The birth of La-5 or the development and refinement of the M-82 engine during the Second World War.

Meanwhile, on August 25, M.I. Gudkov reported to A.I. Shakhurin about the readiness for testing the first flight copy of the LaGG-3 converted by him from the M-82. The power plant was taken by him from the Su-2 aircraft. Armament consisted of two synchronous BS machine guns and two synchronous ShKAS. On the second copy, it was planned to install ShVAK guns instead of BS, and BS instead of ShKAS machine guns. The machine received the name Gu-82 and made its first flight to the LII on September 11, 1941. Until September 24, test pilot A.I. Nikashin made 12 flights on it, in which, as Gudkov reported to Stalin on October 1, 1, a maximum speed of 580 km / h was obtained at an altitude of 6400 m and the climb time to a height of 5000 m was 7-7, 5 minutes. According to the calculation, the maximum speed was to be 615-620 km / h. Gudkov explained the shortfall in speeds by the poor quality of the airframe of the original LaGG-3 at factory No. 21 in Gorky. However, despite this, Gudkov asked to be allowed to organize mass production of the Gu-82 at one of the serial plants producing LaGGi, undertaking to eliminate the identified defects and increase the speed to 600 km / h.
Meanwhile, the number of designers wishing to try their hand at installing the M-82 on production aircraft was growing. In September, the chief designer of plant No. 31 in Taganrog, V.P. Gorbunov also worked out his version of installing the M-82 engine on the LaGG-3 fighter and turned to the head of the Main Directorate of the Air Force of the KA P.F. Zhigarev with a request to allow him this modification.
But then came the critical month in 1941 - October. The situation on the fronts became seriously complicated: the Germans launched Operation Typhoon to capture the capital, in the south they were approaching Taganrog and Rostov. On October 8, the GKO decided to evacuate the factories of Moscow, Voronezh and Rostov regions to the east and for some time the designers were not up to experimental work. In particular, the Yakovlev and Polikarpov Design Bureau were evacuated to Novosibirsk, Sukhoi - to Perm, Gorbunov - to Tbilisi. Most of all, Gudkov was unlucky: he went to Gorky to plant No. 21, but did not meet a warm welcome there because he had already managed to ruin relations with Lavochkin during the period of their joint work. Gudkov appealed for help to the deputy located in Novosibirsk. People's Commissar Yakovlev, and received from him a letter of recommendation to People's Commissar A.I. Shakhurin, in which Yakovlev unexpectedly praised Gudkov’s work on installing a 37 mm gun and an M-82 engine on the LaGG-3 and transparently hinted that “... it would be a big mistake, because would create conditions of complete irresponsibility and impersonality. Meanwhile, back in 1940, a “black cat” also ran between Yakovlev and Gudkov after the latter complained to Stalin himself about the suppression of his Soviet “aerocobra” project by an influential deputy commissar. Undoubtedly, Yakovlev "grew a big tooth" on Gudkov, but now he needed to transfer the Novosibirsk plant No. 153, which produces LaGGi, to the production of Yakov, which is why he tried, under a plausible pretext, to "fuse" Gudkov to Gorky.
With this letter, Gudkov returned to the capital in December and tried to break through the order of the NKAP and the decision of the State Defense Committee on launching the Gu-82 series, first at plant No. 21 in Gorky, then - in January 1942 - at one of the pilot plants in Moscow. In this correspondence, the speed received on the Gu-82 was indicated as 478 km / h near the ground and 573 km / h at an altitude of 6500 m, and the climb time to 5000 m was 7.3 minutes. These speeds were almost the same as those of the serial Yak-1 and LaGG-3 with the M-105P, and the rate of climb was even worse - and this was with a much more powerful engine. And although Gudkov was also busy with the deputy appointed by this time. chief of the Main Directorate of the Air Force of the spacecraft, brigengineer G.P. Leshukov, everything was in vain - in the leadership of the NKAP, such an option was not understood.
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Full link.

My heavenly life: Memoirs of a test pilot Menitsky Valery Evgenievich

4. GUDKOV'S LAST FLIGHT

4. GUDKOV'S LAST FLIGHT

In the death of Sasha Kuznetsov, as I said, everything negative that could be in aviation was focused. Except, of course, vocational training pilot.

The last disaster at this stage of testing the MiG-25 was the death of Oleg Vasilyevich Gudkov, the chief pilot of the LII, a classmate of Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko and Alexander Vasilyevich Fedotov. Their release was generally unique and powerful: many died, but many reached great heights in aviation. Fedotov became Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, Hero Soviet Union and the winner of the Lenin Prize, Ostapenko had the same titles and awards, Oleg Vasilyevich Gudkov was also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and Honored Test Pilot of the USSR. These high regalia were worn by both Zhenya Solovyov from the Sukhov company, and Kurlin, the chief pilot of Antonov Design Bureau. All the test pilots of that edition were perfectly trained, all went through an instructor school, had large raids (then they still flew a lot), and their professionalism reached the highest level. I forgot to mention the honored test pilot of the USSR Yuri Alekseevich Shevyakov, my instructor at the SLI, who became the deputy head of this School. Prior to that, he worked as a commander of a detachment of test pilots at the LII, and then went to the Yakovlev company. Here are just a few people from that legendary issue - those whom I knew personally, the true luminaries of the flight business.

The Gudkov disaster occurred at the moment when we finally came to grips with the problem of hinge moments and were approaching the solution of the mystery of this phenomenon, of how its consequences could affect the operation of the aircraft. It seemed that everything was already clear in this sense, and Oleg Vasilyevich had to perform the final flight to this insidious regime. The program was generally successful. It was truly the final flight. But it became fatal for Oleg Vasilyevich. On the pass before landing, he performed the usual regime in the Ramenskoye area, which he did almost constantly. But at the same time he released the brake shield. And as soon as the shield went, there was a hinge moment.

Before that, I repeat, a huge number of tests were carried out. We had, including from Gudkov's flights, as it seemed to us, a complete picture of the origin and distribution of the hinge moment. Before that, we flew both with and without a brake flap. But it turned out that it was the very moment of release of the shield that gave a negative impulse, sufficient to get into fatal mode. It is this moment that we did not take into account during the tests. And it was he who showed up in the last test flight and in the last mode.

The flight director heard only one word from Gudkov: “Rotation!” Oleg Vasilyevich could, of course, immediately eject. The height was another eight hundred meters. But he tried to get the plane out of this regime, since there was Ramenskoye under it. And the decision to leave the plane was made by Gudkov when the car flew over the main residential area of ​​the city. But by that time the plane had already become almost uncontrollable ...

For us, the death of Oleg Vasilyevich was a great shock. We have lost a wonderful pilot - one of the best in the history of the Flight Institute. Gudkov was a competent methodologist and innovator, a skilled educator and commander. He raised a whole galaxy of test pilots, was one of the few who knew how to unobtrusively make himself listen carefully and absorb his every word. His experience was enormous.

Gudkov was just as extraordinary in life - a cheerful optimist, a bright leader of any company. I was not his close friend, we represented different generations of pilots, but we often met at friendly gatherings. I was a member of the Mikoyan team, and he was friends with Ostapenko and Fedotov and often attended our common feasts. Therefore, our relationship was very warm.

Gudkov's death struck many people and forced them to take a different look at the problem of finding a solution to prevent the occurrence of a hinge moment and its negative consequences. We proceeded with even greater intensity to large-scale tests. They developed them to the point that, having finalized the control system, they then specially flew on a mission with the shutdown of one of the aircraft's hydraulic systems in order to get into this mode and fix it again and again. The MiG-25 had a main and a booster system, each feeding its own camera. We turned them off one by one, simulating the worst driving conditions.

These tests were based mainly on the data received by Gudkov. And he brought almost all the "curves" of the hinge moments. And just after we spent additional tests, introduced improvements to the design of the aircraft and restrictions in the instructions for its operation, we calmed down a bit and removed this problem. A problem solved at the cost of the lives of our comrades.

Recalling the work on the problem of hinge points, I cannot but recall the many meetings with the leadership of the air defense. At each of them, new hypotheses were put forward for the causes of the involuntary rotation of the aircraft, that is, the hinge moment. Graphs were hung explaining the physical causes of this phenomenon. I remember how at one of these conferences the indefatigable Malanichev with two generals called me aside and said:

Valer! Well, I understand everything. But in my gut I feel that something is not right here. All our scientists did not convince me to the end. You were the one who flew. You did feel that not everything is clear, how and why this happens?

I confessed to him that it's really not entirely clear why you suddenly start to spin. A feeling of a certain understatement accompanied the meetings of all commissions. And we, the pilots, had the feeling that we had caught not a crane, but a titmouse. It seemed that they had grasped this phenomenon, but in the depths of their souls some kind of dissatisfaction with themselves was felt. It was a feeling similar to the sensations that arose during the memorable landing in Vladimirovka, when the landing gear of another aircraft swept over my head. My intuition told me that we never got to the real reasons. Although in many respects this phenomenon coincided with falling into a wake, my soul longed for the truth.

We must thank the military, in particular the leadership of the air defense, that they demanded from us more and more new searches for objective reasons for the aircraft to fall into such a situation. Nikolai Ivanovich Moskvitelev, Vladimir Andreev, Valery Malanichev, Vladimir Sibirtsev and many others helped solve this problem with their principled position, which made it possible to avoid big sacrifices, and gave the aircraft a long life.

The incident with Gudkov sunk into my heart. Later I often said to my colleagues and students that in no case should one dwell on any particular hypothesis. Everything must be considered. And if at least something is not clear in this phenomenon, it is impossible, as they say, to close the book. You have to turn it over and over again.

We sometimes come across such bosses to whom everything is immediately clear and understandable in any, even the most difficult case: "All! Forward! Thank God, we figured it out! Here, each of us requires great adherence to principles and striving for the truth. This, of course, takes time, energy and patience from us, requires a deep, rigorous analysis, moral and material costs. But life in aviation is such that only such an approach can reduce the number of accidents and accidents.

As a rule, politics intervenes in aircraft testing. Tough deadlines are set. And each time, the chief and general designers and lower-ranking bosses “boil” in these terms. The matter is aggravated by the fact that these are not just paper deadlines. These are reports, these are wages, bonuses for the staff of the entire design bureau, serial plants, related enterprises, and bans on flights in combat units. Above - these are balanced programs for taking the aircraft into service. And failure to meet deadlines is often associated with organizational conclusions. This policy, the policy of scolding, when “if you don’t do it, you will be rewarded!” - leads to the fact that everyone begins to be afraid, no matter how something happens. As a result, the aircraft is not brought to the end and is put into service.

On the other hand, you can’t demagnetize people by saying: “Do it when you do it!” Everyone will walk around and do nothing. And why bother? Money is being paid, the program is running, flights can be made as many as you like... There must be some kind of stable balance in this system of relations. So that the deadlines are clear, and the tests are carried out properly. In my opinion, there is no ideal option here, but the work could be organized as follows.

Certain planning for the acceptance of the aircraft into service must exist. But this must be done taking into account the possible occurrence in the process of testing of previously unknown phenomena, depending on gaps in science, and on errors in aircraft modeling, and on flaws during bench tests, inevitable not only in aviation, but also in any other high-tech industry . This is a scientific process where nothing can be planned in advance. And if problems arise in the technology and physics of processes, if there is a need to return to the past and conduct additional scientific research, scientists and designers must meet halfway. Do not press them with deadlines, since this case is associated with probable accidents and disasters. There should be temporary "backlash". The fact is that phenomena like the hinge moment are sometimes unraveled in two days. And sometimes they cannot be understood and resolved even in a year.

Before the disaster with Gudkov, it seemed that all the reasons for this phenomenon were found and substantiated. First, they took a wake, then Gudkov himself went further and seemed to have reached the end. But it turned out that we were only half way. Science is like a pregnant woman: the fetus will ripen when it is supposed to, not earlier and not later.

Our long-suffering people have been accustomed to strict government for centuries. The absence of genuine democratic principles affects our mentality even today. I have already spoken about the resignation with which we perceive many things, believing that it is the way it should be, that our leaders have thought of everything for us. Today, times have changed, and sometimes we recall with a smile our recent past, when we could not afford to say a lot out loud, fearing that someone would hear us. By the way, the relapses of that era are still there.

Sometimes, in our aviation, too, resolutions and conclusions were written by a strong-willed decision, including those of emergency commissions. The fear of arguing with superiors, the fear of losing one's warm position, not receiving the expected reward or position led to the fact that a person made a deal with his conscience. I wouldn't want to blame everyone for this. Man is inherently multifaceted. And each of us has negative traits. In addition, the system itself demanded obedience. Our slavish upbringing (not in the literal sense, of course), life in fear of many generations has affected, as I have already said, our mentality. The bosses, using the most rude and harsh expressions, are well aware that the mentality of a Russian person is such (by Russians I mean all the inhabitants of Russia) that he starts working only when he is shouted at.

And the subordinates, in turn, think: yeah, since the boss ordered, since he threatened to fire and expel everyone, then this is a serious matter. If he does not control the work, then it can be done on the principle of "play and play." We often used similar forbidden methods in flight test work, intriguing with the military, jeopardizing the promotion of some of their superiors in order to make agreed decisions. What a sin to hide, it was. This practice exists everywhere, it's just that rarely anyone talks about it out loud. In order to move your topic forward, all methods are used - both honest and dishonest.

But it should be noted that when testing equipment, this is much more difficult to do. As our general designer Belyakov said, the technology will prove itself. I will add that it will prove it only if the near-aviation intrigue does not fully determine the work on specific projects and the development of domestic aviation as a whole. When there is corruption that can influence the decision, technology will not help either. A good example is the Su-27K and MiG-29K shipborne vehicles. But I will dwell on this later, because this topic is too deep to talk about it in passing. In the meantime, I'll tell you about another, this time funny, episode, which nevertheless illustrates my reasoning about the Russian mentality and effective methods of leadership.

Many of our engineers, and then, in descending order, brigadiers, successfully used pressure on the working class, and sometimes even on the collective farm peasantry. During the memorable terrible accident at Fastovets, the first thing that, according to Alik's story, prompted him to "make his feet" was the sight of something burning that flew out from under him. It came off a rocket, a secret rocket. And then they couldn't find it for a long time. And how to find? As it is sung in the song: "Steppe and steppe all around ..."

And then the lead engineer of the machine Gennady Muravlev, a cool specialist and a good guy in his own right, got down to business. Although his fate, frankly, was unenviable. He was constantly pursued by failures. He was the lead test engineer when Alik Fastovets ejected. And although it was clear to the naked eye that the cause of the accident lay in the violation of technology by the manufacturer, this happened in his presence, which means that the commission cast sidelong glances in the direction of Muravlev.

Then Gena was the lead engineer on the second "twenty-ninth" machine, which I raised. Thus, he was given a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, in this case, an accident occurred. And everyone also saw that it was not his fault as such in this case. She basically lay on the ideologists of the oil system. And his third car - the fourth MiG-29 - was also unhappy. Alexander Vasilyevich Fedotov catapulted on it. It turned out that in no case was the guy guilty. He did everything right. But the will of chance - one car, second, third. And whatever one may say, there is an iron law: he must leave. This is an unshakable rule of flight test work, which was already violated after the loss of two cars. These are the rules of the game. And the people in aviation are, on top of that, superstitious.

But back to the rocket, which could not be found. In general, Gena was an enterprising guy, he could and knew how to organize work, in a word, he was the head of a modern warehouse. And after our unsuccessful searches, he suggested:

Let me wrap the area again. Give me just a couple of soldiers, and I will bring it to you whole or in pieces.

And flew. He flew around several nearby collective farms in the steppes, interviewing people. They didn't react at all. Then Muravlev called one of the chairmen of the collective farms, and the chairperson is a kind of leader of the local steppe people, and said to him:

If in two hours you do not return the product that we lost, then at 15.00 the soldiers will cordon off the area, here are cans of gasoline - and set fire to the steppe and villages. And let your collective farmers live where they want.

The reception, of course, was Jesuit. It is clear that Gena would not do anything that was promised. But his situation was critical. After all, he was the lead engineer on this machine, the rocket had to be found at all costs, and he was required to make a decision. And then Muravlyov threatened, not really hoping for any effect. I think that this threat, of course, is unrealistic, someone from the military prompted him.

Nevertheless, an hour later, a huge pile of various products grew up near the helicopter. There were pylons, old models of rockets, their plumage, bombs - everything was there. Probably everything that has fallen in the area since the 50s. Among other things, a part of our rocket was found in this heap. In other words, the intimidating effect worked instantly. And the persuasion of the "natives", which lasted for a whole week, the sermons that it is necessary for pilots to prevent disasters, that we are talking about people's lives, did not produce any effect on the steppe inhabitants. As they would not have made any impact on any Russian person. God has given us such a character and has tested it for centuries. But he did not give it to us so that we would come to terms with our, to put it mildly, negative traits. And in order to fight with them all my conscious life.

FLIGHT He didn't remember himself at all. It seemed that joy always permeated the body. "Body? What is it with me? It was worth asking a question, and the answer immediately arose out of nothing: “Fast, flexible, windy!” “I am the Wind,” it dawned on him. Laughing with a cheerful laugh at the Sun, he streamed down. And

Chapter 4 LAST ESCAPE AND LAST ARREST After the trial of Zilberg, Kotovsky was transferred to the Smolensk Central, where he arrived on March 26, 1910. This was preceded by an ultimatum put forward by Kotovsky - he demanded that he be sent anywhere, but not to

Chapter 34. THE LAST CONGRESS OF THE PARTY AND THE LAST PLENOUM OF THE CC The opening of the 19th Party Congress was preceded by the publication in the central press of the article "Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR." Laudatory mentions of this work or quotations from it were contained in the editorials of newspapers and

Chapter 25 The last “last” concert of “A” The winter of 1997 caught the musicians of the “Aquarium” in all sorts of places. Who is on the way, who is on the stove, who is far away. From all the positions of the stars it appeared that it was time to do something again. In different places of the universe, they began to talk about it

The flight book of the pilot Lieutenant Colonel Urvachev Georgy Nikolayevich started on January 15, 1959, completed on April 1, 1964. Transport aviation. Military pilot of the 1st class and the last flight in 1959 From January 20 to February 21, the father with the employees of the ERAT Research Institute flies on the Il-14 across the country

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FLIGHT The writer took off into the sky, His finest hour has come. Light, empty, floating in a dressing gown, Everything must be

The last flight of Balobanov and Ryumin

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The last flight of "C 666". There's still an hour before sunrise... The bombs are suspended... The chief mechanic sticks his head out of the aircraft body for a second. "Three more minutes before the launch, Mr. Oberleutnant."

For the last time (“For the last time to look at this world ...”) For the last time to look at this world, Where we met once. The cold ray of a cold sunset falls on my chest for the last time. Whether I loved you or didn't love you - I don't know. But you didn't love me. Goodbye. And yes

Childhood and youth

Igor Petrovich Volk was born on April 12, 1937 in the city of Zmiev, Kharkov region. His father studied to be a road engineer. According to the distribution, he was sent to the city of Voroshilov (Ussuriysk) in the Primorsky Territory.
In 1941, the family decided to move closer to relatives, sent all household items by container. And suddenly, unexpectedly, on June 22, 1941, the war began. And they were left without personal belongings, without plates and a kettle, with bare beds, without a table and bedside table. From early childhood, Igor had to help his elders in everything, go fishing, pick mushrooms and berries. He had an ordinary "street" childhood, which left an imprint on his character.
In the early 1950s they moved to Kursk. Igor's mother was often sick and the household was on Igor. She did not really want her son to choose the profession of a pilot; all her brothers were officers.

Ascension to the stars begins from the earth

In those years, the passion for aviation was massive among young people. Propagandists came to the school and campaigned: “Young people, on airplanes!”. In Soviet times, flight schools operated under DOSAAF. Everyone could learn how to fly an airplane or a glider for free. Igor entered the Kursk flying club DOSAAF, which he graduated in 1954. Igor made his first flight at the age of 17, in April 1954.


The instructor at the club was Anatoly Chuev - the absolute champion of the USSR in jet aircraft sports, an honored pilot of the USSR, awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Kursk pilots were recognized as the best in the USSR.

Cadets of the Kursk Aeroclub DOSAAF in construction

Military service

After graduation high school Igor entered the Kirovograd flight school. In 1956 he graduated ahead of schedule (two years) from KVAUL. After completing his studies, Lieutenant Igor Volk served as a pilot in the Baku Air Defense District (Azerbaijan SSR), flew Il-28, Tu-16 aircraft.

Once, pilots flew to the airfield, to test the MiG-21 in a hot climate, they flew to Mary, in Turkmenistan, the city where the temperatures were the highest in the Soviet Union. Igor learned from them that there is a Flight Research Institute and a Test Pilot School, when asked how to get there, he was recommended to contact Grizodubova.

Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova is the first woman to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, a pilot from God. After the war, she worked as the deputy head of NII-17 (later the Institute of Instrumentation) for the flight department.

Igor Volk, when he was 21 years old, came to Moscow. At the information kiosk I found out where Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova lives. He went to Leningradsky Prospekt, Grizadubova's mother met him, fed him, gave him tea. When Valentina Stepanovna came, Igor told about himself. Grizodubova called the Flight Service Department of the Ministry, they accepted him, but they said: young, gain experience, fly more.

In 1963 Khrushchev reduced the army. military unit where Igor served, they began to disperse. He was ordered to be taken to Moscow, to the Museum of the Armed Forces Banner of the Regiment. Arriving in Moscow, Igor again went to Valentina Stepanovna. Grizadubova was an unusually sensitive and sympathetic person, having rich experience in selecting young personnel, she believed in the young pilot. To enter the Test Pilot School, Igor had to leave military service. On February 23, 1963, Marshal Savitsky, together with Grizodubova, persuaded the marshal (and Marshal Sudets then commanded the air defense forces) to demobilize Igor.
He retired in 1963 with the rank of senior lieutenant,

(photo from website http://russiantourism.ru/interview/interview_15896.html)

Grizodubova had a private plane (as a leader), on which Igor and his wife Valentina flew to Moscow. Valentina Stepanovna maintained friendly relations with Igor, she invited him to the evenings that she arranged at her place: where they listened to music, poets read their poems. And Igor met interesting people with her.

Studying at the Test Pilot School of the Gromov Flight Research Institute

Igor Volk in 1963-1965 He was trained at the Test Pilot School of the Gromov Flight Research Institute (LII) of the Ministry of Aviation Industry (MAP). The work of a test pilot is usually associated with romance, high salaries, state awards. This can be answered with dry statistics, over the 60 years of the LII school, about 800 test pilots left it, 300 of them died, and this is not counting those who left earlier and undermined their health at work. Here is such a romance.

His examiners, mentors, and then comrades in the sky were Kokkinaki, Anokhin, Garnaev, Amet Khan.

Sergei Anokhin Soviet test pilot, Colonel (1947), Hero of the Soviet Union (1953).
Yaroslav Golovanov wrote in his notebooks:
“Anokhin led me to a young blond guy, almost an albino, and said:
- Remember, Yaroslav, I fly as much better than Nesterov as this guy flies better than me! Remember his name: Igor Volk!”

Amet Khan Sultan - Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (08/24/1943, 06/29/1945), Honored Test Pilot of the USSR (09/23/1961)

Igor Volk's idol was Mikhail Gromov

Gromov Mikhail Mikhailovich (February 24, 1899 - January 22, 1985) - Soviet pilot and military leader, Hero of the Soviet Union, professor, Colonel General of Aviation.

Test work Since 1965, he was in flight test work at the Flight Test Center (LITS) of the LII. Over the years, completeda number of complex test operations on supersonic combat aircraft MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-29, Su-7, Su-9, Su-11, Su-15, Su-27 and many others.

The commander of the fighter detachment, Oleg Gudkov, personally took care of Igor Volk.

Hero of the Soviet Union Oleg Gudkov

test pilotGudkov Oleg Vasilievich died October 4, 1973, until the last second, researching and commenting on the radio a previously unknown phenomenon - a transonic stop on the hinge moment of the differential stabilizer on the MiG-25.
http://ramlife.ru/?menu=ru-main-articles-viewdoc-461

After the death of Gudkov, Igor Volk becomes the lead tester in spin and other complex types of tests.

Igor Volk recalled that once, when overloading "13", the skin of a supersonic aircraft turned into a corrugation. The pilot survived and the metal passed.

Once Igor Volk was asked to talk about one of his most significant flights, he said:— “Before you sits a man who has passed everything in aircraft tests. They just don't exist anymore."

On the job in 1969, Igor Volk - graduated from the evening department of the Zhukovsky branch of the Moscow Aviation Institutenamed after Sergo Ordzhonikidzeby specialty- mechanical engineer.
Since 1987 — Colonel of the Reserve.

In 1980-1995, he was the head of the Branch Complex for the Training of Test Cosmonauts at the LII.

In 1995-1997 worked as the head of this center, deputy head of the LII.

Igor Volk was the first in the USSR to perform the aerobatics "Cobra"

Igor Volk says: - “When I tested the car at a low altitude with a high angle of attack, it suddenly became uncontrollable. I had to eject, but, looking at the altimeter, I decided that I still had time to do it, and automatically turned off the automatic control system: it limited the exit to critical angles of attack. And the car began to obey me. I forced the engines, noticing that, having gone far beyond the critical angle of attack (more than 100 degrees), the plane did not fall into a tailspin, but entered normal mode. Then I gained altitude and deliberately repeated the maneuver. Back at the base, I reported everything general designer. Since then, the maneuver has been surprising the audience at the air show with the participation of the Su-27. And why "Pugacheva"? This is my partner, I gave him the experience, and he showed a figure in Le Bourget (France), to the delight of the audience. Agree, "Cobra Wolf" sounds ridiculous.

coolness

Igor Volk has flown 7,000 hours in total, including 3,500 in test flights. Since 1965 test pilot 4th class, since July 22, 1966 test pilot 3rd class, since 1969 test pilot 2nd class, since November 16, 1971 test pilot 1st class. Since 1984 Cosmonaut 3rd class.

(from the site http://vtbrussia.ru/upload/medialibrary/3d8/02_volk.jpg)

Pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Igor Volk died at the age of 80 on January 3. He was a representative of the legendary generation of cosmonaut pilots - a man of great willpower and courage, a professional of the highest class, who did a lot for the development of the national space program and major research projects,