By 1923 Victor Pisarenko had become one of the best Soviet flight instructors, but in the fall of that year he also made his debut as an aircraft builder and became the first Soviet amateur builder.

With the help of several students, Pisarenko built a single-seater light aircraft in the workshops of the Kacha Flight School, Sevastopol, which had the privilege of being the first Soviet aircraft with a low cantilever wing. This plane received the name VOP-1, an acronym for Victor Osipovich Pisarenko – 1 (Russian: Писаренко ВОП-1).

The VOP-1 was conceived as a cantilever low-wing monoplane built in wood. The one-piece wing with a trapezoidal shape on the plane used a profile selected by the author himself. With a surface area of 10 square metres, it had a double-beam structure and was completely covered by a thin layer of plywood.

The fuselage was built with a wooden structure and had a plywood covering with angular lines. In its central part, behind the engine, the open cockpit for the pilot was located.

The tail was of the monoplane type with the rudders covered in fabric.

The landing gear was conventional, fixed and had a tail skid.

A 35 hp Anzani engine obtained in the workshops themselves was used as the power plant.

The VOP-1 was built in the school’s workshops in Sevastopol and many of its parts were taken from old discontinued models. On November 27, 1923 Pisarenko flew for the first time. This flight was followed by several others.

During the test flights, carried out by Pisarenko himself, the plane was stable in flight and responded well to the controls. With its 35 hp engine, the plane reached a speed of 120 km/h.

Powerplant: One 35 hp Anzani
Wingspan: 7.50 m
Wing area: 10.00 m²
Length: 5.00m
Empty weight: 222 kg
Normal takeoff weight: 322 kg
Weight of fuel + lubricant: 20 kg
Wing loading: 32 kg/sq.m
Power load: 9.2 kg/hp
Total load capacity: 100 kg
Top speed: 120km/h
Cruising speed: 100 km/h
Practical ceiling: 1200 m
Accommodation. 1

After moving to the Serpukhov Higher School of Air Combat, Shooting and Bombing (Strelbom), Pisarenko, with the help of cadets, began construction of his second aircraft. This model was called VOP-T (Víctor Osípovich Pisarenko – Trenirovochni (coach)) (Russian: Писаренко-Т or ВОП-Т).

The Pisarenko-T was conceived as a parasol-braced wing single-seat monoplane. As a distinctive feature of this model we can point out its unconventional wing profile, with flat upper and lower surfaces, a curved leading edge and a flattened tail. In general, a strange wing with a sharp leading edge was obtained.

The wing, with a double spar structure, had parallel wooden supports that fixed it to the sides of the fuselage. The covering was plywood.

The Pisarenko-T was powered by a 150-hp Hispano-Suiza engine driving a two-blade wooden propeller.

The plane was built at the Serpukhov school and was ready in 1925.

Pisarenko prepared the plane for its first flight and when it was ready, he went to the head of the school for permission. The plane had been built with hardly any calculations and its pilot was only authorized to race down the runway. Pisarenko disobeying, took the flight back and headed for Moscow, landing at the Central Aerodrome in Jodinka. Once there, before the authorities could react and ban him, he made a second flight, executing several high school piloting tricks that included inverted flight and several rolls.

Once the second flight was completed, Pisarenko never flew his plane again, nor did he request permission to do so.

The success of his model led to Pisarenko soon receiving an application to build a training aircraft with funds from the VVS leadership. He began to work in this direction, but the appearance of the excellent trainer Polikarpov U-2 soon made him leave the company.

Powerplant: One 150 hp Hispano-Suiza engine
Accommodation. 1