor and carefully looked at how human body, spinning in the air, fell to the ground. Then everyone rushed to run to the scene of the disaster and out of the field. They fled because it was impossible to stand any longer - their hearts would not have been able to bear it and would have burst.”
This picture was also observed by Gleb Kotelnikov, who came to the airfield with his wife. Gleb was a graduate of the Kyiv Military School, but chose the profession of an actor and served in the theater " People's House"When they returned home, the shocked wife asked: “Is it really impossible to come up with a parachute that would fall with the pilot and open at his request?” The words sank into Kotelnikov’s soul - he sat down to read books about aeronautics.
Anti-fall
Leonardo da Vinci first came up with the idea of creating a parachute. In his manuscript, dating from 1495, there is a drawing with the caption: “If a man has a tent of starched linen 12 cubits wide and 12 cubits high, then he can throw himself from any height without danger to himself.” Considering that the medieval measure of length - the cubit - was equal to various countries from 50 to 60 centimeters, then such a device really ensured the safe descent of a person from any height. After all, the diameter modern parachutes also does not exceed 6-7 meters.
The idea of a parachute did not appear by chance. One day, the French king Louis XII undertook a campaign to conquer the Duchy of Milan. Having won victories in a number of battles, he besieged Milan. Famine began in the city, but the Milanese did not think of giving up: they knew that Leonardo da Vinci was next to them, and he was not only a wonderful artist, but also a great scientist - he would come up with something. And he came up with an idea. Soon the Duke of Milan received a letter from Leonardo:
“I know how to cast guns that are very light and easily portable. I know how to make multi-barreled guns that will sweep away everything in their path. In addition, I am enclosing drawings of an aircraft, which I called a “helicopter,” and an artificial wing, on the basis of which it can be made another aircraft, called "bird flyer".
The Duke immediately ordered Leonardo to be called. They decided to start not with guns, but with a “bird flyer”. In the midst of work, doubts arose. French muskets fire at two hundred and fifty meters, which means that it costs them nothing to shoot down a “bird flyer” flying at an altitude of one hundred meters. Leonardo locked himself in his workshop for three days. And on the fourth he brought the Duke a drawing and description of the parachute. But he did not have time to make it: on the same day the French launched a decisive assault - and Milan fell.
For many years this development was forgotten. Only in 1617, the Venetian mechanical engineer Veranzio found the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, made a canvas tent and made the world's first jump from a roof. high tower. But this was an isolated incident. Only after balloons began to rise into the sky, and balloonists began to die as a result of disasters, did they remember Leonardo da Vinci and his follower Veranzio. In 1783 French physicist Lenormand created a device for rescuing balloonists, for which he came up with a name - “parachute”, which translated from Greek means “against falling”. He even tested it, making a successful descent from the observatory tower.
By 1910, the works of such famous parachute designers as Bonnet, Ors, Robber, as well as Russian inventors Pomortsev and Yange had already been published. Kotelnikov studied all these works. The main conclusion he made was this: their parachutes are too bulky, unreliable and, which is really bad, are placed separately from the pilot in a special container, but the pilot can only be saved by a parachute that he can put on himself.
Silk shawl. Moment of truth
It must be said that Kotelnikov was not an engineer, but he inherited several talents from his parents. His father was a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics at the Forestry Institute, and his mother painted, played the piano, and participated in amateur performances. Since childhood, he became addicted to plumbing and carpentry. He made intricate toys and built models of various machines. At the same time, he sang in the philharmonic choir, played the violin, and composed music.
Gleb's father died early, and he had to enter the Kiev Artillery School. He served only briefly in the army and retired to the reserve. In 1910, Kotelnikov came to St. Petersburg to become a professional artist. He was enrolled in the troupe of the People's House. But the main work of his life was working on a backpack parachute. “I turned my room into a workshop and worked on my invention for more than a year,” Gleb recalled.
The idea was good, but how to implement it? The problem was that the parachute canopy at that time was made of dense and heavy rubberized fabric, which was simply impossible to put in a backpack. Case helped Kotelnikov. Once in the theater, he saw a certain lady, taking a silk shawl out of her purse, awkwardly wave it, and the shawl inflated into a bubble.
This is what we need, Kotelnikov decided instantly. He realized that silk was the best material for a parachute canopy. What happened next was a matter of technique. On November 9, 1911, Gleb Kotelnikov patented his invention and received a certificate for a “rescue backpack for aviators with an automatically ejected parachute.” He called it "RK-1", that is, "Russian, Kotelnikov - the first."
The perfect parachute
The merit of the Russian inventor was also that he was the first to divide the slings into two shoulders. Now the parachutist did not hang like a doll, suspended at one point, but could, holding the lines, maneuver, taking the most convenient position for landing. The canopy fit into a backpack, and a parachutist, using a simple device, could pull it out in the air at any distance from a falling or burning aircraft. Schematic diagram RK-1 formed the basis of all modern aviation parachutes.
It would seem that we must immediately begin mass production Kotelnikov's parachutes, but the War Ministry had its own point of view and did not accept the parachute for production, as it was written in the document, “as unnecessary.”
But Kotelnikov did not give up. Having met the businessman Lomach, who sold aviation equipment, Gleb Evgenievich suggested that he set up the production of parachutes. After thinking, he agreed, but insisted on conducting comprehensive tests.
First, an 80-kilogram dummy was dropped from a balloon - it landed without damage, then from an airplane - the same thing. After one of the successful descents of the dummy, the future famous Russian pilot, then still a cadet at the Gatchina school, Pyotr Nesterov said to Kotelnikov: “Your invention is amazing! Allow me, I will immediately repeat the jump.” But the school authorities found out about the upcoming experiment, and instead of testing the parachute, Nesterov ended up... in the guardhouse.
Who will receive the main prize?
In the fall of 1912, France decided to hold a competition for the best parachute design. Kotelnikov was planning to go, but he did not have a replacement at the theater. Then his sponsor Lomach, taking with him two parachutes, persuaded a brave guy, a student at the Osovsky Conservatory, to go with him to Paris. It was he who became the first person in the world to jump with a backpack parachute. It was a sensation that was not expected from the Russians. World-famous parachute designers lived in France at that time. Therefore, the main prize was given to the Frenchman Frederic Bonnet for a less advanced design. His parachute was stowed on the fuselage of the aircraft behind the pilot's cabin. Jumps were carried out with it in the future, but it was never used in aviation. Meanwhile, having bought both parachutes from Lomach, the French did not bother with patent rights, but immediately launched their production, passing them off as their own development.
Simplicity, reliability and talent
In 1913, 24-year-old aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky tested his heavy four-engine aircraft, which later received the name Ilya Muromets. A year later, the Russian “Squadron of Airships” was created from such machines. This was the first formation of strategic bombers in world history. It was then that they remembered Kotelnikov’s backpack parachute. It was decided to supply them to the crews of giant aircraft...
In 1923, Gleb Evgenievich created new model a backpack parachute - RK-2, and then a model of the RK-3 parachute with a soft backpack. In 1924, he manufactured the RK-4 cargo parachute with a canopy with a diameter of 12 meters. This parachute could lower a load weighing up to 300 kilograms. In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all his inventions to the Soviet government. But for unknown reasons, the new government chose to buy American Irwins and French Juquemesses.
Great Patriotic War I found Kotelnikov in Leningrad. Having survived the blockade, he left for Moscow. Died in 1944. At the Novodevichy cemetery, a monument by sculptor Grigory Postnikov was erected on his grave. On the marble plaque there is an inscription: “Founder of aviation parachuting, Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov.” Life has put everything in its place.
Nowadays, the parachute has become an integral part of technology: paratroopers descend from the sky with it, powerful domes carefully deliver guns and tanks to the designated point... Special parachutes reduce speed spaceships when landing on the ground. The Russian Parachute Research Institute has created almost five thousand various modifications. The principles of Kotelnikov’s invention are still relevant today. This is simplicity and reliability. Gleb Kotelnikov believed in the great power of art and was a good actor. But my own main role he played in the history of world aviation.
The archive preserved a memorandum from reserve lieutenant Gleb Kotelnikov to War Minister V.A. Sukhomlinov, in which the inventor asked for a subsidy for the construction prototype backpack parachute and reported that “on August 4 of this year in Novgorod, the doll was dropped from a height of 200 meters, out of 20 times - not a single misfire.
The formula of my invention is as follows: a rescue device for aviators with an automatically ejected parachute... I’m ready to test the invention in Krasnoe Selo..."
In December 1911, the “Bulletin of Finance, Industry and Trade” informed its readers about the applications received, including the application of G. E. Kotelnikov, however, “for unknown reasons, the inventor did not receive a patent. In January 1912, G. E. Kotelnikov made an application for his parachute in France and on March 20 of the same year received a patent No. 438 612." The first parachute tests were carried out on June 2, 1912 using a car. The car was accelerated, and Kotelnikov pulled the trigger strap. The parachute, tied to the towing hooks, instantly opened. The braking force was transferred to the car and the engine stalled. And on June 6 of the same year, parachute tests took place in the Gatchina camp of the Aeronautical School near the village of Salizi.
In 1923, Gleb Evgenievich created a new model of the RK-2 backpack parachute, and then a model of the RK-3 parachute with a soft backpack, for which patent No. 1607 was received on July 4, 1924. In the same 1924, Kotelnikov made a cargo parachute RK_4 with a canopy with a diameter of 12 m. This parachute could lower a load weighing up to 300 kg. In 1926, G. E. Kotelnikov transferred all his inventions to the Soviet government.
To commemorate the first test of a full-scale model of a backpack parachute, the village of Salizi, Gatchina region, was named Kotelnikovo. And not far from the training ground, a modest monument was erected with the image of a parachute. Biography:
Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov (January 18, 1930 January 872 St. Petersburg - November 22, 1944 Moscow) - inventor of the aviation backpack parachute.
Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov was born (18) January 30, 1872 in St. Petersburg in the family of a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics. The parents were fond of theater, and this hobby was instilled in their son. Since childhood, he sang, played the violin, and also liked to make various toys and models.
He graduated from the Kiev Military School (1894), and, after serving three years of compulsory service, went into the reserve. He served as an excise official in the provinces, helped organize drama clubs, sometimes acted in plays, and continued to design. In 1910, Gleb returned to St. Petersburg and became an actor in the troupe of the People's House on the St. Petersburg Side (pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov)
parachute deployment
In 1910, Kotelnikov, impressed by the death of the pilot L.M. Matsievich, began developing a parachute.
Before Kotelnikov, pilots escaped with the help of long folded “umbrellas” attached to the plane. Their design was very unreliable, and they greatly increased the weight of the aircraft. Therefore, they were used extremely rarely. In December 1911, Kotelnikov tried to register his invention, a free-action backpack parachute, in Russia, but for unknown reasons he did not receive a patent. The parachute had a round shape and was placed in a metal backpack located on the pilot using a suspension system. At the bottom of the backpack under the dome there were springs that threw the dome into the stream after the jumper pulled out the exhaust ring. Subsequently, the hard backpack was replaced by a soft one, and honeycombs appeared at its bottom for laying slings in them. This rescue parachute design is still used today.
He made a second attempt to register his invention in France, on March 20, 1912, receiving patent No. 438 612.
The RK-1 parachute (Russian, Kotelnikova, model one) was developed within 10 months, and its first demonstration test was carried out by Gleb Evgenievich in June 1912.
First, on June 2, 1912, tests were carried out using a car. The car was accelerated, and Kotelnikov pulled the trigger strap. The parachute, tied to the tow hooks, instantly opened, and its braking force was transmitted to the car, causing the engine to stall.
On June 6 of the same year, parachute tests took place in the Gatchina camp of the Aeronautical School near the village of Salizi.
At different altitudes, a mannequin weighing about 80 kg with a parachute was dropped from the balloon. All the throws were successful, but the Main Engineering Directorate of the Russian Army did not accept it for production due to the fears of the chief of the Russian air force, Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, that at the slightest malfunction the aviators will leave the airplane.
In the winter of 1912-1913, the RK-1 parachute, designed by G. E. Kotelnikov, was presented by the commercial firm Lomach and Co. to a competition in Paris and Rouen. On January 5, 1913, Ossovsky, a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, first jumped with the RK-1 parachute in Rouen from the 60-meter mark of the bridge spanning the Seine. The parachute worked brilliantly. The Russian invention has received recognition abroad. But the tsarist government remembered him only during the First World War.