NPO Molniya Molniya-1
# NPO Molniya Molniya-1

The Molniya-1 is a six-seater utility aircraft designed and built in Russia during the 1990s.

## Design and development

The Molniya-1 six-seat aircraft is a three surface design with a forward balanced canard surface and a square section fuselage with a Vedeneyev M14P nine cylinder radial engine in the rear. Twin booms carry fins with balanced and trim tabbed rudders and a high set tailplane, similarly tabbed and balanced.

It was intended to cover a wide range of tasks including touring, cargo/mail carrying, business flights, aerial photography, patrol and air ambulance services. The three-surface configuration was intended to provide improved safety and fuel efficiency over conventional types, with the rear-mounted engine lowering cabin noise and vibration. It flew for the first time on 18 December 1992.

A Westernised version with a 260 kW (350 hp) Continental TSIO-550-B flat six engine and another, the Moliniya-3 with an Allison 250 turboprop, were proposed. More broadly, the company were considering a number of larger types based on the three surface configuration.

## Operational history

In 1993 the design received a gold medal at the Eureka-93 World Inventors, Scientific Research and Know-How Salon in Brussels. It was demonstrated at the Le Bourget aero show in 1995. Only two Moliniyas had been built by about 2000.

## Specifications (Molniya-1)

Data from Simpson 2001

General characteristics

* Crew: 1
* Capacity: 5 passenger / 500 kg (1,100 lb) maximum payload
* Length: 7.87 m (25 ft 10 in)
* Wingspan: 8.51 m (27 ft 11 in)
* Height: 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)
* Gross weight: 1,740 kg (3,836 lb)
* Powerplant: 1 × Vedeneyev M14PM-1 9-cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled radial piston engine, 270 kW (360 hp)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 322 km/h (200 mph, 174 kn)
* Cruise speed: 290 km/h (180 mph, 160 kn)
* Stall speed: 115 km/h (71 mph, 62 kn)
* Range: 500 km (310 mi, 270 nmi) with maximum payload
* Rate of climb: 3.8 m/s (750 ft/min) at sea level
