In the Soviet Union, every citizen knew the name of Andrei Tupolev. Aircraft under the TU brand flew to all corners of the globe. Today in the skies over Russia, aircraft of foreign manufacture are paralyzing. But the name of the great designer is not forgotten.
Childhood and youth
The founder of the Soviet school of aircraft engineering Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev was born on November 10, 1888 in a family of raznochintsy. Father came from Siberian Cossacks. Mother comes from small noblemen. Parents lived in the small village of Pustomazovo, Tver province. When the age approached, the boy was assigned to the city gymnasium. There lived a schoolboy in a rented apartment. He studied well. He showed particular interest in mathematics and physics.
In 1908 he graduated from high school and entered the Moscow Higher Technical School. Just at that time in all the newspapers they wrote about the Russian pilot Utochkin. Andrei was lucky to see the demonstration flights of the famous pilot. In the student community, the science of aerodynamics was popular. Tupolev began to attend a ballooning circle. Together with fellow enthusiasts engaged in the construction of a glider. In 1910, he flew on a makeshift aircraft and landed safely.
Professional activity
Having completed his studies, Tupolev joined the Aviation Settlement Bureau, which was the only one in Russia. At that time, there were no aircraft in our country. There were simply no trained engineers or designers. Andrei Nikolaevich, together with Nikolai Egorovich Zhukovsky, created the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, in which he began to work as the chief designer. At the first stage, he began to design an all-metal aircraft.
Foreign practice has shown that aircraft assembled from wood do not have sufficient strength and durability. Steel and alloys are not suitable due to too large specific gravity. Tupolev chose duralumin for his project, which was produced at the Kolchuginsky plant in the Vladimir region. In 1925, the first all-metal aircraft TB-1 flew into the sky. At that time, he was considered the best bomber in the world. However, work on improving the design continued.
