The History of Aviation Electrical Power Engineering (On the 135th Anniversary of the Birth of Academician V.S. Kulebakin of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences)

The article presents historical materials on the origin of aviation electrical power engineering, starting with Lodygin’s “electrical aircraft” and the “electrical” airship of the Tissandier brothers. The current state of aviation electrical power engineering at scientific, educational, and industrial organizations in Russia is considered. The role of V. S. Kulebakin, an Academician of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences, in the formation and development of a new scientific area, which grew into the scientific school “Aviation Electrical Power Engineering,” is shown. The achievements of V.S. Kulebakin’s closest students, who worked under his leadership at the Electrical Equipment Department of the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy (VVIA), are presented. An overview of the scientific and practical areas that were developed at the VVIA and other organizations after V.S. Kulebakin’s departure is presented. It is also shown how they are developing today in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Ufa, Voronezh, and other cities in Russia.