EKIP (translated from , the Russian acronym for "", which means "Ecology and Progress") is the Soviet and Russian project of a multifunctional aerodrome-free aircraft, built according to the "flying wing" scheme, with an elliptically shaped fuselage. Also known by its Russian nickname of Tarielka (, meaning "plate" or "saucer"), the EKIP can land on water or unpaved ground through the use of an air cushion instead of a wheeled undercarriage. The EKIP is a short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft.
A special feature of the design is the presence of a special system of stabilization and reduction of drag, made in the form of a vortex control system of the boundary layer flowing around the stern surface of the device, as well as an additional flat-bed reactive system for controlling the device at low speeds and in takeoff and landing modes.
The need for a stabilization system and reduction of drag is due to the fact that the body of the apparatus, made in the form of a thick wing of small elongation, on the one hand, has a high aerodynamic quality and is able to create lifting force several times higher than a thin wing, on the other hand, it has low stability due to the disruption of flows and the formation of zones of turbulence. The use of the "bearing wing" scheme provides a useful internal volume several times larger than that of promising aircraft of equal payload. Such a body increases the comfort and safety of flights, significantly saves fuel and reduces operating costs.
Development
The EKIP concept was developed by Professor Lev Nikolayevich Schukin (Russian: Лев Николаевич Щукин), an engineer trained in aircraft engine development who also worked for the NPO Energia rocket design corporation and participated in the Soviet portion of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975, the first US-Soviet space linkup. In 1978, the EKIP concept was first proposed to Soviet military authorities, and in 1979, Schukin founded the EKIP NPP (scientific-production enterprise), which was based in Podlipki (Korolev). In 1980, the EKIP project initiated laboratory studies and engineering work. The first bench test on a small-scale model was conducted in 1982 at the top-secret Geodesia research institute in Krasnoarmeysk, Moscow Oblast. Major work on the still top-secret project began in 1987, and flight tests of the first scale model began in 1990–1991. This first radio-controlled flown aircraft was called the L-1 model, and it had a T-tail empennage. Initially the flights took place at the Sokol Aircraft Plant, which was known for producing MiG fighter aircraft. After radio-control problems caused the scale model to crash during a flight in snowy conditions, the Nizhny Novgorod manufacturing plant banned further EKIP test flights. Scale model testing was then moved in April 1990 to the Saratov Aviation Plant, where Yakovlev aircraft were manufactured. In 1992, another small, unmanned model crashed from a height of , but it later flew successfully after repairs and ballast adjustment. That year, the EKIP Aviation Concern (EKIP AK) was founded by the EKIP NPP, Saratov Aviation Plant, and the Triumf NPP.
The concept made its public debut in 1992 at the Mosaeroshou (the predecessor to the MAKS air show), and it appeared at other exhibitions over the next two years, including the 1993 Paris Air Show. At the MAKS air show in September 1993, Schukin described three versions being developed: an , single-deck, 20-seat model; a model using Ivchenko Progress engines from Ukraine and a Saturn engine to generate the air cushion; and a , triple-deck model containing two passenger decks and one freight deck. Two span, L-2 models were successfully flown by remote control in the middle of that year.