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by Massimo Tessitori |
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The TsKB-15 was of mixed construction, with wooden monocoque central
and rear fuselage sections and metal construction wing, tail planes and
forward fuselage section, similar to the I-16.
The water radiator bath was manually retractable under the fuselage,
and could be locked in two positions: retracted (for maximum horizontal
speed) and fully extended (for climbing).
An oil radiator was fixed forward of the radiator bath.
The armament comprised four wing-mounted ShKAS 7.62 mm guns and 50
kg of bombs.
The empty weight was 1350 kg, and loaded weight 1823 kg.
The aircraft was flown by the famous test pilot V.P.Chkalov, the same pilot that had flown the I-16 prototypes and that later was made Hero of the Soviet Union after his record flight from USSR to USA through the North Pole. He died in 1938 while testing the first I-180.
The TsKB-15 reached a speed of 455 km/h in level flight and climbed
to 5,000 m in 6.5 min. This performance was quite high for the time, even
if lower than the target figures. As well, stability and controllability
were judged to be better than on the I-16.
The designation I-17 was allocated (I for Istrebitel
:
fighter
or, literally, destroyer) in the case that full-scale manufactured
was ordered, which at the time seemed likely.
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Some structural shortcomings were noticed during testing, particularly
regarding the undercarriage that seized and failed to extend. On that occasion,
the pilot Chkalow tried in every way to extend the undercarriage, but at
the end he had to land on one leg only.
This caused the prototype to fail to complete its trial program. The retractable undercarriage was replaced by a fixed one, as visible
on these images.
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| TsKB-15 was put into the in V.P.
Chkalov museum in 1940, and was its first aircraft exhibit.
The aircraft is still on display there, still in its original colors. It appears to be intact, minus the gun sight and guns. The landing gear wells are closed, the original faulty undercarriage has been retracted or removed, and the new fixed undercarriage is installed. The wheels appear wider than those installed in 1934. An I-16 and an ANT-25-2 used for a flight distance record by Chkalov. |
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Here are some photos of the prototype. Copyright: Ekzot aka Sergey
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Despite its poor quality, this image of the aircraft in the Chkalow
Museum shows well the ailerons, different from those of the later prototypes.
A bright metallic stripe is visible on the wing. |
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