G-8

The Gribovsky G‑8 was a single‑seat, low‑wing monoplane designed and built in the early 1930s by Russian aircraft engineer Vladislav Gribovsky. Conceived as a lightweight sport and training aircraft, the G‑8 first flew in 1932 from the Moscow Aviation Plant, marking Gribovsky’s transition from experimental gliders to powered designs. Its airframe combined a wooden fuselage with plywood skin and a cantilever wing of spruce ribs, giving the plane a robust yet simple construction that could be produced in small workshops. Power was supplied by a 75‑horsepower Shvetsov M‑11 radial engine, driving a two‑bladed propeller and delivering a maximum speed of about 180 km/h (112 mph). The cockpit featured an open canopy and basic instruments, making the aircraft suitable for novice pilots learning basic handling and navigation. Though only a handful were built, the G‑8 demonstrated the viability of low‑cost, domestically produced trainers during a period when Soviet aviation relied heavily on imported or licensed foreign types. Its design principles influenced later Gribovsky models, and the G‑8 is remembered as a modest yet important step in establishing an indigenous light‑aircraft industry in the USSR.

Vladislav Gribovsky

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Production & History

Design & Classification