AERONAUTICAL DEPARTMENT
At 2020 was made a decision to relaunch Aeronautical Department in Riga. Dartz Motorz takes that vision as an inspiration for a future where drones will complement our style and panache. They want to change the image of drones from being mere toys or industrial assets to that being an accessory that enhances the owner’s individuality. Dubbed the Dartz PromDrone Black Bee, it is co-developed with drone pros Fixar who’ve given it the advantages of a helicopter and unmanned aircraft while doing away with the disadvantages of tilt rotors. The designed by Alexander Isaev drone based on the Fixar 007 Outdoor model can take off and land like a copter and also has a high flight range courtesy of the wing lift. The design is such that the transition from the helicopter mode to the aircraft mode is seamless.
Aviation department of JSC Russian-Baltic Carriage Works.
Photo: Pilot Vladimir (Voldemar) Fedorovich Smith at the first copy of the Sommer-RBVZ aircraft, before the first test flight. March 6, 1911
On May 25, 1911, during a demonstration flight on the Sommer-RBVZ, pilot VF Smith died. The cause of the disaster is the failure of the control system. After that, further production of the aircraft developed by Roger Sommer, a student of Henri Farman, at RBVZ was discontinued.
Photo: The flight of the pilot VF Smith on the first copy of the Sommer-RBVZ aircraft.
Aircraft S-6B. Military airplane competition in 1912 in St. Petersburg.
Aircraft S-10 No. 101 “competitive”. Military airplane competition in 1913 in St. Petersburg.
Single-float version of the C-5A seaplane.
C-10 “Hydro” in the courtyard of the Russian-Baltic plant.
The S-11A aircraft at the 1913 airplane competition.
Aircraft S-12.
In 1913, I.I. Sikorsky began to create multi-engine aircraft. Rumors of a huge flying machine being built by Russo-Balt were creeping through the capital.
Photo: Construction of hangars of the Aviation Department of RBVZ at the Commandant airfield.
Biplane “Grand”. The first 2-engine version.
“Grand-Baltic” with a tandem arrangement of 4 engines.
The flights of the “Russian Knight” fully confirmed the possibility of creating heavy multi-engine aircraft, and the Ministry of War showed its interest in such aircraft. Since August 1913, at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works (RBVZ), the construction of a prototype of a new four-engine heavy airplane began, which was named in honor of the Russian epic hero “Ilya Muromets”(it became a common name for various modifications of this machine, which was built at the plant from 1913 to 1917.).
Photo: Emperor Nicholas II examines the “Russian Knight”.
Assembling the Ilya Muromets aircraft. Aviation department RBVZ, 1913.
Aircraft designer II Sikorsky in the assembly shop of JSC “RBVZ”.
Bomber “Ilya Muromets” series B. Mechanics inspect engines “Argus”.
Bomber “Ilya Muromets” series B.
After the outbreak of the First World War, the Muromtsev detachments carried out combat missions for reconnaissance of the enemy.
Photo: Fighter C-16.
After the outbreak of the First World War, the chairman of the board of the Russian-Baltic Plant announced a competition to create an aircraft engine for the Ilya Muromets aircraft.
Photo: A batch of S-16 fighters near the factory hangar.
In connection with the threat of the capture of Riga by the Germans, the Russian-Baltic plant was evacuated to Petrograd.
Photo: The RBVZ-6 engine of the Riga plant.
After the coups d’état of 1917, the Russian-Baltic Aeronautical Plant of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works JSC was confiscated by the resolution of the Economic Council of the Northern Region of September 25, 1918, in November 1920 it was renamed into the Russian-Baltic Aircraft Plant No. 2 (branch No. 2 ).
Photo: Fighter S-20.