The strange looking Bartini Beriev VVA-14, a Soviet vertical take-off amphibious aircraft

Beriev VVA-14 experimental amphibious aircraft in Central Air Force Museum, Monino. source

The Bartini Beriev VVA-14 Vertikal`no-Vzletayuschaya Amphibia (vertical take-off amphibious aircraft) was a wing-in-ground-effect aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the 1970s.^[1] Designed to be able to take-off from the water and fly at high speed over long distances, it was to make true flights at high altitude, but also have the capability of “flying” efficiently just above the sea surface, using aerodynamic ground effect. The VVA-14 was designed by Italian-born designer Robert Bartini in answer to a perceived requirement to destroy United States Navy Polaris missile submarines.

Trying (and Failing) to Make Painting Great Again

 

Wallace Whitney “Untitled” (2016), oil on canvas, 75 x 68 inches (photo by Jason Mandella, all images courtesy Canada Gallery)