German “friends” from the Luftwaffe studied near Lipetsk. State Order of Lenin Red Banner Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation named after V.P.

: УУВЛ

Information Type military A country Russia Location 8 km west of the city of Lipetsk LUM height +184 m Timezone UTC+3/+4 Runways

Number	Dimensions (m)	Coating
15/33	3000x60	concrete

The head of the Lipetsk Aviation Center since September 2016 is Lieutenant General Yuri Aleksandrovich Sushkov.

4 Air Force pulp and paper processing plant and PLS is located at the Lipetsk-2 airfield, 8 kilometers west of the center of Lipetsk, near the urban areas of Venus and Mine No. 10. A large number of decommissioned aircraft intended for disposal are in storage: Su-24, Su-27, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-31

In addition to the existing concrete runway (RWY) 15/33, the airfield has an old concrete runway 10/28 measuring 2,500x40 meters, which is used as parking areas and a taxiway.

Story

The history of the Lipetsk Aviation Center began during the First World War. Back in 1916, the first workshops for assembling French aircraft of the Luran type appeared here. In October 1918, by order of the Main Air Force, a squadron of heavy bombers “Ilya Muromets” began to form in Lipetsk. The squadron was based at the airfield, located at that time on the former outskirts of the city near the railway station (see: Tereshkova Street (Lipetsk)). The Ilya Muromets bombers and the Lebed light airplanes that accompanied them actively participated in hostilities during the Civil War.

The Germans in a very short time reconstructed the production facilities, erected two small hangars, a repair shop, and already on July 15, 1925, a joint flight-tactical school was opened. Initially, the material base was 50 Fokker D-XIII fighters purchased by Vogru with funds from the Ruhr Fund in the Netherlands in 1923-1925. On June 28, 1925, the planes arrived from Stettin to Leningrad on the ship Edmund Hugo Stinnes. Transport aircraft and bombers were also purchased. Flight training took place over 5-6 months. The school was led by Major V. Shtar, and the position of a Soviet deputy, a representative of the Red Army, was also provided.

In the summer, during the flight period, the ground personnel numbered over 200 people (on the German side - about 140 people), in winter the figure decreased (on the German side - about 40 people). In 1932, the total number of personnel of the center reached 303 people: 43 German and 26 Soviet cadets, 234 workers, employees and technical specialists. The leadership of the Reichswehr strictly controlled all the details of the activities of joint structures on the territory of the USSR, and special attention was paid to secrecy. German pilots wore Soviet uniforms without insignia.

Research work was carried out at the school, for which the German General Staff secretly acquired material abroad. The practical training course for pilots included practicing air combat, bombing from various positions, studying weapons and equipment for aircraft - machine guns, cannons, optical instruments (sights for bombing and mirror sights for fighters), etc.

In just eight years of its existence, the aviation school in Lipetsk trained or retrained 120 fighter pilots (30 of them were participants in the First World War, 20 were former civil aviation pilots) for Germany. The exact number of Soviet aviation specialists who underwent training under the guidance of German instructors could not be established.

In the early 1930s, even before Hitler came to power in Germany, German participation in the project began to decline noticeably. Already at the negotiations in November 1931, the German side avoided discussing the possibility of turning the aviation school in Lipetsk into a large joint research center. This happened due to the rapprochement of the USSR with other Western European countries, in particular with France. The Treaty of Rapallo, signed between the RSFSR and the Weimar Republic in 1922, began to lose its relevance. On September 15, 1933, the Lipetsk project was closed, the buildings erected by German specialists, and a significant part of the equipment were transferred to the Soviet side.

Higher Flight Tactical School of the Air Force

4th Air Force Combat Weapons Center was formed in Tambov on April 19, 1953. In 1954 he was transferred to Voronezh, and in 1960 to Lipetsk, after which he was transformed into 4th Center for Combat Use and Retraining of Air Force Flight Personnel.

More than 45 thousand officers of various specialties were trained in the training department of the center during the Soviet period. At the Lipetsk Aviation Center, 11 Soviet pilot-cosmonauts were also retrained for new types of aircraft. As a symbol of the glorious aviation history of Lipetsk, in August 1969, a monument was erected on Aviators Square - a MiG-19 fighter soaring upward.

In 2013, the flight crew of the aviation center began mastering the super-maneuverable multirole fighters Su-30SM; in 2014, development of the Su-35S fighter began.

In 2014, the airfield of the aviation center was used as a base airfield for the duration of the Aviadarts Air Force and Navy aviation flight crew competitions.

In August 2015, the head of the aviation center, Major General Alexander Kharchevsky, resigned; his place was taken by Hero of the Russian Federation, Major General S.I. Kobylash.

Structure

• 968th Research and Instructor Mixed Aviation Regiment (968 ISAP) - Lipetsk - MiG-29, Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, Su-30, Su-34, Yak-130
• 4020th Aircraft Reserve Base (4020 BRS) - Lipetsk

In 2007, the center received the latest Su-34 fighter-bomber and modernized Su-24M2 front-line bombers. In 2010, the Lipetsk Aviation Center became part of

Coat of arms of the Lipetsk Aviation Center

The Lipetsk Aviation Center is a structural unit of the Russian Air Force that retrains flight and engineering personnel of combat units, as well as develops and implements methods for the combat use of aviation complexes.

The official full name is the 4th State Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Official abbreviated name: GC PAP VI Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The name commonly used is: Lipetsk Aviation Center or Lipetsk Aviation Center

Address: Lipetsk-2 airfield, 8 kilometers west of the center of Lipetsk.

A large number of decommissioned aircraft intended for disposal are in storage: Su-24, Su-27, Su-34, Su-30, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-31

In addition to the existing concrete runway (RWY) 15/33, the airfield has an old concrete runway 10/28 measuring 2,500x40 meters, which is used as parking areas and a taxiway.

From the history of the Lipetsk Aviation Center:

History of aviation schools in Lipetsk until 1960:

• In 1916, the first workshops for assembling French aircraft of the Luran type appeared in Lipetsk.
• In October 1918, by order of the Main Air Fleet of the Red Army, the Ilya Muromets heavy bomber squadron began to form in Lipetsk. The squadron was based at the airfield, which at that time was located on the former outskirts of the city not far from the railway station. The Ilya Muromets bombers and the Lebed light airplanes that accompanied them actively participated in hostilities during the Civil War.
• In March 1923, the formation of the Lipetsk Aviation School began, which was intended to train future Soviet pilots
• 1924 - the school was closed without having time to organize itself.
• After the Treaty of Rapallo concluded on April 16, 1922 during the Genoa Conference, the Soviet leadership allowed the organization in Russia of facilities for testing military equipment prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles and training military personnel, the German leadership promised, in turn, to promote the export of German technical experience for the development of the defense industry of Soviet Russia .
• The opening of a German aviation school in the USSR had been planned since 1924. The document on the creation of the school on April 15, 1925 in Moscow was signed by the head of the Red Army Air Force P.I. Baranov and the representative of the Sondergroup R (Vogru) Colonel H. von der Lit-Tomsen. The creation of the school was supervised by the “Aviation Inspectorate No. 1” of the German Defense Department. The use of the airfield and school facilities was free; all costs for complete equipment were borne by the German side. About 2 million marks were allocated annually for the maintenance of the school.
• The Germans in a very short time reconstructed the production facilities, erected two small hangars, a repair shop, and already on July 15, 1925, a joint flight-tactical school was opened.
• Initially, the material base was 50 Fokker D-XIII fighters purchased by Vogru with funds from the Ruhr Fund in the Netherlands in 1923 - 1925.
• On June 28, 1925, the planes arrived from Stettin to Leningrad on the ship Edmund Hugo Stinnes. Transport aircraft and bombers were also purchased. Flight training took place over 5-6 months. The school was led by Major V. Shtar, and the position of a Soviet deputy, a representative of the Red Army, was also provided.
• In the summer, during the flight period, the ground personnel numbered over 200 people (on the German side - about 140 people), in winter the figure decreased (on the German side - about 40 people). In 1932, the total number of personnel of the center reached 303 people: 43 German and 26 Soviet cadets, 234 workers, employees and technical specialists. The leadership of the Reichswehr strictly controlled all the details of the activities of joint structures on the territory of the USSR, and special attention was paid to secrecy. German pilots wore Soviet uniforms without insignia.
• Research work was carried out at the school, for which the German General Staff secretly acquired material abroad. The practical training course for pilots included practicing air combat, bombing from various positions, studying weapons and equipment for aircraft - machine guns, cannons, optical instruments (sights for bombing and mirror sights for fighters), etc.
• Over the eight years of its existence, the aviation school in Lipetsk trained or retrained 120 fighter pilots (30 of them were participants in the First World War, 20 were former civil aviation pilots) for Germany. The exact number of Soviet aviation specialists who underwent training under the guidance of German instructors could not be established.
• In the early 1930s, even before Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, German participation in the project began to noticeably decline.
• Already at the negotiations in November 1931, the German side avoided discussing the possibility of turning the aviation school in Lipetsk into a large joint research center. This happened due to the rapprochement of the USSR with other European countries, in particular with France. The Treaty of Rapallo, signed between the RSFSR and the Weimar Republic in 1922, began to lose its relevance.
• On September 15, 1933, the Lipetsk project was closed, the buildings erected by German specialists, and a significant part of the equipment were transferred to the Soviet side.
• Since January 1934, the Air Force Higher Flight Tactical School (VLTSH) began operating on the basis of the liquidated facility; in 1938, it was reorganized into the Lipetsk Higher Aviation Advanced Courses.
• From June 1937 to August 1939. - the head of the school was Ernst Schacht, Hero of the Soviet Union
• After the Great Patriotic War, it was re-equipped with jet aircraft, and a new training aviation regiment was added, which trained command personnel for long-range aviation units. During the same period, two airfields were built: the first with a concrete surface in the Venus area, the second with a dirt surface in the area of ​​the village of Kuzminskie Otverzhki (now the civil airport Lipetsk).

Storyaviation center in Lipetsk (since 1960):

• The 4th Air Force Combat Operations Center was formed in Tambov on April 19, 1953.
• 1954 -1960 - located in Voronezh.
• In 1960, the center was transferred to Lipetsk, after which it was transformed into the 4th center for combat use and retraining of Air Force flight personnel.
• From the memoirs of I. B. Kachorovsky: “By 1960, the housing issue was resolved in Voronezh; people settled down thoroughly with the hope of remaining in a beautiful city, with a good apartment, after being discharged from the army. In Lipetsk, there was no free housing, since the discharged officers remained to live in their apartments. Command insisted and the relocation took place.As a result, those who did not quit but stayed to serve worked in Lipetsk for three years and lived in Voronezh. Every Saturday we went from Lipetsk to Voronezh, and on Monday we returned to Lipetsk. The first year we were given a bus, and then we traveled by intercity taxi. The head of the Center, Kumanichkin, remained to live in Voronezh. At this time, a misfortune happened to the boss, which crippled his future life. The general dived from the shore into the Usmanka River, the place turned out to be shallow, the result was a fracture of two cervical vertebrae. Then - paralysis, months of treatment. The honored military general, with whom the misfortune happened, was removed from the staff, and in his place another person was appointed, who was given the task of transferring all the officers living in Voronezh to Lipetsk at any cost."
• More than 45 thousand officers of various specialties were trained in the training department of the center during the Soviet period. At the Lipetsk Aviation Center, 11 cosmonauts were also retrained for new types of aircraft.
• After the collapse of the USSR, the military-industrial complex degraded, the budget of the armed forces was significantly reduced and, as a result, difficult times came for the Lipetsk Aviation Center. Only in 2003 did changes for the better begin: fuel limits increased and the material base began to strengthen.
• In July 2003, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Lipetsk, an hour and a half air show took place.
• April 22, 2004 - Russian President V. Putin and Italian Prime Minister S. Berlusconi visited the aviation center.
• On August 3, 2007, the newest Russian fighter-bomber Su-34 took off from the test airfield of the Novosibirsk Aviation Industrial Association. Under the control of GLITs pilots Sergei Shcherbina and Alexander Ashchenkov, the plane arrived at the Lipetsk Aviation Center, where it was solemnly received and entered service in the Air Force.
• Front-line bombers Su-24 and Su-34 of the Lipetsk pulp and paper plant and PLS took part in the parade on Red Square on May 9, 2008. The Su-34 was personally flown by the head of the aviation center, Major General A. N. Kharchevsky.
• As of 2008, there are four air squadrons in the 968 Air Force: 1st Fighter Squadron (Su-27, Su-27UB, Su-30, Su-27SM), 2nd Fighter Squadron (MiG-29), 3rd Bomber Squadron ( Su-24M), 4th attack squadron (Su-25)
• In 2007, the center received the latest Su-34 fighter-bomber and modernized Su-24M2 front-line bombers.
• In 2010, the Lipetsk Aviation Center included the 344th Center for Training and Retraining of Army Aviation Flight Personnel in the city of Torzhok, Tver Region.
• The aviation center has its own museum, which has been operating since 1980. The exhibition located there reflects in detail the main stages of the city’s aviation history from the first squadron of Ilya Muromets aircraft to the present day. The museum's exposition includes samples of aviation weapons and equipment, special uniforms, models of airplanes and helicopters, as well as memorable gifts to the aviation center.
• After the war, the aviation center was given four houses on Ignatiev Street - No. 31, No. 36, No. 38 and No. 40, which previously housed a German school.

For a long time, the concept of “child” did not exist. It appeared only in the New Age. Humanity decided to get serious about raising children only at the beginning of the 20th century. It is surprising that the things created at that time for posterity mostly resemble some kind of strange tools.

1. "Pinocchio"

One of the most important parts in raising a small child is instilling the skill of walking. The vast majority of parents do this manually. But one Swiss engineer at the beginning of the last century came up with a device that made it possible to control a baby’s legs from the side using wooden sticks.

2. Brand for the baby

Definitely, no one wants to end up with a child that is not their own in the maternity hospital. In order to avoid any unclear situations in the 1930s in the USA, special devices were used in New York to brand children. The insignia was placed on the baby’s leg or buttock using a special lamp. This procedure was painful. A little.

3. Air arena

All children need fresh air! But what if you don’t have the strength to go outside, and there’s still so much to do at home? The answer to this question was found at the beginning of the last century in Europe. There, parents were offered to install special “air playpens” on the windows. It is surprising that not a single accident with such a playpen has ever been recorded.

4. Down with strollers

When a child is sitting in a stroller, the only way to move around is on foot. Swiss inventor Emil Eberl proposed an interesting alternative for baby strollers in the last century. It became a baby stroller mounted on the handlebars of a bicycle. The design is not the most reliable and stable, but it is very comfortable!

5. Baby alarm

In the 1930s, a real wave of child abductions swept across the United States. Against the backdrop of these events, businessman Charles Rotenberg was able to develop and successfully market a wheelchair alarm project. If someone tried to get a child out of the stroller while the system was on, the gadget began to make a terrible noise.

6. Rocking cage

American inventor Sheldon D. Vanderburgh and father of three children felt completely exhausted after work (like most family people). In order to simplify child care, the American came up with a special rocking cage. It looks wild, but the children are not crawling anywhere!

7. Children's gas mask

Do you think that only in the USA they create strange things? In 1938, the first ever gas mask for infants was created in France. In fact, it was a real air bag with a rubber pump and a special filter. This invention, however, never became widespread.

8. Road suppressor

Like all good citizens, Caleb M. Prather hated children who scream on public transportation. At some point, it was finally worn by babies on trains and an engineer created a special pipe with ventilation where a screaming child could be placed in order to muffle his screams.

9. “Chinese playpen”

In China, they invented a huge number of interesting things, but for a long time they could not come up with a “humane” playpen for small children. Instead, these elongated barrels were used to restrain minors. The principle of operation of the device is frighteningly simple: the child was simply inserted armpit-deep into the barrel and hung. There was enough space inside for the baby to defecate. There was also a small compartment inside for coals to heat the air in the barrel during the cold season.

Air Force Day is celebrated in Russia on August 12. On the eve of the professional holiday, the leader of the air group "Falcons of Russia" of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, sniper pilot and researcher, Colonel Alexander Gostev, spoke in an interview with RIA Novosti correspondent Ekaterina Zgirovskaya about the secrets of the skill of the most "combat" Russian aerobatics group, the friendship of the "Falcons" with the French regiment " Normandy-Niemen", as well as the requirements for Air Force pilots and the prospects for creating a women's aerobatic team in Russia.

— Alexander, how did the group appear and why was it given this name — “Falcons of Russia”?

— The Lipetsk Aviation Center for a long time did not want to admit that it has an aerobatics team, because the Center is studying the issue of combat use. We started doing aerobatics because a certain part of the pilots had achieved perfection and reached a level where they could do what you see now. We started doing this quite a long time ago, but at first there was no name, it was just a flight crew unit. And when one of the tasks of the Lipetsk Aviation Center was to demonstrate the capabilities of aircraft, they decided, although it was quite late, in 2006, that they needed to get a name. How was it born? The falcon is a fast bird of prey, matching the tasks that Lipetsk pilots solve.

— What kind of aircraft are currently used by the group and how many are there? How many pilots of the Lipetsk Aviation Center are included in the aerobatic team?

— Equipment that should enter service with the Russian Air Force first comes to the Lipetsk Aviation Center, we fly it over, practice piloting techniques, navigation, and combat use. The group exists on the basis of the 1st aviation squadron, which flies Su-27 type aircraft (a multi-role highly maneuverable all-weather fighter of the fourth generation - editor's note). And the Su-27 has many modifications - Su-27S, Su-27P, Su-27M, then we had the Su-30 aircraft in the first form, and then the modernized Su-27SM, and the final aircraft were the Su-30SM and Su-27SM. 35, which arrived quite recently.

The group includes our six on the Su-27, two pilots on the MiG-29, and a group of Su-25. In the Su-25 group is Colonel Alexander Kotov, who performs solo aerobatics. In addition, the Su-25 is now widely used to display smoke in the form of the Russian flag.

— How many pilots are currently mastering the Su-30SM aircraft?

— About 12 pilots are currently flying it at our Center. We explore issues of super-maneuverability and group agility, and also begin complex aerobatics. From the aerobatic team, all the pilots fly - Kharchevsky (General Alexander Kharchevsky - head of the Center and commander of the air group - editor's note), myself, Major Dmitry Zaev, lieutenant colonels Yuri Spryadyshev and Alexander Sorokin and others. Unfortunately, we only have four Su-30SM aircraft, they arrived quite recently, we are only taking our first steps on them, studying them. In addition, they are constantly undergoing some kind of modifications and modernization, so we have not yet been able to put all four aircraft in a group and fly them in a “diamond formation”.

— In what combinations do the Falcons of Russia perform aerobatic maneuvers during demonstration flights?

— We fly with six, but extremely rarely, although all the shows where we were recently - Nizhny Tagil, Armavir, Krasnodar - everywhere we started with six, then the commander (Alexander Kharchevsky - editor's note) showed solo aerobatics, and the main program was carried out by four .

— How are things going with the introduction of the Su-35 (generation 4++ super-maneuverable multi-role jet fighter)? Will these fighters take part in the Russian Falcons aerobatic team displays?

— The plane is absolutely not designed for this, however, like the Su-30SM. These are, first of all, combat aircraft, and the pilots of the Lipetsk Aviation Center are distinguished from the Aviation Equipment Display Center in Kubinka (the base of the aerobatic teams “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” - editor’s note) by the fact that there the pilots are engaged exclusively in aerobatics, demonstrating the capabilities of the aircraft and flying according to the combat training plan, and the tasks of our center have been expanded. This includes writing methods, and for this purpose, performing flights, being an instructor, and only then demonstrating the capabilities of the aircraft.

- Yes, that’s true - we take part in all the exercises that are conducted. During the flight shift, we will perform a training flight as a group of four or six, and on the second or third flight we will fly to the training ground or air battles, training young people. We have constant business trips to train pilots from other air bases.

— Air Force pilots are subject to very serious requirements, from physical to psychological. What do you need to get into flight service at the Lipetsk Aviation Center and become part of the Falcons of Russia group? How is the selection going?

— When I got to the Lipetsk Aviation Center, it was in 1990, there were very specific requirements - a pilot, senior pilot or flight commander, here all the pilots were in the position of flight commander. There was a limited number of flight personnel in the squadrons; it was determined to be no lower than second class. This was under the structure of the Air Force, which was then.

At the end of the 90s, flying hours began to be cut back due to a lack of kerosene, and the breakthrough began already in the 2000s - at that time young flight personnel joined the Center. Since then, this level that existed before has not existed. Pilots can also come to us from school. At first, the guys were selected with very good theoretical training - excellent students or medalists, this tradition continues: if there are vacancies, they can even take a lieutenant. And then we get to work. There were examples where a lieutenant graduated from college with honors, flew a MiG-29, but here he failed. Maybe because there are more serious types of training here, there is a certain filtering of the flight personnel, when he reaches a certain skill, we look at whether this pilot will be able to fly in flight formations.

Before considering the professional qualities of a pilot, naturally, we look at what this pilot is like as a person. If he has a bad character and is an unreliable friend, then you wouldn’t want to fly with him in a group where the interval and distance are three meters. A person who can make an independent decision in the air and not obey the will of the leader, who takes full responsibility in flights, is not desirable in the group.

— Do you plan to expand the composition of the Falcons of Russia group in the near future?

- We do this all the time. Our group is quite old - the average age of pilots in the group is 45-50 years old, so we are constantly recruiting candidates. Those who have already been selected are improving. But since we are not a Display Center, we do not only do this; there are a lot of other tasks. Now four of our pilots are training at another airfield, we are left without ordinary aircraft, the technical staff is literally torn apart.

— There are people who believe that aerobatics are a waste of budget money.

— I assure you that if now a couple from the Falcons of Russia aerobatic team were selected as participants in the Aviadarts aerial training competition, no one would have a chance.

For three years, by decision of ex-Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov, the Krasnodar Flight School did not recruit cadets, but now it is recruiting, but the competition is less than two people per place. Our problem is that we do not have any kind of information program that would interest young people in serving in the army, and especially in aviation. Now the most prestigious professions are lawyers and bankers - earthly people.
Demonstration flights play a big role. We recently had a show in Orenburg, after the flights people were allowed into the exhibition, two young people came up, looked and said: “What a fool I was for not going to flight school.”

This is not budget money. And any demonstration is unnecessary training. There are commercial displays by the organizers - all kinds of weapons exhibitions. They pay the Department of Defense for us to participate.

— Does the Lipetsk Aviation Center have income from the participation of Falcons in these commercial projects?

“Neither the Lipetsk Aviation Center nor the aerobatic team pilots from these shows have a penny. We are the sovereign's people, we carry out the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Minister of Defense. They have the right to send us anywhere. In this case, we all earn money for the Ministry of Defense.

— What is the “trick”, the main feature of the “Falcons of Russia” group, which allows you not to be confused with the “Russian Knights” and “Swifts”?

— If we take the aerobatics of the four, I don’t see in the performance of the “Vityaz” ascending figures with turns, loops with turns, loops with turns on the ascending and descending parts. The main difference is that we demonstrate elements of air combat. Our special feature is that Lipetsk pilots fly all modifications of aircraft.

— “Vityazi” and “Swifts” are much more promoted than you? What is this connected with?

“We are on friendly terms with them, there are no problems at all.” Their popularity is somewhat determined by the proximity of Moscow. The aviation equipment display center in Kubinka has a developed infrastructure and airfield structure, specially painted aircraft (we painted ours in the early 2000s, and even then only a few), a demonstration base, a command and control tower building and an observation tower for guests, a hangar for demonstrating equipment. In Soviet times, when Kubinka began its existence, they held two or three shows a week for foreign representatives. All foreign delegations that came on visits to Russia made it a mandatory part of their program to visit Kubinka. Then there were international screenings.

They have a regular aerobatics team, we don’t have that. The structure of the Center in Kubinka had a special department that dealt with public relations and propaganda.

But we, as a structure of a conventional combat unit, had none of this.

— On what principle are the events at which you perform among aerobatics divided: where do the “Vityazis” fly, where do the “Swifts” fly, where do the “Falcons” fly?

“For this purpose, there is a special person in the aviation department who deals with these displays. Events are being planned for screenings domestically and internationally. Foreign states, as a rule, send their applications, and then the aviation department of the Air Force General Staff decides where which group will go. But, as a rule, Vityazis and a few Swifts go abroad due to the fact that it is problematic to fly anywhere on the MiG-29. And flights along the Tambov province are all given to us.

— Do you fly abroad? Do any difficulties arise because of your “combat” image? “Vityazs,” for example, are now afraid to be allowed into an air show in Switzerland because the specifications say that they are capable of combat use.

- No, absolutely. We make friendly visits and transport equipment to China. In France, we have been developing friendly relations with the Normandie-Niemen regiment since 1993-1994; they have flown to us several times and invited us to the opening of the monument to the Normandie-Niemen regiment in Le Bourget. We had a visit to Norway. This is all according to the plan for military-technical cooperation.

In the near future, by the way, the international exercises “Indra-2014” India-Russia will be held. The first stage in late August - early September will be held at the Lipetsk base, and the second stage - in November, at the Indian base. We will fly there, but not on our own planes, but there we fly on the planes of the host country. We will fly with joint crews. Here they will fly on our Su-30SM aircraft - a Russian pilot will sit in front, an Indian pilot will sit in the back. But in November the opposite is true.

— Have you received an offer to teach aerobatics to pilots of the new aerobatic team “Wings of Taurida” on combat training Yak-130s? They are taught by "Swifts", although you are geographically much closer.

— There was a proposal, this issue was discussed for a very long time. Literally the next day after the decree of the Commander-in-Chief on the creation of an aerobatic team on Yak-130 aircraft on the basis of Borisoglebsk, the deputy head of the VUNTS (Air Force Academy - editor's note) called us and asked to provide assistance to the Borisoglebsk pilots on the issues of carrying out legal and practical measures to create an aerobatic team groups. And think about how to teach them to fly.

The issue was considered that several of our pilots should retrain on the Yak-130 and then teach them. But the arguments came into force that the Kubinka was going to be transferred to the Yak-130. It has been discussed for several years now. Therefore, it would be more expedient for those pilots who are planned to be transferred to these aircraft in the future to be trained by Borisoglebsk residents. But now, since the Yak-130 aerobatic team will be created in Borisoglebsk, it is unlikely that the Cubans will be transferred.

- By the way, about training and combat training - every week there are reports from Ukraine that the militias have shot down another Su-25 of the Ukrainian Air Force. Is it poor training of pilots or very accurate militias?

“The thing is that there is no particular need for accuracy, the rocket does everything.” The crew has virtually no chance. Let's remember Afghanistan - the fight for the "Stinger" (MANPADS "Stinger" - editor's note), our government then wanted to get them, because an insane number of planes and helicopters were shot down by these MANPADS. Here the tactics came into force, the pilots, having comprehended it, raised altitudes, the Stinger can reach an altitude of 3-4 kilometers, they began to fly higher and throw bombs without descending, and stopped falling into the range of operations of these MANPADS. And in Ukraine this is clearly the unprofessionalism of their pilots.

— Do you think there is a chance to create a women’s aerobatic team in Russia? Would you take on such a task?

- No, no way. I have a somewhat negative attitude towards female pilots. Unless Svetlana Kapanina is unique, she is the only one on the entire planet - a six-time world champion.

There was a time when, at the instigation of the commander and the minister of defense, girls took a training course. But no matter how much we looked, we understood that it was better for a woman to engage in some kind of female profession.

To create an aerobatic team, a pilot needs to fly for at least 6-7 years.

— At what events by the end of this year will we be able to see the Falcons of Russia?

— On Air Force Day, the Commander-in-Chief comes to us in Lipetsk, we perform demonstration flights, and on August 13 we take off in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. We fly there on military transport planes, and there we will fly on planes from the Domninsky Regiment (Transbaikalia). There will be an anniversary of the aircraft plant, and on August 16-17 we will take part in flights to mark these celebrations.

— How will you celebrate Air Force Day?

“We will celebrate it at home, on our Lipetsk soil, with flights in honor of Air Force Day, then we will get together and remember all our guys.

This year has become an anniversary for the pilots of Lipetsk. The history of the city's military aviation began 100 years ago - on November 4, 1918, when the first combat aircraft from the Ilya Muromets airship squadron, piloted by Joseph Bashko, landed at the city hippodrome. Since the Civil War, the city outskirts have gradually turned into one of the largest air hubs in Russia.

From 1925 to 1933, a German aviation school was located near Lipetsk, reorganized into the Vifupal flight test station. Cooperation with Germany was carried out by a particularly secret apparatus. The headquarters was listed in secret documents as “unit A5,” where the Germans managed to test more than 30 types of aircraft, aviation weapons and equipment. These years were overgrown with a lot of rumors, sometimes even completely fantastic, including tests of “flying saucers”.

THE FLIGHT SCHOOL TRAINED MORE THAN 300 HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION

In 1934, the Higher Flight and Tactical School of the Red Army Air Force was organized in Lipetsk. Thousands of aviation commanders, including over three hundred Heroes of the Soviet Union, were trained there. Already during the Great Patriotic War, dozens of air units and formations were based near Lipetsk.

At the beginning of the war, the main task was the formation of marching air regiments. From July 1, 1941 to June 28, 1942, the Center sent 33 marching regiments to the front, Pavel Rukhlin, head of the historical and memorial complex of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, told KP. - The 591st Fighter Aviation Regiment was based in Lipetsk and its environs (the settlements of Venus and Sokol). It consisted of three squadrons flying MiG-3, I-152 and I-16 aircraft. During 1941, the regiment shot down 20 enemy aircraft, destroyed about 3.5 thousand of its soldiers, playing an important role in the liberation of Yelets and the defense of Moscow.

And since 1960, the State Order of Lenin Red Banner Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing of the Russian Ministry of Defense named after V.P. Chkalov has been based in Lipetsk - the now famous Lipetsk Aviation Center. Since its founding, over 40 types of aircraft and drones have been mastered here. These include the first jet Il-28 MiG-15 and all subsequent production aircraft, as well as unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "Strizh", "Reis" and "Wing". In 1960, a training department was created at the Center, where more than 60 thousand officers of various specialties were trained.

SACRIFICED THEMSELVES TO SAVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS

33 Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia served at the Center. Lipetsk aviators have repeatedly shown courage in critical situations during flights. Pilots Krivenkov, Sherstobitov, Zakharov and Novoselov sacrificed themselves, saving the lives of others. For courage and heroism in the performance of military duty, the title of Hero of Russia was posthumously received by Aviation Major General Sulambek Oskanov, who at the cost of his life took a faulty plane away from a populated area, and Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov, who died in Syria.

The memory of heroes is honored at the aviation center. The younger generation is being educated by their example. This is confirmed by the opening of the Alley of Heroic Glory of the Lipetsk Aviation Center on July 14, noted Pavel Rukhlin.

The personnel of the aviation center participated in exercises to test an atomic bomb at the Totsky test site. In 1992, Lipetsk pilots made the first flight in the history of front-line aviation to the United States on Su-27 aircraft. The center has repeatedly participated in the MAKS aerospace shows, where pilots on Su-27, Su-30SM, Su-35S, MiG-29 and SU-34 combat aircraft demonstrated maneuverable air combat, single and group aerobatics.

The flight and engineering staff of the aviation center participates in the international military-technical forum “Army”, in the International Exhibition of Weapons and Military Equipment, and in major international and Russian exercises. The Center often becomes a base for joint exercises of the Russian Air Force and other countries.

“OVER TIME, ROMANCE FALLS INTO THE BACKGROUND”

When choosing a pilot’s profession, some are attracted by technology, others by romance,” says the head of the aviation center, Lieutenant General Yuri Sushkov. - In the process of mastering a profession, a person understands that it requires constant work on oneself, constant growth of skill, horizons, physical and psychological capabilities. Over time, romance fades into the background, and satisfaction comes from constant improvement in mastering aircraft technology and performing complex tasks.

Currently, the Center is testing the combat capabilities of MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-24M, Su-25, Su-34, Su-30SM and Su-35 fighters and bombers. In 2013, the super-maneuverable multi-role Su-30SM aircraft entered service, and in 2014, research began on the combat capabilities of the Su-35S. The Center includes the aerobatic teams “Falcons of Russia”, “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” - the calling card of the Russian Air Force. For many years they have successfully demonstrated to the world the power of Russian aviation.

Currently, the Lipetsk Aviation Center is improving combat training, researching the combat capabilities of aircraft, as well as retraining flight and engineering personnel. Pilots have at their disposal complex and procedural simulators, for example, an interactive training system for the MiG-29SMT aircraft, which includes a computer training classroom and a procedural simulator.

In computer classes, the teaching methodology is completely different,” explains Colonel Pavel Patsevich, head of the central officer courses at the Lipetsk Aviation Center. - Both theory and practice can be mastered visually, in one class, which reduces the duration of preparation.

IT IS WORTHY TO CONTINUE THE TRADITIONS OF THE OLDER GENERATION

Since September 2016, the head of the Center has been Lieutenant General Yuri Aleksandrovich Sushkov. A military sniper pilot participated in combat operations in Afghanistan, graduated with honors from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy in 2000, and received a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree in 2007. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star, “For Service in the Armed Forces”, III degree, the Nesterov Medal, as well as medals of the Ministry of Defense. The honored military pilot is one of the founders of the Falcons of Russia aerobatic team, in which he flew from 1991 to 2010.

Today's Lipetsk aviators worthily continue the traditions laid down by the older generation, noted the lieutenant general. - Now the Center faces two main tasks. The first is the training of aviation specialists from combat units for new and modernized aviation equipment. The second is a study of the combat capabilities of operational-tactical aviation complexes entering the troops under the rearmament program, with the subsequent writing of methodological recommendations for the flight personnel of combat units. I take this opportunity to congratulate veterans, all active pilots, navigators, engineers, technicians, communications and logistics specialists, as well as all Lipetsk residents on the 100th anniversary of Lipetsk military aviation. I wish you health, success in your service and prosperity to our city.

Its motto speaks well about the current task of the Center: “Teach planes to fight, teach pilots to win!” Let us remind you that the day before, in honor of the centenary anniversary, all Russian aerobatic teams flocked to Lipetsk for a grandiose air show.