GAS-A-Aero

In the post-revolutionary Russia was not the place of motorsport. Famous Russo-Balt S24/55 disappeared (the donkey in a private collection, was tragically killed in the troubled years, and went under the knife of the Bolsheviks as a relic of imperialism - an open question), and new sports cars do not fit into the five-year program. And in general, by and large, was considered a bourgeois luxury MOTOR, which have no place in the Soviet Union, which is not today - tomorrow will build communism, and each family will receive a comfortable four-seater sedan and an apartment for the two thousandth year. A two-seater sports coupe ... that it use? In short, the Olympic motto "faster, higher, stronger" does not fit the domestic industry in the 1930s, which has had its own motto - "more, more and more," "Five-Year Plan in four years" and so on. Quality of interest is much less than the quantity.Surprisingly, these years and there was a unique car design engineer Alexei Nikitin Osipovich GAS-A-Aerodinamic. But ... everything in order.AO Nikitin was born in 1903 in the town of Kolomna, Moscow region into a peasant family. A boy with a childhood characterized by curiosity, eagerness for knowledge and love of technology. After school, the young man enrolled in 1924 in Moscow Mechanical Institute. MV Governors at the Department of the motor-car transpotrnogo faculty. Graduating in 1930, and the qualification of engineer-mechanic (sv-vo. N 5319), Alex Osipovich enrolled in graduate school and began teaching.Turning point in the life of a young designer came in 1932, in July, which was organized by the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization Red Army (later - the Military Academy of Armored Forces), where the automotive department was one of the majors. To military personnel at all times around the world have been increased demands and Wammen Red Army - not the exception. One of the main concerns of faculty and graduate students of the Academy was conducting research and development of combat and operational qualities of wheeled vehicles, their design, durability, etc.
 
Academy staff have access to the most modern and advanced (for its time) information on foreign developments in the automotive industry. Nikitin works particularly interested in American and French scientists in the field of aerodynamics of cars. In the West, the question a reduction in the drag cars have long been accepted is not of secondary importance (take, for example, a German engineer Rumplera, or the American Design Byuringa). Moreover - in Germany, which after its defeat in World War I, have banned the fleet, in wind tunnels blown cars, which explains why such a jump in the automotive industry in Germany before World War II.The idea of ​​reducing fuel consumption, increase speed characteristics of the vehicle due to a decrease Cl captivated the mind of young engineers, and the subject of his thesis, he chose the study of streamlining the car. Fortunately, the technical basis of the Academy was a huge (for example - almost the only country in the roller stand), and build a prototype Nikitin is not obstructed.The work began with making models in 1:10 scale and blowing in the wind tunnel in the laboratory of Professor Zhukovsky Moscow Aviation Institute. Nikitin knew that the ideal form in terms of aerodynamics - the form of a liquid drop, and the models made on the basis of these considerations. Naturally, the similarity between model and real car was quite arbitrary - the bottom of the model, it was absolutely smooth, and the wheels do not rotate. In addition, there is another limitation - the donor was chosen car GAZ-A, manufactured since 1932 and former at that time the most popular car in the country. The disadvantage is that the chassis of the GAZ-A - vysokoramnoe, and the minimum possible height of the test sample was estimated at 1700 mm.After many experiments, it was determined the optimal shape of the car. Optimal not only in terms of aerodynamics, but also on the basis of technical specifications. Flow ideal, experience has shown, was a car with an incredibly long tail, which is built in practice is very difficult, and to exploit - and not impossible. Coefficient of circularity (we're talking about the drag coefficient Cx) models were 0.175 (for comparison: C VAZ-2112 - .335 - one of the best in its class).Arose another question - making a real prototype. GAZ-A is almost completely dismantled, leaving only the chassis and engine (and the one - not the whole). The new body had a wooden frame sheathed with steel plates, V-shaped windshield, tilted back at an angle of 45 degrees, fully enclosed fairing rear wheels, recessed lights in the wings. Even the hood lock were moved inside, and running boards were located inside the car, behind a door. The width of the car remained the same - 1710 mm, but the salon has become wider due to more narrow wings. Body length was 4970 mm, with a wheelbase of 2620 mm. Weight - 1270 kg (standard GAS-A - 1200 kg). Again - if mass production can be reduced to about 1170 kg, and in the rear fairing to arrange cover for the replacement of wheels, but large-scale production plans were not. On top of "tuning" the engine capacity of 3285 cc. equipped with an aluminum cylinder head, and increased the compression ratio from 4.15 to 5.45 units, increasing capacity to 48 hp at 2600 rpm. (From the factory - 39 hp at 2300 rpm.).And now, after more than twenty years, the domestic car approached the record Russo-Balt S24/55, has a top speed of 106 km / h. Results of sea trials were revolutionary - the fuel consumption dropped by more than 25%, maximum speed increased from 80 km / h to 106 km / h. As already noted, the coefficient Cx of the real sample was higher than that of a scale model and was 0.207. But this - a 48% lower than that of the GAZ-A.Success of the young designer has not gone unnoticed at the top. Decree of the Presidium of Central Council of Societies Avtodor USSR from March 13, 1935 for further work to study the aerodynamics of cars were allocated to 2000 rubles, and most of the engineer - SA Nikitin's prized car Ford. All of them? No, not all! Yet promised to assist in the restoration of "American" - he was a bit broken ...Himself GAZ-A-Aero was given the car the CA Board for review. It should be a unique vehicle is lost.Creator of the GAZ-A-Aero has continued to explore the aerodynamics until 1941, when, willy-nilly, had to take over work on the chassis of tanks, and more to the issues of circularity does not come back. From 1941 to 1974, SA Nikitin wrote about fifty works on the theme of tracked vehicles and defended several copyright patents.To our extreme regret the practical application of the work of Nikitin in those years did not find a number of reasons. First, of course, this design seemed then too bold. Such an experience of the firm Chrysler in 1934 ended in complete failure two years later, despite a daunting advertising campaign. And, secondly, of course, the war intervened. Who knows what today would be Russian cars, the duration Nikitin your work?