Draft:Valentin Bragilevsky

Valentin Zinovievich Bragilevsky (17 May 1928 – 26 June 2012) was a Soviet and Ukrainian aircraft designer.

Awards and Honors

 * Council of Ministers of the USSR Award
 * State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology
 * Honored Machine Builder of Ukraine
 * Honorary Aircraft Builder
 * Order of the Red Banner of Labor
 * Order of the Badge of Honor
 * Order For Merit, 3rd Class (Ukraine)

Biography
Valentin Zinovievich Bragilevsky was born on May 17, 1928, in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. In 1933, due to his father's job relocation, the family moved to Kyiv. He received his secondary school education in schools across various countries:


 * Grades 1-5 – School No. 45 in Kyiv (USSR, Ukrainian SSR)
 * Grades 6-7 – Kustanai (USSR, Kazakhstan - evacuation)
 * Grade 8 – Vladivostok (USSR, RSFSR)
 * Grades 9-10 – Special Air Force School in Kyiv (USSR, Ukrainian SSR)
 * Grade 10 (completion) – Potsdam, Germany, where his father was stationed.

From 1947 to 1953, he studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, specializing in aircraft construction.

After graduating in April 1953, he was assigned to work in Riga (Latvian SSR) at the enterprise p/y 54 of the Ministry of Defense Industry, where he worked until the end of the year before moving to a large plant for the repair of aircraft engines (military unit of the Ministry of Defense) in Riga.

In early 1954 (February), he started working at the enterprise p/y 4 of the Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR in Kyiv. He began as an engineer-designer in the "SF" brigade of the Design Bureau (now KO-2), later becoming the deputy head of this brigade, a lead designer in the production of the An-24 aircraft, and the main designer's representative at the Irkutsk serial aviation plant (production of An-12 aircraft).

In 1958, he was appointed as the lead designer for the construction of the first experimental model of the An-24 aircraft.

In 1959, he was sent as the main designer's representative to the Irkutsk aviation plant to oversee the serial production of the An-12 aircraft.

In 1961, he was appointed the lead designer for the construction of the first experimental model of the An-22 "Antey" aircraft.

In 1963, he was appointed head of the division for designing aircraft glider structures and interiors. That same year, he became the head of the glider department.

From January 3, 1967, he worked as the head of the Design Bureau at the Kiev Mechanical Plant.

From 1986, he was the head of the department at the "Antonov Design Bureau".

Bragilevsky made a significant contribution to the development of national and global aviation. Among the most significant pioneering directions implemented under his active participation and leadership were:


 * The development and implementation of strength calculations using the finite element method at the firm;
 * The creation of large power units of the glider from composite materials;
 * The introduction of automated design systems (CAD) and new information technologies.

He was at the forefront of organizing the design of ground transport (bus, tram, trolleybus) at the firm, including with automated movement control (RADAN).

Under Bragilevsky's leadership, computer systems for analyzing the stress-strain state of load-bearing structures using the finite element method were developed and implemented. New wing mechanization systems, control mechanization of large movable fuselage units were developed. Methods of designing based on the principles of "safe damage" of the structure and its survivability, methods of operation based on the technical condition were mastered.

He participated in the design of fuselages for several aircraft, including in a special transport layout:


 * An-8 (the first specialized military transport aircraft in the USSR)
 * An-12 (the Soviet analogue of the C-130 "Hercules")
 * An-10 (mainline passenger aircraft with a large diameter pressurized fuselage)
 * An-24 (mass regional aviation aircraft where adhesive welded connections of hermetic panels made of aluminum alloy were first used)
 * An-14 "Pchelka" (light passenger aircraft for local transportation from underprepared landing sites)

He led the design of the glider structure for the following aircraft:


 * An-22 (the first Soviet wide-body aircraft)
 * An-26 (a deep modification of the An-24 aircraft, turning it into a transport version)
 * An-32 (further development of the An-26 aircraft with the installation of a more powerful engine for operation at high-altitude airfields)
 * An-28 (a multi-purpose aircraft developed from the An-14 concept)
 * An-72 (a light military transport aircraft for short takeoff and landing)
 * An-74 (the civilian version of the An-72 aircraft for flights in the Arctic and Antarctica)
 * An-124 "Ruslan" (the largest aircraft in the world at that time in terms of size, takeoff mass, and payload)
 * An-225 "Mriya" (further development of the concept of cargo wide-body aircraft, involving the replacement of multi-element assembled load-bearing structures with integral and large-size structures, significantly increasing the aircraft's weight efficiency)
 * An-70 (military transport wide-body aircraft with short takeoff and landing on distances up to 700-800 m)

The photo shows Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, presenting Bragilevsky with the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology (black and white photo) and the Order "For Merit" (color photo).