Experiments in the automotive industry are commonplace, and everything deserves to be improved. Quite often, strange ideas can really become the beginning of something new and effective. However, there are also such experiments that may not have turned out to be a panacea, but absolutely definitely deserve attention. As, for example, the idea of the auto designers of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant to equip their legendary "Loafs" … with an aircraft engine.
Not so long ago, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant decided to recall one very interesting modification of their famous brainchild UAZ-452/3741, also known as the "Loaf". In the 1970s, it was decided to strengthen it not just with a new engine, but with a real aircraft engine. The choice of auto designers settled on the TA-6A engine, which launched the creation of UVZ-2 and UVZ-4, 8 air launch units - this was the name of the modernized "Loaf".
The engine for the aircraft is of considerable size, so it took up almost the entire internal space of the car. The control of such a machine with a complicated system also had to be changed - for example, a separate remote control was installed in the cabin for this purpose. In addition, a radio station for communication and a fire extinguishing system appeared in the "Bukhanka", which was immediately triggered in the event of a sharp jump in temperature in the car's systems.
Of course, such a project is not only non-trivial, but also expensive, which means that it was not done for the sake of experiment, but for a specific purpose. Such UAZs were used to service aircraft on the runway - first of all, Tu-154 or IL-62. With their help, the liners were refueled, and sometimes even started, in case the aircraft did not have a regular starter. In addition, this aircraft engine, which was installed on the "Loafs", rotated two generators that generate electricity for the onboard systems of the aircraft.
Do you want to know more about the famous Soviet SUVs? Then read: 7 Soviet-era SUVs that can be considered the best of their kind