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Source: rg.ru
The past week will stand out in the history of Russian aviation for on September 8th, to mark the 70th anniversary of the first non-stop flight to the North Pole made by Valery Chkalov in July 1936, our pilots repeated the route of the glorious hero.
On September 8th, Anatoly Kvochur, Hero of Russia, Honorary Test Pilot of the USSR and Sergei Korostiev, second class second test pilot steered Su-30 RF Air Force fighter along the famous route: Zhukovsky Air Base in the Moscow Region – the town of Igarka – Chkalov Island (former Udd Island) in the Amur River Estuary – the town of Neryungri – the city of Tomsk – Zhukovsky Air Base in the Moscow Region.
The Su-30 had four in-flight refuels provided by two Il-78 refuelers. The first one took off from the Vorkuta Aerodrome and did the job in the air of Igarka, Yakutsk, and Neryungri. The second one took off from the Dyagilevo Air Base of Ryazan and refueled the fighter near Tomsk.
Total flight time was fourteen something hours covering the distance of around twelve thousand kilometres. Experts unanimously agree that aircrafts of the Su-27 family, comprising the Su-30 chosen for the flight are perfect machines for such missions. First of all, due to their formidable flight range ability: these fighters can cover four thousand kilometres without refueling.
In comparison, seventy years ago, Valery Chkalov made his legendary flight on an ANT-25 covering the route Moscow – Udd Island together with second pilot Georgy Baidukov and navigator Aleksandr Belyakov in fifty-six hours and twenty minutes. Moreover, in the same year Valery Chkalov made another unprecedented flight from Moscow to Vancouver via the North Pole with the same crew.
Over the years, Russian pilots have been dreaming of repeating the feat of the nation’s most famous aviator to pay homage to him circling around the Udd Island. At last MVK Holding made their dreams come true.
Apart from the flight itself, the Still Higher, and Higher, and Higher! project featured one more interesting event – the World’s First Stratosphere Exhibition (at the height of over twelve thousand metres). The compact exposition unfolded right on board one of the refuelers that rose into the air from the Dyagilevo Air Base of Ryazan featuring MVK’s top exhibition projects and achievements as well as of Russia’s largest furniture manufacturers’ brands. All the proceedings were closely followed by experts from the Guinness World Records and the Russian Records to register the record.
Alexey Shaburov, Executive Vice-President of MVK Holding remarked, “Our goal is to unite Russia through history and patriotism. We want our pride for our manufacturers to be as strong as that for our heroes and our history.” After the flight Anatoly Kvochur said that paying homage to the memory of the legendary pilots of the past was a privilege and an honour for their successors.
Source: rg.ru
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