Russian aircraft designer and inventor, Alexander Begak, created a unique aircraft which he named as Evolution. The aircraft is capable of traveling on land, water and air.

“This is a universal kind of transportation. It can fly at the height of 4,000 meters above the ground and cover the distance of up to 400 kilometers without additional refueling. Its 30 horse-power motor allows to develop the speed of 160 km/h in the air and 80 km/h on land. An on-board computer controls pilot’s actions,” Alexander Begak told ITAR-TASS.

Unlike heavy aircraft of modern-day aviation, Evolution is easy to transport. It is made of ultra-light coal-plastic and kevlar fibers. The total weight of the aircraft makes up only 60 kilos. The fragile as it may seem construction of the aircraft is protected with the hull made of ultra-strong materials.

The designer presented his invention at Russia’s recent MAKS-2007 air show. Experts highly estimated the novelty. Evolution can quickly find a way out of a critical situation. In case of emergency in the air, the parachute system of the aircraft softens the gliding to the ground. When traveling on the water surface, the pilot can use the inflatable emergency device that will not let Evolution drown.

Alexander Begak was working on his aircraft for two years. Evolution has passed over 100 tests. Specialists from Russia’s major aviation corporations, such as Roskosmos, participated in the research as well. The parts of the aircraft were produced at enterprises of Roskosmos, Sukhoi and Moscow Aviation Institute.

“We want to restore the fleet of ultra-light aviation – the project, which aviators turned down in the 1950s for the benefit of strategic defense goals,” Begak said.

It is worthy of note that ultra-light aircraft can come in handy for non-civil purposes too. Evolution can serve as reconnaissance aircraft invisible to radars due to its plastic equipment. It can patrol frontiers, conduct day and night photography, mapping and monitoring.

Alexander Begak is a designer, pilot and parachute jumper. He developed 15 successful aircraft projects. In 2005 Begak set an absolute record flying an utra-light micro-aircraft of his own construction at the height of 3,701 meters above sea surface.

• A Permanent Economic Emergency