Metal Fatigue

Sometimes it happens that you find an object completely by accident, without looking at maps or anything. That's what happened this time. Two friends were walking through an industrial area toward the place they had planned earlier when suddenly they saw a large hangar behind a fence with a banner with pictures of airplanes on it.

 

A light in the booth at the entrance to the facility and a man sitting beneath it indicated that the place was not abandoned. At first, the two didn't even want to go inside until they saw what looked like an old building on the edge of the grounds. After climbing over the fence, the two walked around the perimeter of the building when suddenly they saw the tail of a helicopter sticking out from behind the hangar.

The temptation was too great, and the friends moved closer to look at the metal bird. Stripped of its wings, it looked rather shabby.

Next to the Mi-26 was the hull of another aircraft, covered with tarpaulin, various structures, and construction debris.

At the same time, the hangar was fully alive: they heard through the gate the sounds of electric motors, hydraulic drives, and clanking metal.

Once inside, the friends walked under the cameras in the hangar and lurked under one of the fuselages of the planes.

Every other computer was recording test data.

It became clear that strength testing of aircraft was being done here.

Here you can find the hulls of aircraft Su and Mi and Ka helicopters. The hull of the Mi-171 is in the factory green paint.

Aircrafts also get tired. But if seriously, the fatigue testing of aircraft structures means their cyclic loading a given program, simulating the conditions of fatigue of external variable loads in real operating conditions.

That is, the loads that an aircraft faces in real conditions can be simulated on such benches to identify design flaws at the design stage and correct them in a timely manner.

Ka-62 colors of Russian Helicopters. The Sukhoi Superjet without the tail in the background.

Here is the Su.

Part of the fuselage of the aircraft at the stand to study the strength of the wing.

Weights for static loading on structural components of the plane.

Recording data from tests of the Ka-32.

Empty test bench.

SSJ wing static and dynamic load test rig.

While one of the friends was shooting the perspective of the wing and cockpit of the dismembered Superjet, he heard a surprised voice from behind. And then a dialogue started: - Who are you? - Photographers. - What are you doing here? - Taking pictures. - How did you get in here? - Well, your gate's open. - The guard will be here in a minute. - All right, let's go see him. - Why are you walking so fast? As you can guess, these two did not want to go to the guard and turned on the afterburner :)

Until we meet again!