Petro Balabuyev

Petro Vasylovych Balabuyev (Ukrainian: Петро Васильович Балабуєв, 23 March 1931 in Valuisk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 17 May 2007) was a Ukrainian aircraft designer, engineer, Doctor of Engineering (1988), professor, chief designer of the Antonov Design Bureau (1984 – May 2005), Hero of Socialist Labour and a Hero of Ukraine, head of Kiev-based Antonov Aircraft for almost 20 years.

Petro Vasylovych Balabuyev
Petro Balabuyev with the An-148 in the background.
Born(1931-03-23)March 23, 1931
Valuisk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
DiedMay 17, 2007(2007-05-17) (aged 76)
OccupationAntonov aircraft designer
AwardsHero of Socialist Labor (1975)
USSR State Prize (1973)
Signature

Biography

Petro Balabuyev was born on 23 May 1931, on a Valuysk farm in the Luhansk region. He graduated from the Kharkov Aviation Institute[1] in 1954 with qualifications of an aircraft mechanical engineer. In April 1954, after graduating from Kharkiv Aviation Institute, he started working at the Kharkov aircraft company:

  • at first as a structural engineer
  • since 1956 - Head of the workshop
  • since 1959 - Head of the assembly line
  • since 1960 - lead designer, acting head of production dept.
  • since 1961 - deputy chief engineer, main representative of Antonov Design Bureau at Tashkent Aviation Production Association
  • since 1965 - Head of the Research Bureau of Antonov
  • since 1968 - deputy chief designer
  • since 1971 - chief designer, First Deputy General Designer
  • since 1984 - chief designer of Antonov[2]

Aircraft

Under his guidance the following aircraft were developed: Antonov An-22, Antonov An-72, An-74, Antonov An-32, Antonov An-28, Antonov An-124 (the world's second largest serially manufactured cargo aircraft), Antonov An-225 Mriya (eng. - Dream) (the largest operational aircraft in the world). Among recent developments are the Antonov An-140 and Antonov An-148,[3] Antonov An-38 and Antonov An-70.

Other positions taken by Petro Balabuyev:

  • Chairman of the board of the International Consortium "Medium Transport Aircraft"
  • Program manager for the implementation of the contract with the Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Member of Exporter council at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (since February 1999)

Balabuyev was the author of over 100 scientific papers. He developed scientific bases of design and practical implementation of supercritical wing profiles into the design of heavy transport aircraft.

Petro Balabuyev died on May 17, 2007, in Kiev.[4]

Awards and honours

Soviet and Russian

Ukrainian

In 2001, he was awarded the Edward Warner Award.

References
  1. "National Aerospace N.E.Zhukovskiy University "Kharkov Aviation Institute"". education-in-ukraine.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. Higham, Robin D. S.; Greenwood, John T.; Hardesty, Von, eds. (1998). Russian Aviation and Air Power in the Twentieth Century. London, UK: Frank Cass. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-7146-4784-5. Retrieved 1 August 2018 – via Google Books.
  3. "Antonov designer general Petr Balabuyev sounds confident on AN-148 regional passenger jet's future". Ukrainian Government. 9 April 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  4. "Умер легендарный авиаконструктор семейства самолетов Ан Петр Балабуев". Ria.ru (in Russian). 17 May 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  5. "On the national appointment of "Hero of Ukraine" by the President". Verkhovna Rada (in Ukrainian). 30 December 1999. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
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