H.Nowarra, G.Duval Russian Civil and Military Aircraft 1884-1969

The year 1910 also saw the completion of an aircraft of unusual conception; the annular-winged machine designed by A. G. Ufimtsev, a talented engineer. The fuselage consisted of a framework of struts carrying the 11 ft. diameter wing, engine, and pilot’s seat, with the tailplane to the rear and vertical stabilisers mounted on the upper surface of the wing. Ufimtsev had designed and built the engine himself, and driving a four-bladed propeller it developed 20 h.p. The machine failed to fly, so, undeterred, its designer built a second version to the same basic configuration but of larger size, and with a 60 h.p. engine, also home-made. This second machine also failed to fly, and Ufimtzev undertook no further development, returning instead to the field of engine design in which he found national recognition with the award of the Great Silver Medal at the Moscow Aeronautics Exhibition of 1912.