Hovatia HV-2

The **Hovatia HV-2** (Krasnoc: Cnoczип ZV-2) is a Krasnoc single-engine trainer aircraft. It was a cantilever monoplane that featured retractable landing gears. It was nicknamed "*The Teacher*" for its forgiving agility and the fact that the HV-2 had trained many student pilots.

## Hovatia HV-2

### Designer

* Purdo Yelikov
* Pavel Sergey Hovatia

### Introduction

August 4th, 1937 (Kravnov Aerospace University)

### Primary users

* Kemevrov Research Institute
* Kravnov Aerospace University
* Novorossitim Aerospace University

### Variants

* Hovatia HV-2
* Hovatia HV-2A
* Hovatia HV-2B

## Design

In January 1936, the Krasnovsky aviation branch made a new specification for trainer aircraft. The specifications were:

* Maximum speed: 270 km/h
* Cruise speed: 245-255 km/h
* Stall speed: 85 km/h
* Minimum landing speed: 100 km/h
* Service ceiling: 3,500 meters

The small team at Hovatia had begun work on the HV-2 to replace their outdated HV-1. The lead designers were Purdo Yelikov and Pavel Sergey Hovatia.

Pavel Sergey Hovatia and Purdo Yelikov had split their tasks. Pavel was to design the fuel system, cockpit, and landing gears, while Purdo had to make the fuselage, wings, and stabilizers.

The design phase took 11 months.

### Fuselage

Purdo had selected an all-metal fuselage, as he believed it was safer, and the nation of Krasnovsky had lots of steel. He designed the fuselage to be about 5.4 meters long. In front of the cockpit was a fuel tank that could carry 37 L (10 US gal) of fuel.

### Engine

The engine chosen was a licensed production version of the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine that produced about 335 kW (450 hp). The aircraft carried fuel in its wings. The aircraft could carry about 151 L (40 US gal) of fuel.

### Wings

Purdo had chosen the airfoil Clark YH for the aircraft. Each wing had a fuel tank that could carry about 56 L (15 US gal) of fuel. The wingspan was about 7.6 meters. Purdo designed a pneumatic flaps system for the wings to reduce the landing speed. The flap type chosen was the slotted flap. Purdo originally was going to use the plain flap.

### Fuel system

The fuel system, designed by Pavel Sergey Hovatia, had allowed the plane to stay inverted for a minute and a half.

### Stabilizers

Purdo had designed the empennage. He had used the conventional empennage design.

### Cockpit

The aircraft had a fully enclosed cockpit. The cockpit incorporates a couple of features commonly found on post-war planes. These include:

* Instrument panels. The HV-2 had instrument panels designed by another company called Kazvn. The airspeed indicator had a VNE speed of 375 km/h. The altitude indicator had a maximum altitude of 5,000 meters.
* Seat design. The seats were made out of leather and had harnesses.
* Cockpit opening system. The cockpit canopy was a sliding cockpit canopy design. In emergencies, Pavel designed a system that allowed the pilot to destroy the glass.

Other features include

* Landing gear. The pilot lowered and retracted the landing gears using a hydraulic system. There was a backup system that allowed the pilot to operate the landing gear manually, even if the hydraulic system failed.

### Landing gears

The landing gears comprised two main landing gears below the wings and a wheel supporting the tail. The two main landing gears below the wings were retractable using a hydraulic system.

### Brakes

The HV-2 utilizes brakes as a method of slowing down after landing. The pilot pneumatically operates the brakes.

### Flight characteristics

The pilot can steer the aircraft on the ground with rudder controls. When the tail gear is unused, the pilot can lock it with either a lock that prevents gear movement, placed on the ground, or a built-in lock that restricts the steering of the gear.

The HV-2 is an easy-to-fly aircraft when compared with a few other aircraft of the time. The agility that the HV-2 has is forgiving, even if the student pilot makes an error while flying. Many veteran pilots had the HV-2 as their favorite aircraft.

## Development

The first HV-2 was a prototype. The Hovatia plant finished it in December 1936. The HV-2's maiden flight was on the 3rd of March, 1937, after fixing all of its possible flaws.

The test pilot, Lavr Benedikt Petrov, who tested the plane, had reported that "the aircraft was very agile, easy-to-fly, and most importantly, very forgiving." Hovatia only received minor complaints. They were identified and fixed correctly in under a month.

In 1938, a new model, **HV-2A**, was produced. The **HV-2B** finally came out in 1939 as an aerobatic version of the plane.

## Operational history

The Krasnoc Air Force and a few flight universities had ordered the HV-2 as their trainer. The HV-2 quickly began to replace the old and outdated HV-1.

Its service started in 1937 with the Krasnoc Air Force ordering 33 HV-2s. By 1946, the Krasnoc Air Force had retired all of its HV-2. However, flight schools used the HV-2 until 1950.

### Krasnoc Air Force

The Krasnoc Air Force had ordered 33 HV-2s as their trainers. Krasnoc pilots had nicknamed the HV-2 "*The Teacher.*"

### Flight schools

Flight schools in Krasnovsky often had lots of the Hovatia HV-2. Kemevrov Research Institute used it as a testbed for different engine types, while Kravnov Aerospace University and Novorossitim Aerospace University used it to train their pilots. Three of them were the primary users of the HV-2, with three of them taking up 65% of every HV-2 ever produced.

## Variants

**Hovatia HV-2**

> One-seat trainer aircraft, powered by a 450-hp licensed production Pratt & Whitney R-1340 nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine.
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**Hovatia HV-2A**

> Two-seat trainer aircraft. Hovatia extended it to 7 meters and increased its wingspan to 9 meters. Hovatia lengthened the cockpit to make space for a flight instructor.
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**Hovatia HV-2B**

> One-seat aerobatic aircraft. Powered by a 700-hp licensed production Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior.
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**Hovatia HJ-3**

> Developed from the HV-2A. Light two-seat ground-attack aircraft. Capable of carrying two 250-pound bombs.
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## Specifications (HV-2A)

**General characteristics**

* Crew: 2
* Length: 7.955 m (26 ft)
* Wingspan: 9.550 m (31 ft 3 in)
* Height: 2.80 m (8 ft 13 in)
* Wing area: 15.65 m² (168.4 ft²)
* Airfoil: Clark YH
* Empty weight: 1,108 kg (2442 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 1,508 kg (3324 lb)
* Fuel capacity: 151 L (40 US gal)
* Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340 nine-cylinder radial engine, 335 kW (450 hp)
* Propeller: 3-bladed variable pitch propeller

**Performance**

* Maximum speed: 295 km/h (183 mph, 159 kn) at sea level
* Cruise speed: 250 km/h (118 mph, 102 kn) at 2,000 m (6561 ft)
* Stall speed: 90 km/h (55 mph, 48 kn) flaps down, engine idling
* Never exceed speed: 375 km/h (233 mph, 202 kn)
* Range: 800 km (372 mi, 323 nmi) at 1,000 m (3280 ft)
* Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
* Rate of climb: 5.00 m/s (985 ft/min)

## See also

* Hovatia HV-1
* Hovatia HJ-3

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 TBA