Trust catastrophe. Test pilot Yuri Vashchuk: Pilot is not a romantic professionInterview All aspects of one of the most romantic professions

Test pilot - a pilot who tests new aviation equipment (airplanes, helicopters).

test pilot- a pilot testing new aviation equipment: airplanes and helicopters. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in physics, physical education and life safety (see the choice of profession for interest in school subjects).

Features of the profession

The test pilot conducts tests of absolutely new (experimental) aircraft, evaluating their qualities and thereby helping the designers to refine them.
And when serial production has already begun, helicopters need a factory flight, and test pilots also do this.
A military test pilot is the main assessor of the quality of vehicles, an authorized representative of the army and navy when they are accepted from the manufacturer.
A military test pilot is also an instructor for the flight crew of a military flight vehicle.
Test pilot is a rare profession. Only an extra-class pilot can be a tester. According to experts, it is very difficult to find a future test pilot in the large mass of Air Force flight personnel. Although military pilots are the elite of the army and navy, who have undergone special training.
Already trained pilots are trained as test pilots.
Testers are the first to test the know-how of domestic aviation companies. Their preparation is carried out taking into account new approaches introduced into the practice of aircraft construction, innovative technologies, computer technology, display systems, etc.
As the teachers of the GLITs (V. Chkalov Flight Test Center), who train test pilots, say, the future test pilot "by the sweat of his brow" should improve his knowledge:
“We have a student who, upon graduation from the center, writes a thesis, equivalent to a Ph.
The profession of a test pilot is associated with risk. The technical imperfection of the machine can lead to tragedy.

Workplace

Military test pilots serve in flight test centers of the Ministry of Defense.
Civilian (non-military) test pilots serve in the aviation industry: in the Flight Research Institute named after M.M. Gromov (LII), design bureaus, aircraft manufacturing plants, aircraft repair plants of Civil Aviation.

Salary as of 07/17/2019

Russia 130000—170000 ₽

Important qualities

A test pilot needs leadership, self-discipline, decision-making, responsibility, courage, and good health.
You need a high intellect, an engineering mindset, a love of technology.
Love for novelty is important: testing an unknown aircraft should not frighten the pilot, but give him pleasure.
A rigorous selection process is carried out among candidates for study. The future tester must be under the age of 31, as a rule, have a diploma with honors from a military aviation university and the qualification of a military pilot of the 1st class.
The pilot must combine good knowledge in the field of theory and aircraft design, engineering inclinations and a high level of aircraft (helicopter) control.

Where do they teach

• State Flight Test Center of the Air Force. V. Chkalova (GLITs)

at the State Flight Test Center.
Akhtubinsk.
Profile: training of military test pilots.
Branches: aircraft, helicopter and navigation.

• School of test pilots. A.V. Fedotova (SHLI)

at the Flight Research Institute named after M.M. Gromov.
Zhukovsky.
Profile: training of test pilots and experimental aviation test specialists
for research institutes, experimental design bureaus, aviation industry enterprises.

• There are two test pilot schools in the USA, one in England, one in France.

In one of the Bashkir health resorts, I was lucky to talk with the honored test pilot, master of sports of international class in aerobatics, Hero of Russia, President of the Federation of Aircraft Modeling of Russia, test pilot of Sukhoi Design Bureau Yuri Mikhailovich Vashchuk.

During the parade, we all admire the ability of pilots to pilot, do various tricks, look and see a car that soars up, passes a loop, a second, then spins in a “corkscrew” or changes direction to a “cobra”. But behind this is hard work, numerous training, control and test flights. Test pilots are people who have learned to manage their fears, make decisions in a split second and go all the way in any situation.

Childhood dream

- Yuri Mikhailovich, tell us how you decided to choose the path of a test pilot?

It was love at first sight. I remember that in the summer I often visited my great-grandfather in the village of Meret, Novosibirsk Region, and every day planes flew overhead there. Most of all, I liked the AN-2, the “maize”, because it flew very slowly and you could run after it for a long time until the very taiga. This episode decided everything, I was only 3-4 years old when I realized that I had found a dream. My father, although he was a simple driver, instilled in me a love for aviation from childhood, took me to the airport, we made models of aircraft. Later, when I was in the 9th grade, I asked him: “Dad, do you want me to become a pilot? He replied: “No. Better be an engineer."

- Have you decided to make your dream come true?

Of course, this is the most important thing. True, there have always been difficulties, but it’s even more interesting, it tempers. For example, in the summer of 1980 in Barnaul, I decided to enter the flight school. Did not pass the medical examination, tonsils were enlarged. He was frustrated, of course, but he didn't give up. He immediately removed the tonsils and went to enter Omsk, where he passed the selection and was enrolled in the DOSAAF aviation training center. Later I graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute. So he made his dream come true.

- Tell me, how are things going with aviation in the country now?

Now we lack up to 1.5 thousand military pilots in the army. Many pilots leave due to age, and the replenishment rate is poor. We have one flight school in Krasnodar. Ten years ago, they used to recruit 10 people, then 20, 40, 150 people. And already, when my son entered, they recruited 660 people. So the situation is improving.

- Is your son also in love with the sky?

Of course, this is love since childhood, I put him on the plane as a baby. And at the age of 14, he flew an airplane for the first time. There is a video on the Internet about this - type “14-year-old pilot” in a search engine.

- And it was not scary?

I'm really scared ( laughs). He then said that he was also worried. At fourteen, the feeling of fear is still small, this is only good. In general, before the flight, he went through a serious training school, briefing, he knew how to behave in emergency situations. So inside I knew that the first flight would be great. And so it happened.

-Tell me, how did you decide to come to Bashkiria?

Now I'm here for health. In general, I fell in love with your region immediately. I remember that Ural Nazibovich Sultanov invited me for the first time, we have known him for a long time, he was once my instructor. An aerospace school was opened in Ufa with the support of the Bashkir regional branch of the Russian Cosmonautics Federation. And Ural Nazibovich invited me to meet with the children in the village of Kalinovka, we talked with the children, shared our experience. I was delighted, the children are all so smart, talented, capable, their eyes are burning. I was very pleased. And according to the program, it was possible to go to one of the sanatoriums of the republic. So my family and I ended up in the Yakty-Kul sanatorium for the first time. After eight days spent here with my family, having gained pleasant impressions, we returned back to Zhukovsky. And there, on arrival, I noticed that I lost ten or fifteen years. And I remember this feeling clearly.

Cold head, warm heart

- You are now in excellent physical shape, how do you do it?

Just work on yourself, no secrets. I try to do a lot of sports, lead an active lifestyle, watch my diet, but without restrictions. I do try to eat healthy though. I think that everything should be a joy, for me sport, activity is a part of life. I can't live without it. I am the oldest test pilot at Sukhoi, I have increased loads, but I love my job, and this is only good for me, it gives me a boost of vigor and strength.

“Still, injuries are inevitable in such a dangerous profession. Have you ejected twice?

Yes, I ejected a couple of times, both in 2002. But it worked out and I didn't get hurt. Pilots undergo a full check after ejection, the body is subjected to serious stress, the spine in the first place. I somehow remember that even after the ejection, the nurse was carried on a stretcher, she came to check my health at the place where I hung on the parachute lines, between the trees. On the way back, she slipped and fell, broke her leg, and we carried her across the ice on a stretcher to the car.

- How to overcome the feeling of fear in yourself, learn how to make decisions in a split second, calculate everything accurately?

Every person has a sense of fear. This is absolutely normal. It’s just that there are two types of people, some fear plunges into a stupor, and they can’t do anything, while others, on the contrary, it mobilizes and sharpens all skills. It is important to know the maximum, love your job and be dedicated to the profession. Constantly improve, it just seems that the profession is romantic. Being a pilot is, first of all, knowledge of all aircraft systems, not only flight skills, it is important to understand the structure of the aircraft in order to predict actions in various situations. A high degree of concentration, quick reaction, intuitive understanding, multiplied by strict calculation - this is the pilot's skill, ideology, his life ...

- So, after all, the first thing is the planes?

Well, the girls, of course, later (with available). That's what happened in my life. I got married late, but I am very happy and grateful to my wife for her understanding and support.

- Did you come with your wife?

Yes, we have already come to rest in your amazing region for the second time. This feather grass, the mountains, the lake is huge. I haven't seen this anywhere. The wife is also impressed.

- Have you tried koumiss?

Yes, my colleagues treated me once in Ufa. I also tried the resort and liked it. Honey tried yours, chak-chak. So you can say Bashkirs almost .

Test pilots are people whose fearlessness is to be envied. They deserve to be called heroes for the work they do. Read about the most famous test pilots who lived in different countries in the article.

What do aircraft testers do?

To get this profession, you need to measure your abilities and desires. A test pilot must have good health and such character traits as composure, courage, responsibility, courage. The intelligence of people in this profession should be high. In addition, without love for technology, there is nothing to do in the place of a person who has chosen this path.

Test pilots test the latest aircraft such as helicopters and airplanes. These people evaluate the quality of the aircraft, and if something is designed incorrectly, they return the iron birds for revision. However, this profession can be dangerous: possible errors of designers can lead to tragedy up to the death of the tester.

Who was the first test pilot?

You always have to start somewhere. When the described profession was not yet as common as it is in our time, people still conducted experimental flights on the first created aircraft and helicopters.

The Wright brothers were engineers and testers of their own aircraft, who made their first flight in the early twentieth century, namely on the eve of Christmas 1903. This test was captured in a photo, and the airplane itself can be seen as an exhibit of the National Air and Space Museum of the United States of America.

Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky became famous for testing an aircraft that he designed on his own, inspired by the work of French pilots, back in 1882. However, in one of the notes, compiled within the walls of the War Department in 1884, it is indicated that this device never took off. At present, there is no other evidence that could help us answer the question of whether the tests of Mozhaisky's aircraft were really unsuccessful.

It is believed that the first test pilots of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - Mikhail Mikhailovich Gromov and Andrei Borisovich Yumashev, who became famous in the thirties of the last century - assembled a "Gromov" set of military pilots before the start of World War II. Those who were included in their number tested a huge number of attack aircraft, bombers and fighters.

The first French aircraft testers

French test pilots are rightfully considered the pioneers of aviation. Since the end of the nineteenth century, many engineers have not only designed their own aircraft, but also tested them. The most famous Frenchmen who contributed to the development of aviation technology were:

• Clement Ader. The first flight of this test engineer took place on October 9, 1890 and was documented. Despite the fact that the design created by Ader obviously did not have sufficient potential for development, the name of this person is known all over the world, because it was he who first outlined the ideas of how aviation technology could be used for combat purposes.
• Louis Blériot became the first Frenchman to cross the English Channel in a self-designed aircraft without the use of catapults and railroads. He did so in July 1909. The scheme of the aircraft, which he proposed more than a hundred years ago, is used to this day. Only the capabilities of the components of the aircraft are improving, but the iron birds still correspond to the Louis Blériot scheme.

Soviet test pilots

Listing the outstanding test pilots from different countries, one cannot fail to mention the people of this profession who lived in the USSR. Our country can boast that it has nurtured such outstanding aviators as Valery Chkalov, Mikhail Gromov, Vladimir Averyanov (the photo is presented just above), Ivan Dziuba and others.

• Valery Chkalov is the owner of a dizzying career as an aviator. He has tested many aircraft, helicopters, fighters and bombers. In addition, he became the creator of several figures that were called aerobatics. These include "ascending corkscrew", "slow barrel". He took part in the creation of the latest aircraft, set several records for the duration of flights.
• Mikhail Gromov was a diversified person. He showed outstanding abilities in music and drawing, medical practice. He served not only as a test pilot, but also as a military doctor. Gromov set two international records in the field of aviation, more than once performed flights across Europe, China and Japan. For setting several records and courageously fulfilling his duty to the Fatherland, he was awarded the Order of Lenin.
• Many test pilots of the Soviet Union held high positions in military service. Among them is Vladimir Averyanov, a colonel who tested both jet bombers and passenger planes. He has a huge number of awards.
• Ivan Dziuba became a participant in the Great Patriotic War. In these terrible times, he proved to be an outstanding test pilot. On his account - more than two hundred and thirty-eight sorties and twenty-five air battles. He shot down six enemy planes personally, as well as two in the group. For services to the Fatherland, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin, as well as the Gold Star medal.

Honored Aircraft Testers

Of course, the fearlessness of test pilots should be rewarded. In order to express appreciation and gratitude to these people, they are not only awarded with various medals and orders, but also given a high rank. These are the Honored Test Pilots.

In the USSR and Russia, such aviators as Vladimir Averyanov, Sergey Anokhin, Alexander Fedotov and others wear it. Today there are 419 of them.

Pilot writers

One of the most famous pilots who had a talent for writing is the American Jimmy Collins. From his pen came out a collection of short stories called "Test Pilot". In this book, the author wrote short stories about what could happen to a person of his profession. Everything would be fine, but shortly before his death, he wrote the short story "I'm Dead" with the comment that it was prepared "in case he breaks." Unfortunately, it was published by his friend, journalist Winsten Archer.

Russian test pilots also had a talent for writing. Among them are Nikolai Zamyatin, who participated in the Great Patriotic War, and Vasily Ershov, whose works are textbooks for today's cadets.

Books written by test pilots do not lie, just as their authors do not lie, who put everything that they have to experience into their works.

You can become only by getting an education in one of the aviation institutes and schools. They are civilian and military. The most famous aviation institute for civilians is MAI. To enter there, you must provide the following set of documents:

- a certificate of completion of eleven classes of secondary school or a diploma of graduation from a flight school;
– certificate of passing the Unified State Examination;
- medical certificate (form N 086 / y);
- certificate of a citizen subject to conscription (registration certificate) or a military ID (only for men 18-27 years old);
– general passport (copy and original);
- photographs - 3x4 or 4x6, black and white, 6 pcs.

It is also necessary to have a good knowledge in the field of physics and mathematics, since additional exams in these subjects are held upon admission.

Prepare pilots and military institutes and schools. They are located in Irkutsk, Ulyanovsk, Yeysk, Krasnodar and other Russian cities. For admission to each of these educational institutions, you need your own set of documents, the list of which can be clarified by phone. Phone numbers of universities and colleges can be found on reference sites.

After graduating from the desired university or aviation school, you must become an active pilot and fly a certain number of hours in order to be able to get a second education in the specialty "test pilot".

Test pilots - where they are trained

Test pilots are required in both military and civilian. They are prepared at test pilot schools. There are only two of them in Russia - in Zhukovsky near Moscow and the city of Akhtubinsk. To enter there, you must have an education in the specialty of a pilot-engineer, and preference is given to candidates who graduated with honors. Also, only pilots who have flown a certain number of hours are allowed to take the exams. In this case, the age of the applicant must not be older than thirty-one years. Each student entering the school is interviewed. In addition, future test pilots undergo special psychological tests, the purpose of which is to determine their readiness for this difficult and dangerous work.

Training at the test pilot school is carried out for a year and a half. During this time, future specialists fly twelve types of aircraft, and also study various simulators. By the end of the training, students are able to determine the flight performance of aviation equipment, and can also perform flights of any kind.

On the eve of World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, we met with Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, Colonel in the reserve Mikhail Pozdnyakov.

On December 1, 1980, when testing the Tu-22M3 missile carrier, the aircraft entered a tailspin, the crew commander Mikhail Pozdnyakov decided to eject from a height of 800 meters. “There was no fear, it was annoying,” recalls Mikhail Ivanovich. “It’s a shame that such a good car is in a landfill.” Okay, let's leave the fears. But there is romance, are the pilots closest to the stars? “Yes, what a romance. That's the first time you fly, it's euphoria, there are clouds under you, the sun is on top ... And then, then, what a romance - you have to work.

In the footsteps of Gagarin

How did you become a test pilot?

Until the eighth grade, I dreamed, like a father, of becoming a tractor driver. And he knew how to work on a combine, and on a tractor. But when I was in eighth grade, Yuri Gagarin flew into space. And then I decided that I would become a pilot and enter the school where Gagarin studied. And he got his way. Graduated from the Orenburg VVAUL them. I.S. Polbina. He served in Kustanai for five years, when one day a test pilot flew to us. Foppish like this: leather pants, a chevreto (leather) jacket. We ask, how can one become a test pilot? He says that the training center has been working for a year, write reports. My friend and I were called to Akhtubinsk, to the training center. They looked at our documents and said: "You do not suit us." They barely persuaded us to be tested.

- And now how do they become test pilots?

Previously taught by the state. The Ministry of Aviation Industry selected the best of the best for all regiments. Now, every aircraft designer recruits his own pilots. That is, he needs to take a pilot from the combat unit, wait for him to quit, then pay a lot of money for his training. After training, he will receive a third or fourth class test pilot degree. Then he must grow up to the first class - only then he has the right to conduct state flight tests. It is clear that all this time he needs to pay money, but there is no profit from him. So there are not enough test pilots now.

Yes, we do not have enough professionals. Who now, like you in eighth grade, wants to be a test pilot?

That's right, everyone wants to be businessmen, just like we used to be astronauts. He also served in Kustanai, and the assignment for training as an astronaut came. We ran! But I didn't come. However, the work of a test pilot is more interesting than flying Belka and Strelka. From our graduation, he became an astronaut Alexander Viktorenko. He flew into space four or five times, told how they grow plants, conduct experiments, go in for sports so that the muscles do not atrophy. Boring. This is necessary, of course, humanity will have to explore space. What will happen in 200 - 300 years? The bowels are thinning, nature is changing, cataclysms that did not exist before. Scientists say that one day humanity will have to "move". And our scientists need to hurry up so that we have a hand in this.

"The plane is not your woman"

- They say that pilots treat planes like living beings.

I always laughed at those who said that a new plane is like a new woman. This piece of iron, which was created by the hands and thoughts of smart people. Very "smart", but still a piece of iron. And the pilot needs to be even smarter than she is. Teaching a person to fly is easy ...

- Even me?

Certainly. You can teach a person to fly in a month. But to know everything and act clearly in moments of crisis or in case of equipment failure - this is much more difficult. That is why we have emergencies.

Is it really true that pilots and pilots are to blame for most accidents? I thought they were just appointing switchmen ...

Pilots are poorly trained. Remember how many accidents there were when the engine failed, and the pilot could not land the car. Why? After all, it's not that difficult. But because the pilot needs to be ready for this, to know how to act in an emergency. Remember, in Irkutsk the plane drove into the hangar and caught fire, the pilot had only to turn off the reverse, and he was sitting in a coma. Didn't know what to do. Or in Yaroslavl, when the hockey players died. The pilot before the flight must calculate the length of the takeoff run. Let's say 1200 meters, a strip of 2500 meters, if you haven't reached the required speed, turn on the reverse, we'll figure it out on the ground. And the stupid crew took off both themselves and killed people. Previously, the civil fleet had a strict system of training and control of pilots. There was a mandatory test on the simulators, even experienced commanders were sent to the training center, where they were brought up with various cases of accidents and incidents (the so-called prerequisites), they were told what, how and what the reasons were. Right now, nothing is being done.

Our engineers can't be beat

No more than a dozen new aircraft enter service with the army a year, and there are no new civilian ones in sight either. It feels like an old thing is flying in the sky.

We have good planes. They just won't start to fall on their heads like that. It is bad that there are few aviation specialists: technicians and engineers. There is no proper control over the condition of the machines. In addition, some organizations produce counterfeit products. Let's say the engine is being repaired, and "left" turbine compressors have been installed there. They are exactly the same, but with less strength. Or they put a counterfeit valve that did not work when it was supposed to. All this can lead to an accident. The price of death is the banal greed of manufacturers.

Throughout the 20th century, we observed the rapid development of design and scientific thought. But in the last 20 years, something has not been heard about breakthroughs.

Well, why not. Our designers have always created great aircraft. And it is already impossible to come up with something new, but 15 years ago, for example, they came up with a controlled thrust vector, nozzles that can rotate, which provides greater maneuverability in the air. They are already on fifth-generation fighters, which are also being tested here in Akhtubinsk.

In one old interview, you said that the time of fools in the army will someday end. What is the root of this stupidity, which has no end?

There has always been more order and good human relationships in aviation. And what did the actions of our army leadership lead to? They came up with some nonsense - to pay bonuses to the most deserving. In this case, who is worthy of the award, the commander decides. Suppose this pilot was given 100,000, but not a ruble for me. Now suppose that the dishonest commander simply agreed that this pilot would give half of the bonus to him. And suppose the third pilot is offended - they gave him money, so let him work hard. That is, antagonism begins in the team, which should not be in the combat team. It has always been customary for us to put all awards, no matter to whom and for what, into a pile and divide them according to the class. No hard feelings. It was both then and now. But I still believe that the time of fools will definitely pass.

DOSSIER

Pozdnyakov Mikhail Ivanovich In 1969 he graduated from the Orenburg Higher Military Aviation Pilot School. In 1969-1974 he was an instructor pilot at the Chelyabinsk Higher Military Aviation School for Navigators.

In 1975 he graduated from the Test Pilot Training Center in Akhtubinsk. In 1979 - MAI.

He has a total flight time of over 6,000 hours, including a test flight of about 3,000 hours.

In 1997 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation with the Gold Star medal.

In 2001 he moved to Volgograd. Chief engineer of GKU "Complex".