ak brace

The Aleksandrov-Kalinin AK-1 was a prototype airliner built in the Soviet Union in the early 1920s, designed as part of a project by TsAGI to investigate low-cost construction techniques and to verify calculation models for thick-section airfoils. It was a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane of conventional design, powered by a single engine in the nose. Two passengers could be carried in an enclosed cabin in the fuselage, while a separate enclosed cockpit was provided for the pilot, plus a co-pilot or an additional passenger. Construction was wooden throughout.
The aircraft was assembled at the GAZ-5 factory during 1923 and flight testing began in February the following year. Money for the project had been donated by the Latvian Riflemen, and the AK-1 was named Латышский стрелок (Latyshskii Strelok - "Latvian Sharpshooter") in recognition of this. Following flight tests, it was handed over to Dobrolyot, who used it on a route between Moscow and Kazan. In 1925, it was used in a propaganda flight from Moscow to Beijing and other Chinese cities, flying 7,000 km (4,300 mi) in 38 days.

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