Gleb Kotelnikov's parents moved to Saint Petersburg from Poltava in 1868.
14 Facts About Gleb Kotelnikov
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Gleb Kotelnikov was the Russian-Soviet inventor of the knapsack parachute, and braking parachute.
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Gleb Kotelnikov had exceptional musical ability at a young age, becoming proficient on the violin, balalaika, and mandolin and even writing his own music.
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Gleb Kotelnikov's father fostered his many interests and supported his ability.
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In 1910 Gleb returned to St Petersburg and became an actor in the troupe of the People's House on the Petersburg side.
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Gleb Kotelnikov was a regular visitor to the Commandant airfield, where he watched the aircraft with interest.
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Gleb Kotelnikov was greatly moved by the courage and commitment of Russian pilots who ventured to the skies in shaky, primitive planes, and he realized the enormous possibilities of aerial exploration.
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Gleb Kotelnikov witnessed the death of a talented Russian pilot Lev Matsivich which was such a shock that he became obsessed with the idea of constructing a parachute, to which he devoted several years of his life as well as all his personal savings.
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Later on, Gleb Kotelnikov significantly improved the design of his parachute, creating new models, including RK-2 with a softer knapsack, RK-3, and a few cargo parachutes, all of which would be adopted by the Soviet Air Force.
10.
Gleb Kotelnikov called his invention a safety apparatus, a knapsack-parachute and later on it got the name of RK-1.
11.
In 1912 on a road near Tsarskoye Selo Gleb Kotelnikov successfully demonstrated the braking effects of the parachute by accelerating a Russo-Balt automobile to the top speed, and then opening a parachute attached to the back seat, thus inventing the drogue parachute.
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Gleb Kotelnikov continued to be an important figure in the development of parachutes and parachuting in the Soviet Union.
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Gleb Kotelnikov produced some of the earliest cargo parachutes, and was a contemporary to the start of the parachuting sport in Russia in 1930 and the creation of the Soviet Airborne Troops the same year.
14.
Gleb Kotelnikov received the Order of the Red Star in appreciation of his services.