Bisnovat SK-2 (Skorostnoye Krylo)

Single-Seat, Single-Engine Fighter Prototype

Soviet Union | 1940

"The Bisnovat SK-2 was seemingly too advanced for its own good and, despite promising performance gains, was not adopted for serial production during World War 2."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/31/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

Like other powers of the late-Interwar period (that is, the period between the two World Wars), the Soviets were hard at work on development of all-new monoplane wing planforms to improve their lot of frontline machine gun-armed fighters. The Central Dynamics and Hydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI), under the direction of Matus Bisnovat, had conducted research in the field involving the SK/SK-1 ("Skorostnoye Krylo") high-speed monoplane-winged speedster of 1939-1940 and this work was used to progress a combat-level fighting monoplane bearing his name - the Bisnovat "SK-2". Bisnovat had already accrued the needed knowledge while working as an aeronautics engineer at OKO in Kiev, Ukraine, and was eventually allowed to establish his own design bureau ("OKB") for extending the project.

Like the original SK, the SK-2 sought to accomplish complete refinement in design, not only utilizing an all-new, small-area wing planform but also securing the smallest, most efficient airframe to viably accommodate an inline piston engine of the day. The aircraft featured the Klimov M-105 (VK-105) 12-cylinder inline piston engine of 1,050 horsepower driving a three-bladed propeller at the nose - the engine housed in a compact, low-profile space to maintain the aircraft's streamlined efficiency. The pilot's position was held low against the fuselage and positioned well-aft in the design, the dorsal spine meeting the base of the single rudder tail fin. The "tail-dragger" undercarriage was hydraulically controlled and wholly-retractable. The mainplanes, with their rounded tips, straight leading edges, and tapering trailing edges, were fitted low and ahead of midships creating a balanced flying platform. All-metal construction, including light alloy skinning, was used throughout the makeup of the aircraft though fabric covered the tail's control surfaces.

In its potential combat form, it was proposed that the aircraft would carry an armament array of at least 2 x 12.7mm BS Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) in the engine cowling and possibly 1 x 7.62mm Medium Machine Gun (MMG) to improve firepower in meeting the threats of the day.

As finalized, the SK-2 was first-flown during October 1940 (this as World War 2 raged on) and gave itself a good showing. However, the gains found through this advanced design were not enough to supplant the current mold of fighter design in the Soviet aircraft stable. As such, the Sk-2 project was abandoned as the war continued.

Captured performance specs for the SK-2 fighter design included a top speed of 413 miles-per-hour and a rate-of-climb of 3,785 feet-per-minute - excellent qualities for a fighter of the early-war period.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Bisnovat SK-2 Single-Seat, Single-Engine Fighter Prototype.

1 x Klimov M-105 (VK-105) 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled inline piston engine developing 1,050 horsepower and driving a three-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion

410 mph
660 kph | 356 kts
Max Speed

36,089 ft
11,000 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling

404 miles
650 km | 351 nm
Operational Range

3,785 ft/min
1,154 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Bisnovat SK-2 Single-Seat, Single-Engine Fighter Prototype.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

27.2 ft
8.28 m
O/A Length

24.0 ft
(7.30 m)
O/A Width

10.7 ft
(3.25 m)
O/A Height

4,079 lb
(1,850 kg)
Empty Weight

5,071 lb
(2,300 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Bisnovat SK-2 (Skorostnoye Krylo) Single-Seat, Single-Engine Fighter Prototype .

PROPOSED:
2 x 12.7mm BS Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) in engine cowling.
1 x 7.62mm Medium Machine Gun (MMG).

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Bisnovat SK-2 (Skorostnoye Krylo) family line.

SK-2 - Base Series Designation; single flyable example completed.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Bisnovat SK-2 (Skorostnoye Krylo). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Bisnovat OKB - Soviet Union

[ Soviet Union (cancelled) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 500mph

Lo: 250mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (410mph).

Graph Average of 375 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

1

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

1 / 1

Image of the Bisnovat SK-2 (Skorostnoye Krylo)

Image from the Public Domain.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

INTERCEPTION

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Going Further...
The Bisnovat SK-2 (Skorostnoye Krylo) Single-Seat, Single-Engine Fighter Prototype appears in the following collections:

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