Nikolai Kamov

Russia

 

1902–1973

Nikolay Kamov, born in September 1902, in Irkutsk, was a legendary Soviet aircraft designer, D.Sc Engineering, founder of Ka helicopters, and was awarded the USSR State Prize.

Kamov enrolled in the Engineering Faculty at Tomsk Technological Institute in 1918. He had already developed quite an interest in aviation and had been to numerous test flights. Nikolai Kamov graduated from the institute with honors before he turned 20, becoming the youngest engineering graduate in its history.

Nine years later, Kamov had created his first autogyro, the KASKR-1 (named Krasny Inzhener or Red Engineer). The A-7 autogyro, developed under Kamov’s supervision, was deployed during WWII.

In 1940, Kamov was appointed chief designer at the Soviet Union’s first factory producing rotor aircraft. He is credited with first coining the Russian word for helicopter – vertolyot.

Nikolay Kamov passed away November 24, 1973, aged 71.

 

Milestones associated with Nikolai Kamov
September 1, 1929	First flight of a Soviet Union built rotorcraft (KaSkr-1 autogyro)
October 12, 1947	First flight of Kamov's helicopter, the Ka-8
August 30, 1949	First flight of the Kamov Ka-10
April 14, 1953	First flight of Kamov Ka-15
March 31, 1956	First flight of Kamov Ka-15M
October 13, 1956	First flight of Kamov Ka-18
April 26, 1961	First flight of Kamov Ka-25
May 25, 1965	First hover flight of Kamov Ka-26
May 6, 1967	First flight of Kamov Ka-25K
December 24, 1973	First flight of Kamov Ka-27
July 28, 1976	First flight of Russian Kamov Ka-29
October 8, 1980	First flight of Russian Kamov Ka-32 medium multipurpose helicopter
October 8, 1980	First flight of Kamov Ka-32T
October 19, 1987	First flight of Kamov Ka-126