M.Hardy. Gliders & Sailplanes of the world

KAI-14

  The Kazan Aviation Institute at Kazan on the River Volga, nearly 500 miles east of Moscow, has designed and produced some of Russia's most notable sailplanes, especially the very advanced KAI-19 high performance all-metal single-seater ДальшеMore>>> which, in two-seater form, broke the world's 300km closed circuit speed record on 1 August 1964, and the KAI-17 training glider. Like these two types the KAI-14 high performance Standard Class single-seater was designed by a team headed by M. P. Simonov; of all-metal construction it made its first flight in about 1962, and two KAI-14s were entered in the 1965 World Championships held at South Cerney in England. Two versions of the type have been produced, the first being for competition flying with the pilot seated in a reclining position under a long flush-fitting one-piece transparent canopy; this version has a polished metal finish to reduce drag. The second version, intended for series production, is similar except that the pilot sits upright in a conventional seat under a raised cockpit canopy, and is unpolished. Both versions are otherwise the same, with cantilever shoulder wings with a forward sweep of 2° at the leading edges and compound taper on the trailing edges; the inset ailerons are each in two sections and small trailing edge air brakes are featured. The wings are metal-covered as is the semi-monocoque fuselage, in which the forward section tapers to a slimmer rear half carrying the all-metal cantilever 'butterfly'-type V-tail. The landing gear consists of a non-retractable monowheel faired into the bottom of the fuselage, with a brake that is linked to the air brakes, and a tail bumper.


Span: 49 ft 2 1/2 in
Length: 19 ft 1 in
Wing area: 107.7 sqft
Aspect ratio: 22.5
Max weight: 573 lb
Max permissible diving speed: 155 mph
Max aero-tow speed: 87 mph
Min sinking speed: 1.90 ft/sec at 56 mph