Designer Mikulin Biography

Despite the fact that the main defects of AM were already eliminated, the minister P. was not easy to develop the personal relationships of Mikulin and Klimov. Obviously, the commission was very in a hurry: all its conclusions were quite common, which all similar commissions make, in the style of “not sufficiently justified”, “small amount of experiments” as if the commission did not know what pressure was on Mikulin with terms, “in world practice,“ yes, really much has been done for the first time in the world!

Before the new G. Malenkov promised Alexander Alexandrovich the maximum support in all matters, including in the new engine and in disputes with ministerial officials. Alexander Alexandrovich did not report on the results of his visit to the management of MAP, saving them as a trump card. But unexpectedly for Mikulin and not only for Mikulin at the beginning of G., having learned that Mikulin had lost the powerful patron, January 20, Dementyev with the leading employees of the ministry, as well as the chairman of the commission V.

A. Mikulin himself on this day at the plant. In the large office of the director of the plant, they gathered the heads of the factory services. Stepin, the head of the 3rd Main Directorate of MAP, read out the order of the Minister of Air Proverbials to release A. Stechkin, who shortly before the events described, which received the newly organized laboratory of engines of the USSR Academy of Sciences, asked Mikulin to himself.

So the further fate of Alexander Alexandrovich was decided. Given the authority and merits of A. Mikulin, there is no doubt that the order was agreed on the very top. If we lower the insignificant and, by the way, uninigned nit -picking, then in fact, Alexander Alexandrovich was charged only that: "Comrade Mikulin makes mistakes ... makes confusion and complicates the work to create engines." What is more here - cynicism or technical illiteracy?

The accusations were blamed for a person who created the unconditionally successful samples of the AM-3, 5, RD-9B engines, and it was precisely when the first copies of AM Diterers had already forgotten the huge merits of Mikulin to the Fatherland, which ensured the creation of unique aircraft. In just 12 years, including the years of the creation of the plant - since February Mikulin, state tests of eight engines have been successfully completed!

Alexander Alexandrovich - a native of the bowels of the intelligentsia - was a patriot of his homeland. Recognizing the need to study foreign experience, Mikulin never - neither in big nor in the small - he made blind copying. Its engines, and this was their advantage, were always original, fundamentally new design solutions were often laid in them. He never divided his employees into “our” and “not ours”, “white”, “black”, communists and non -partisans.

The categories in the choice of employees were talent, performance and commitment. Mikulin adhered to the thesis, which was much later formulated by Den Xiaopin: "It doesn’t matter what color the cat was, if only to catch mice." By the way, this applies to Mikulin. In G. And he did not have a diploma of graduation! In the summer of G. Mikulin, the summer anniversary was not celebrated - the war, the command of Vevi them.

Zhukovsky gave the designer ... A diploma with honors on the end of the Academy, in which he never studied, but sometimes gave lectures. This was his only diploma of higher education that Mikulin highly appreciated. Almost daily there was a need for a very urgent and qualified work, to the fulfillment of which he all knew the clock, everyone knew his winged time - “tomorrow to Mikulin usually said:“ instruct the designer Yurov ”, or“ technologist Nikolaev ”, or“ copper tank Boltnev ”, or“ Tokarya Filyutkin ”, etc.

He was very active and bright, and he surrounded himself creatively by people creatively people creatively Gifted and highly professional ones, they have been accepted by A. Mikulin that they have preserved for many years the ability to work at the limit of their capabilities. Subsequently, became the leaders of independent design organizations. Alexander Alexandrovich had a difficult, explosive character.

Sometimes it was possible, having made an insignificant mistake, to hear from him: "I quit you ..." given his temperament, one cannot deny that sometimes these punishments were undeserved and, therefore, offensive. But, as a rule, almost everyone who worked at the plant then, these insults quickly disappeared from memory - after all, A. Mikulin had a rare gift to encourage initiative and excellent work.

He himself was an inexhaustible source of the most, at first glance, incredible ideas and plans. Everyone was struck by his ability to continuously give out ideas "on the mountain."These were design, often overturning all previously adopted, including the proposed fundamental decisions, and technical ideas, and innovations in the field of labor organization, and much more.

Not all of them were indisputable, but a significant part of them struck the unique originality, identity and, most importantly, they often gave the only right solution to a particular problem. For several days the plant team was shocked. Three days later, Dementyev’s order on the appointment and. And here many, including the authors of these lines, the question arises, did Tumansky knew about future events?

What was his role? Of course, one thing: if there were not such a suitable candidate to replace Mikulin, then the order of the Minister of January 20, he, being deputy Mikulin in the design part, was engaged in all the cases of OKB, starting from layouts and ending with design documentation for serial production. But there was another factor that sheds the light on many "secrets of the Madrid court": the Tumansky maintained friendly relations with P.

Dementiev and with other classmates in Vevi. Zhukovsky, chief designers A. Yakovlev and A. But the strongest friendship connected the fog with the deputy commander of the Air Force on armament Alexander Nikolayevich Ponomarev ... Of course, Sergei Konstantinovich did not have such a fantasy flight as Mikulin. But he always clearly performed all the tasks set for him.

And all these years, Mikulin has never been to the factory that he created! At the same time, we can say that all the achievements of the team created by Mikulin, in the period after his departure, are mostly connected primarily with what Mikulin left behind, with his personality. The leading role in this team - according to Mikulin - should belong to the designer. Mikulin considered the design of the aviation engine art.

The leading role of the designer, he believed, should not be limited to the release of drawings. The designer should also be the organizer of the entire creative process to create an engine. He is obliged, together with the manufacturers, to be responsible for his performance, reliability, while the most responsible documents for example, the technology for manufacturing components and parts should be agreed with the designer.

The experimental design bureau Mikulin considered the leading department at the factory. The most talented people focused in it. Mikulin picked up personnel in OKB personally. He watched the work of each employee. It was prestigious to work at the factory, but at the same time responsibly. They worked - without reckoning with time - in the evenings, and sometimes at night, depending on the requirements of the chief designer.

Young specialists who entered the plant were usually sent to production, and only distinguished in the work were transferred to the OKB. The soulmate was a promising department where projects of new engines were developed. The most talented components worked in the department. Mikulin visited the department daily, personally participating in developments.

Paying great attention to the OKB, Mikulin did not forget the production workshops, experimental attitudes, a testing station. Typically, visits were accompanied by any event someone invented an interesting design, a new product, conducted a successful experiment. In case of problems, miscalculations due to negligence, the employee was condemned. Mikulin of the organization of design work attached great importance.

The task of creating a new engine was already thoroughly analyzed at the first stage. Sketch layouts were created, gas -dynamic and strength characteristics were calculated. Foreign and domestic prospectuses of promising engines were visible.

The customer was studied: his viability and development prospects. Negotiations were conducted with the military. The prospects for crossing the engine were considered taking into account its performance for decades. It is known - the deadline for creating the engine is at least twice as much as the creation of the aircraft. Upon completion of the study of the assignment, in the event of a positive decision, the coordination of the technical conditions with the customer began.

By signing the technical conditions, Mikulin usually proclaimed: "I take all the responsibility." After the output of the outline project, in design groups they began working layouts. At this stage, technology, metallurgists and workshop workers were involved. After the layout was completed, a technical meeting was convened with the involvement of the factory’s services, at which the project was thoroughly analyzed.