kremp: russia's first aircraft

Ricardo Reis · 1 May 2009, 02:04 AM

Does anyone has more info on this? The only thing I could dug up was

1909
# 31 (100 years back) [first flight]
Sky-geared aircraft of Yu.Kremp was tested at Moscow. It has flown about 60 meteres at 6 meters of altitude.

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Aquilius · 1 May 2009, 03:48 AM

Hi Ricardo,

you might find more looking for "Cremp".

For example here.

On the other hand it is told that the first "all russian aircraft that flew" was built by Kudashev - flown in May 1910, only one day before the Gakkel III.
Just they were also powered by french engines.

Cheers

Aquilius

Ricardo Reis · 1 May 2009, 04:08 AM

many thanks!

Varese2002 · 1 May 2009, 07:01 AM

In Cyrillic it is Ю.Кремп [Julius Kremp, probably of German ancestry]. There are conflicting statements about his 'flight' in 1909 in the contemporary press. Even the engine used by him geve different views, as Shavrov gives it as a 18 hp Даррак [probably the French Darracq engine], others quote about 75 hp for the engine (no make given).

There is a Russian piece here.

By the way I prefer the transliteration Kremp to Cremp.

Cheers

Kees

Varese2002 · 2 May 2009, 01:37 AM

Looking again at the only picture of the 1909 machine of Julius Kremp there sure is an horizontal two-cylinder engine, most likely from Darracq. The 18 hp model was also used in 1909 by the first Nieuport monoplane and even earlier in the Santos-Dumont Demoiselle. There is no way this engine could produce 75 hp. Besides that the whole construction of the machine is so light that a 75 hp engine would tear it to pieces.

The machine was in the same ultra light construction as the Demoiselle or the German Grade. Scrutiny of the picture gives that the wing had almost no airfoil shape, looking almost flat. The wingtips give the impression that they are movable, like the early Blériot monoplanes before 1909. There is no rudder to be seen in this picture, probably steering was envisaged with the moveable wingtips.

Landing gear was a skid-construction of three (two in the front and one in the middle) in combination with a tailskid.

This picture is taken when it was showed at an (aviation) exhibition, considering the three pieces of paper with text mounted on the machine. May be one of the exhibitions staged by the Imperial All Russia Aero Club, which was formed in 1909.

Cheers

Kees

Ricardo Reis · 2 May 2009, 12:28 PM

sharp eyes, Kess, sharp eyes