The pilot is an extremely popular profession.
Every boy dreams of becoming a pilot and imagines himself at the controls of an airplane. And not a single girl will refuse to marry a pilot. It's so romantic - the sky, the plane ...
How about really? Let's figure it out.
All sides of one of the most romantic professions
Yes, of course, being a pilot is interesting and prestigious. Lifting a plane into the sky and keeping it strictly on course, skillfully coping with all the difficulties that arise during the flight - is this not a job for real men? Plus they pay a lot for it...
And right here Attention! Big money never comes easy. And everyone knows that it is possible to earn a lot in an honest way only where the profession is associated with high loads and risks. Pilots have plenty of both:
- In order to become a pilot, even at the start, you must have excellent health and excellent physical fitness.
Even if you only dream of civil aviation, the body must work like clockwork. No problems with the heart and other organs, as well as with vision and hearing. Physicians carefully reject possible applicants. It also requires an extremely stable psyche. This aspect is given no less attention. And good physical shape. In order to become a student of a flight school, you need to pass all sports standards easily and naturally.
If you are targeting military pilots with the prospect of going into orbit, then health should be just iron, both physical and mental.
Of course, special attention is paid to the knowledge of technical disciplines. But the overall score of the certificate should be high. Since the competition for this specialty is always prohibitive.
Equally important is the high intellectual level and achievement.
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- Endurance will also come in handy.
It is understood as not only the ability to regularly expose the body to stress throughout life. But also readiness for long-term physical and mental concentration during many hours of flight. This job requires constant attention and the ability to make emergency decisions. After all, sometimes the most difficult situations arise in the air, in which the lives of people depend on the behavior and degree of concentration of the pilot.
- The work of a pilot is also a high responsibility and the constant emotional stress associated with it.
The crew commander and his associates are responsible during the flight for the lives of people. Sometimes for several tens, and sometimes for several hundred lives. Agree, this is a huge responsibility. And it rests on the shoulders of the pilot on every flight. And this despite the fact that quite often the technical condition of the aircraft leaves much to be desired. And this type of transport is generally considered one of the most dangerous. Not everyone can handle such a burden of responsibility.
And if we are talking about military aviation, then the fate of entire settlements may depend on the pilot.
This is in addition to the fact that a pilot, both in civil and military aviation, risks his life in every flight. Especially if he is a test pilot.
Here's what it says about it Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation Sergey Nikolaevich: “The test pilot constantly 'doesn't remember' that he might not return from the flight – He 'knows It'. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do a good job.".
Of course, the test pilot is the most dangerous of the flight professions. After all, it is these brave guys who have to test new aircraft models in practice. And tests are not always successful. But the life of ordinary military and even civilian pilots is a constant risk that you need to be prepared for in every flight.
Despite all the complexity and responsibility, every year dozens of guys choose the profession of a pilot for themselves. And this is not surprising. After all, the pilot is special status, high prestige and good income. And yet - this is not the main thing. And what is the main thing? Sky! Only those who are truly in love with him can become a high-class pilot.
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- In the first hours after the An-148 crash of Saratov Airlines, you said that before at least the first objective data are obtained, guessing and building hypotheses is unprofessional and unethical. Now, after deciphering the data of the parametric and voice recorders, we with a high probability know what became the trigger of the tragedy - the incorrect issuance of one of the flight parameters to the crew, in this case speed. The worst thing is that the first crash of an aircraft of the same type occurred in 2011 for about the same reason - the crew performed a number of incorrect actions, being confident in the correctness of the instrument readings. Even a terrible experience does not teach anything?
“ An incident, as with the An-148, may not happen, but the pilot must be ready to competently work out in any situation”
- Flight instructions are written in blood, this is not a figure of speech, but a fact. And it is clear that each investigation of any flight accident should be based on accumulated experience in order to exclude a recurrence of a dangerous situation in the future. Air crashes do not have any one reason, it is a chain of factors, a combination of circumstances. So far, only the starting point of the disaster has been identified - incorrect issuance of information about the speed of the car from the air pressure receiving sensors - PVD. And then the chain must be unwound. FROM a high degree In terms of reliability, we can say that the crew was not ready for the development of the situation, starting with incorrect and, apparently, hasty actions before takeoff, which led to the fact that the heating of the PVH remained switched off. In modern machines there is a warning system to prevent such errors, but for some reason the pilots did not notice its signals. But the main events began from the moment when the crew discovered the problem. The situation in which the pilots found themselves is by no means catastrophic. It qualifies as a complication of flight conditions. How much they have changed on this type of aircraft is not entirely clear to me, since the An-148 has an ESDU - an electronic remote control system. This system, having “lost” a reliable signal from the speed sensors, had to switch to a backup mode of operation. I do not know how this transition occurs, how the balancing and efforts on the controls change. In any case, this transition does not simplify the situation. If a balanced aircraft experiences a speed indicator failure while climbing, and the autopilot receives data from the same sensor, it must be turned off while maintaining the flight parameters and continue climbing until the cloud clears. Naturally, reporting the problems to the dispatcher, especially if there are doubts. The controller can tell the crew the ground speed, which, if not equal to the actual speed of the aircraft relative to the air flow, taking into account the weather data, makes it possible to judge it quite reliably. Then the work begins, which should be known to any pilot - maintain a given pitch angle, control the speed. If the aircraft has an angle of attack indicator, this will greatly facilitate the task and add confidence to the pilots that the machine is in a safe flight mode. The angle of attack is one of the key parameters on which a lot depends in terms of flight safety.
- You consider the angle of attack to be the main one, and the crew, for unknown reasons, focused on speed, while receiving information that the instrument readings may be unreliable. Why do you think?
- In principle, pilots from the very first steps of training are hammered in that flight is speed. And having lost this parameter, the person was confused, not knowing what to do. Although his actions in each such situation should be described in detail in the RLE - the flight manual for a particular type of aircraft. But this is not enough, they are all thoroughly worked out on the simulator.
- At one time you said that the pilot must feel his aircraft as a fifth point, understand it. Does this apply to main liners as well?
| Photo: nabiraem.ru |
- The pilot must feel that the speed is changing, without even looking at the instruments. Should feel an approaching stall - the aircraft becomes "sluggish", as a rule, shaking occurs in this situation. Moreover, in modern machines there are systems that suggest that the machine is close to critical flight conditions. Again, if the speed is high, the plane becomes like a stretched string, it's hard to put into words, but it feels great. That is, the pilot can feel whether everything is normal without even looking at the instruments, although I will make a reservation: in order to feel it, you need to visit these modes and repeatedly, which is not allowed in normal operation. But in the case that we are discussing, the crew had all the necessary information to continue the flight using backup instruments on the panel: RPM, temperature, pitch, roll, and other parameters. It was not difficult to make sure that the engines were working normally and the spatial position corresponded to the climb mode. Probably not understanding what was happening, the crew attempted to “restore” normal speed readings by accelerating the aircraft on a descent, and this error became fatal. Apparently, they were not even aware that for some reason the speed indication could be displayed with an error. Surprisingly, this is the case when a person implicitly believes the readings of one device, ignoring all other factors. An experienced pilot should not have this by definition.
- That is, we can talk about the lack of proper experience of the crew?
- As they say, the commission will figure it out - necessary element any investigation is also a test of the competencies of the crew; for each pilot, his path to commissioning is studied in detail. Although any person who does not even have a gigantic plaque is able to turn on the heating of the PVD before the start. But to determine that it was this sensor that failed, without appropriate training is already much more difficult. In the good old days, leading a cadet to the first independent flight, they simply sealed the instruments on the training aircraft, essentially simulating their failures. And with no variometer, no altimeter, no speed indicator in front of your eyes, you had to come in for a landing and sit down. On more advanced aircraft, the instructor later had the opportunity to simulate failures of flight instruments in flight from a special console, unexpectedly for the cadet. I don’t know if beginners are taught using this method now, but I’m sure that any crew simply has to go through such situations with instrument failure in a simulator. And not just once or twice to undergo such training, but constantly. For each crew, a training program on the simulator must be scheduled, and it must be strictly followed.
- The management of Aeroflot reports that it intends to increase the salary of commanders to 650 thousand rubles. Probably, there are reasons for this, but I would like to understand what unique work a pilot of a scheduled aircraft does, receiving an annual salary of a class engineer per month? Says: "Greetings to you ..." and the autopilot grazes for four hours? Or something else unknown to us?
“People get well paid for getting passengers safely from point A to point B. This implies not only a certain amount of knowledge and skills, but also significant physical and moral costs. Believe me, flying 90 hours a month is a lot of work. Let's not forget that the work of a pilot implies, among other things, instant responsibility for one's decisions and actions. For mistakes, they can pay with their lives.
- But those who gave them, who made a mistake and died, permits and permissions, they do not pay for their responsibility with their lives, passengers who trusted the qualifications of pilots pay for them with their lives ...
- Probably, if there is a high salary for flight work, there will also be those who, not having the necessary data and talent for flying, from purely mercantile reasons, will want to get a job. But to prevent this from happening, there must be a system of the most severe control over the selection, training and admission of pilots. And the question arises: does it exist in the required form, is it effective? You need to earn a salary, and in our case, this means that you are at least ready for any situation prescribed in the RLE, and most importantly, you can come out of it as a winner. To do this, people need to be trained and selected, and along the entire chain, starting from the flight school and further along all levels of professional growth. This is a very large amount of work, and intense. And at every stage there are instructors who look at you and evaluate your skills and knowledge. In theory, there should be personal responsibility for everyone to whom you have certified qualifications - we have the relevant laws. Another thing is how they work. The certificate is issued not by some kind of sharashka, but by the Federal Air Transport Agency. And you just need to figure out on the basis of what it was issued. Yes, and training, and training to maintain qualifications must be, first of all, honest. The case, as with the An-148, may not happen, but the pilot must be ready to work competently in any situation. Moreover, if you are ready, the probability that it will happen is greatly reduced - this principle works not only in aviation.
- But you can make the selection sieve and the requirements for pilots tougher, in order to completely eliminate the concept of “pilot error” ... If the simulator did not pass, the career is over.
- The pilot himself should strive to understand more, to master better. Should keep growing. And if there is no such desire, then there are bosses and instructors. They see whether a person is given to his work or just a number is serving. In aviation, professional suitability is a very broad concept, it is determined not only by skills, but also by attitude. For me, the worst thing that could happen was always not to justify the trust. And when hundreds of people who trust you get on board?
- So, maybe just the current organization of pilot training should somehow change? Let's say, return the Ministry of Civil Aviation...
- It doesn't matter what the name of the department is, the people who lead it are important. It is impossible to imagine that a non-pilot commanded an aviation division. And in civil aviation, the leader may well be a “successful manager” and not understand anything about flight specifics.
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 big mass 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 the 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, when graduating from the center, writes a thesis that is 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.
Civil (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
The test pilot needs leadership skills, self-discipline, ability to make decisions, responsibility, courage, 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 aircraft theory and design, engineering inclinations and high level aircraft control (helicopter).
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.
It's no secret that one of the promising areas for the development of combat aviation of the future is the creation of unmanned aerial vehicles. They have already led to significant changes in modern warfare tactics, and in the future their importance will only increase.
But before an unmanned aircraft can fly like a modern manned fighter jet, it must be tested. "And, most likely, first it will be tested by a test pilot, after which they will make it so that it will be unmanned," says the head of the flight service, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Belyaev. It is the test pilot who plays the main role.
Mikhail Belyaev
Test pilot 1st class. At flight test work in the corporation "MiG" since 1996. He was the first to take to the skies and test the MiG-29KUB fighters (together with P.N. Vlasov) and MiG-35 (together with S.V. Gorbunov). Participated in the testing of MiG-AT, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29OVT, MiG-29M2, MiG-29SMT, MiG-31 aircraft and their modifications, as well as the passenger Il-103. He repeatedly demonstrated domestic aircraft on Russian and international air shows. Awarded with the Order Courage. In the spring of 2017, for the courage and heroism shown during the testing of new aircraft, he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
Continuation
The TASS interview took place on the eve of the 105th anniversary of the formation of the Russian Aerospace Forces on the territory of the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky near Moscow.
How did the dream come true
Belyaev was born in 1967 in Saratov, in the family of a military man. And, like every boy at that time, he had a dream - to become a pilot. For the first time, five-year-old Mikhail was brought to the airfield by his father. He first saw the MiG-21 aircraft, smelled the smell of scorched kerosene while the jet engine was running and taxiing the aircraft - and all this left an indelible impression for life. After that, Belyaev firmly decided that he would become a real pilot.
Then there was a school, study at the Chernihiv Higher Aviation School for Pilots (1984-1988), service in the USSR Air Force, receiving the class of "fighter pilot" and new dream- become a test pilot. "This dream was from school ... Somehow I began to understand the whole essence of this profession. Then, when I got deeper into it, I realized that the pinnacle of just flying skills is test work. And at the top there is always a test pilot. Appeared dream of becoming one," Belyaev recalls.
He made his first flight in the first year of college, then he was 17 years old.
I could fly planes, but I couldn't drive a car yet (laughs). It was on the L-39, a jet trainer. First flight with an instructor. Well, then there was the task of learning to fly in order to fly out on my own
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
He says that the most important stage in the life of every pilot is the first solo flight. “And you get into the cockpit, you understand that you are alone and there is no one behind, and you don’t believe in it until you take off ... And this feeling that I’m flying and I’m alone is one of the most important first impressions, it's very cool," Belyaev admits.
Alertness, it is always there. The question is how to be able to deal with it and how to prepare yourself so that the feeling of fear does not arise, but remains at the level of alertness or caution. As such fear - I don’t know, I don’t remember
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
In the Chernigov School, they flew on L-39, MiG-21 and MiG-23 aircraft, at that time - the main combat fighter Soviet Union. Moreover, if the first two machines belonged to the second generation of aircraft, then the MiG-23 was considered the third. It appeared automation and new types of weapons.
After school, when Belyaev came to serve in the air regiment, they still continued to fly on these aircraft, but already at the end of the 80s, mass rearmament to light fighters of the fourth generation MiG-29 began. “Well, of course, in comparison with previous aircraft, it was a small revolution, and in my mind, in particular,” the pilot recalls.
Thrust-to-weight ratio, high maneuverability. When it was possible to carry out air combat, for example, with a pair of old MiG-23s against one MiG-29, while on the "23rd" there is a full afterburner, limit modes are everywhere, and the MiG-29 easily maneuvers and evades pursuit, time after time coming to the tail of these planes. I did not understand this until I myself moved to the MiG-29
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
In 1995, Belyaev graduated from the Test Pilot Training Center in Akhtubinsk, where he also found the so-called Soviet pilot training school. And there was no constant control by the commander. “They give you freedom of action. Here is the parking of aircraft - choose any one, take tests and go on, fly. And in principle, you can fly without control, without an instructor,” says the pilot.
And it's all for young man, who went through an army school, was a little incomprehensible at first. And then we realized that this is exactly what the process of training at a test pilot school should be like when you are trusted. And that's how I began to comprehend the basics of flying art, I was lucky, I joined this
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
In 1996, Major Belyaev was selected for the MiG RAC. And here the pilot again had to make another revolutionary decision: to leave the army and become a civilian. "For every test pilot next dream- this is to go to work in industry, in well-known companies - MiG or Sukhoi. I was lucky, I was offered,” he admits.
The most important thing is to dream. Everything else will come: health - first of all, then - the experience of flight work and personal qualities. But those who do not want to be test pilots never come into this profession.
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
From dream to reality
It is no secret that flights have a very harmful effect on the human body. And most of all this falls to the lot of test pilots. Belyaev says that there is a constant impact of many harmful and even aggressive factors: hypoxia, various accelerations (during aircraft maneuvering), the effects of overloads arising from these accelerations, and more. Therefore, the pilot clarifies, health must be protected, try to somehow maintain and strengthen it.
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
Once a year, each test pilot undergoes a complete serious examination and once every six months - the so-called in-depth examination. To a simple question about what food can and cannot be eaten before flights, Belyaev thinks a little and ironically answers: “I have to classify myself as a fairly elderly person, so I try to exclude carbonated drinks and heavy food from my diet, and replace it with a glass of dry red wine, well, and with something natural - meat is a must, vegetables.
Like cosmonauts, test pilots have overloads, and sometimes they reach exorbitant values. For example, when descending to Earth, the maximum overload experienced by astronauts reaches 4.67g. Belyaev admits that during demonstration flights at air shows, which, for example, viewers could see at the past MAKS-2017, pilots maneuver with an overload of 9g.
I had a maximum of more than 10g. It was maneuvering with extreme overloads. In comparison with astronauts, there are different effects of overloads. When flying into space and returning from there, these overloads are much longer, but less significant. And the astronauts are placed in such a way as to minimize the impact. They are in a semi-lying state, in armchairs, i.e. this is a long one, but, let's say, to some extent more comfortable, compared to the overloads that fighter pilots experience when maneuvering
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
Belyaev says that ordinary combatant pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces are limited on the basis of the experience that is acquired by test pilots of the RAC MiG. “We are talking about the fact that it is possible to fly everywhere along the borders, we show it and prove it. Here it is - the border: here a person can be an airplane, but then it is no longer possible and not necessary,” he clarifies.
But with the delivery of this or that aircraft to the troops, the work of the tester does not end. The next task is to show and convey to combatant pilots and their commanders the capabilities that the aircraft has. The pilots disperse to the places where the equipment is based, where demonstrations and training take place on the spot. And this applies to both the Aerospace Forces and the Navy.
It is not enough to create a product, to test it, you need to use this product and use all the possibilities in full
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
In official documents, says Belyaev, the term "personal assessment of pilots" is always present. “Even if, perhaps, some parameters that are recorded on the control and recording equipment during the flight indicate that there are deviations from the set standards, but the pilot’s assessment is positive, then the pilot’s assessment wins,” he says. .
Physically, the most difficult aerobatic maneuver, according to Belyaev, is long-term maneuvering at high G in the region of 9g. This is a normal turn, a reversal. "The plane is relative to some center, it turns the radius ... It's like on carousels. You sat down, started spinning and you are pressed," he says.
And if during the demonstration we insert rotations there, "barrels", this is for a person - at first you were crushed with an overload of 9g. For example, my weight is 80 kg, with overload, this means that 820 kg puts pressure on me. Then I make a rotation and again continue the turn. Those. g-signs that act on the pilot, they are very large, and physically it is quite difficult
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
Speaking about performances at air shows, Belyaev admits that preparations for them take from a month to two weeks. After that, the readiness of the crew to perform demonstration flights is confirmed. The pilot also names the most difficult salon in all respects - this is in Le Bourget. “The specifics are such that you can descend to a height of 100 meters above the strip, and a little bit within 1 km this height is a minimum of 300 meters. There are settlements, you can’t fly below 300 meters,” says Belyaev. Therefore, maneuvering has to be built in such a way as to either bypass locality or go at a higher altitude.
I had the imprudence once, in 2007, to take my family to an exhibition in Dubai, after that we have been going to Dubai every year for 10 years. Zhenya Oksana likes both the flights and the very atmosphere of the exhibition. Although, in fact, he says that once again I do not want to watch you fly. Of course he worries
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
With the MiG-29OVT (thrust vectoring aircraft), Belyaev conquered many air shows around the world, demonstrating such aerobatic maneuvers that no one has yet been able to repeat. For example, the pilot admits, "double somersault".
"Cobra", which we are demonstrating, let's say, we reached angles of 150 degrees, i.e. it's practically "lying on your back". And at the same time, we stayed in this area for quite a long time, after which we returned back
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
This indicates the aerodynamics of the aircraft, its momentary characteristics, that it can not only enter such a figure, but also return back. On the MiG-29OVT, aerodynamic solutions were worked out related to the improvement of dynamic and maneuvering characteristics, solutions for a new power plant. What they got as a result of the tests, says Belyaev, surprised the pilots.
A little mystery can be revealed here: it happened that science explained practice. Those. first there was practice, as a result of the tests, some maneuvers were performed, and then the science of aerodynamics and aerodynamics of flight explained these maneuvers. Although it should be the other way around
Mikhail Belyaev
senior test pilot of the corporation "MiG", Hero of Russia
We also demonstrate the so-called tail-stand, says the pilot. At the same time, the speed relative to the ground is in the region of zero.
"TASS/Ruptly"
“This is when an aircraft with an angle of attack of 90 degrees, then turning into 180, hangs vertically and is in the air, hanging only due to the thrust of the engines. The aircraft just stands vertically,” he clarifies. When asked if foreign pilots are able to do this, Belyaev replies: "I have not seen it."
This kind of aerobatics is needed, sums up Belyaev, primarily to demonstrate the capabilities of the aircraft during the air show. And then, already on the basis of this, the development of various maneuvers begins - anti-missile, anti-aircraft.
program "Behind the scenes" leads Nikolai Mamulashvili.
Representatives of various professions, sometimes rare, sometimes extreme, but more often the most common, are guests in our studio.
Testers, doctors, divers, firefighters, diplomats, pilots, racing drivers, climbers, journalists and rescuers... These professionals have something to tell about the underside of their work, about what we don't know, about what usually remains behind the scenes.
They all have one thing in common: love for their work. These are people with character, they never back down. Each of them has gained real recognition and is in its place.
Guest in the studio - Honored Test Pilot Sergei Nikolaevich Zavalkin.
Today we will talk about the profession and the work of a test pilot. But, first of all, I would like to say a few words about the guest, so that all listeners understand what kind of person he is.
In aviation Sergei Nikolaevich Zavalkin for almost 40 years now. Served in the Air Force. For many years he has also been an expert of the Aviation Register of the IAC (Interstate Aviation Committee), involved in certification and testing various types aircraft of Russian and foreign production. During this time, he participated in the testing and certification of more than 15 Russian and 12 foreign aircraft. He brought heavy aircraft out of various positions, including stalling on takeoff. In particular, in 1997 in Montreal during the tests of the Canadian Challenger 603 Regional Jet aircraft, and also brought the domestic Il-114-100 out of a spin. This happened during tests in Tashkent in 1999. He flew 12,000 hours, of which more than 5,000 were on trials. He mastered more than 50 types of aircraft on which he worked and still works as a lead test pilot.
Every boy dreams of becoming a pilot. Well, even more so as a test pilot. The work is interesting, difficult, dangerous. My first and traditional question: what predetermined your choice? How and why did you become a test pilot?
S. Zavalkin: It must have been some kind of family tradition. Well, not something that would be a family tradition, but the incompleteness of something. Many of my relatives, including my father, aspired to become pilots, but due to various circumstances, they did not succeed. For example, my two uncles. Father's younger brother Anatoly flew Tu-16 aircraft, but in 1961, when there was a reduction in the Air Force, he was fired and ended his life as an engineer. Father's older brother Sergei flew as a gunner-radio operator. My father entered a flight school in the 1930s, but since they lived in Penza region, in the outback, then the parents' perception of the future flight fate of their son was very difficult. Relatives all ran into him, and in the end he was forced to pick up the documents and went to study as a teacher. He graduated from teachers' courses and was a teacher of physics and mathematics.
How and on what basis are test pilots selected? How do you get into this elite of elites? How are test pilots trained?
S. Zavalkin: In order to become a test pilot, you must first become a pilot. One must be either a civilian pilot, or a military pilot, or a DOSAAF pilot, and the qualifications must meet certain, fairly high requirements. Today in Russia there are two schools of test pilots. it Test Pilot School at the Flight Research Institute of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the second one is military school test pilots at the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in Akhtubinsk. And both of these schools adhere to approximately the same requirements for their candidates and select. True, the civilian school trains test pilots for factories of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the military school trains test pilots for the same factories, for military missions at these factories, and directly for the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense. That is, there is a large unit of test pilots who are engaged in testing military aviation equipment.
We were trained on an annual program. Now test pilots are trained for two years. This is in Akhtubinsk. And for a year and three months at the Flight Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
How is the selection? First of all, you need a very strong desire to become a test pilot. Therefore, in any case (both in civil and military), a person must declare that he wants to become a test pilot. At the same time, he must have a professional diploma of a pilot. That is, he must complete a full-fledged flight school. As a rule, he must have a higher education. Now both civil and military flight schools provide such education. With a few exceptions: there are two schools in the country that do not give a diploma of higher education, this is Buguruslan and Sasovo Civil Aviation Flight School, and all military flight schools immediately give higher education.
And after that there is a meeting with representatives of the flight test profession, who evaluate the capabilities of a particular person according to the documentation, make some inquiries. The fact is that the aviation world, like any other highly professional world, is quite narrow, and people in this world know a lot about each other. And if they don’t know what to find out, it’s very easy to collect information. In addition, there is a theoretical interview. That is, the level of the knowledge that a person, approaching the status of a candidate for this profession, has acquired is checked. And if a person meets all these conditions, then he is invited to the exams.
I heard that you personally got into the composition of test pilots almost on the third attempt? So I understand that the selection in this profession and in Soviet years, and now was and remains very tough?
S. Zavalkin: For example, I had to go to an interview three times. The first time I came was when I served in the Group Soviet troops in Germany (GSVG), in 931 reconnaissance regiment. In fact, I passed the entire interview. And the interview was quite tough and difficult, four people talked to me (engineer, test pilot, head of the flight methodological department and at the end Tsuvarev Valentin Ivanovich, head of the Test Pilot Training Center). I seemed to have talked with everyone, there were no problems, I graduated from the school with a gold medal, I commanded a flight in the regiment, the flight was excellent, the guys flew very well. And I just had no doubt that I passed this interview.
But it was not there.
S. Zavalkin: Yes. And at the end of our conversation, Valentin Ivanovich asks: "Comrade Captain, do you smoke?" First, in those days everyone smoked. Moreover, we were given cigarette rations in Germany. I answer: "Of course, Comrade Colonel, I smoke." He says, "Good." He takes a red pen and puts a red line diagonally on the candidate card: "Okay, we talked about everything, you will be informed." I'm leaving for the unit, and silence.
In the process of communication in Akhtubinsk, I already had acquaintances both among the testers and in the flight methodological department of the Test Pilot Training Center. I called one of the representatives of the flight methodological department. And he says: "You were at the interview?" "Yes," I say, "I was." "And what did Tsuvarev say to you?" he continued. “Yes, he didn’t say anything,” I answer. "Didn't he ask you about smoking?" - "Yes, I asked." - "And what did you answer him?" - "Smoke." "Oh, you have to start all over again." Tsuvarev simply had his own specifics, he instilled a culture and the use of, say, alcoholic beverages, and was a categorical opponent of smoking. Well, it was actually very correct.
The following year, I actually quit smoking until I entered test pilot school. I come, I talked with everyone again, again we meet with Tsuvarev, and he says to me: “You know, Comrade Captain. Everything seems to be fine with you. Everything fits, everything is fine. But there is a small nuance. Germany, but in order for us to recall a person from the GSVG, this is a big problem, I need to contact the Minister of Defense, etc. " I ask: “What, I can’t go from there, or what? We are transferring from there to the Union. What problems can there be?” He says: "Let's change into the Union, and then we'll talk." Again I leave for the unit, again silence.
I am coming for the third time. At that moment, Tsuvarev was on vacation, for him remained Sattarov Nail Sharipovich, and we were already familiar with Sattarov. Firstly, he conducted an interview with me, and then he was a great friend of my friend from Akhtubinsk, in the future he became my instructor at the testing school, Boris Ivanovich Sivkov. And we met with Sattarov, had a conversation and that's it. This is where it all ended. In the evening, and I stopped just at Boris Ivanovich Sivkov, the bell rings. I went to open the door, Sattarov is standing on the threshold and says: "Sergei, that's it, the request has gone."
Then we came to the exams. The exams were, at least in our time, very difficult. Firstly, there were about a thousand candidates who came for an interview. Approximately 300 people were selected for the exams. And the group that entered the test school consisted of 22 people. At that time there was a large group. Usually there were 15-17 people. Passed the exams.
The exams were not easy at all. Why not easy? Because, and we understood this already from the interview, the questions were extraordinary. Answers to them required not just some knowledge and formulas, they required a very creative approach. Because the testing profession requires that a person, when he gets on an airplane, not just move the levers, but understand what is physically happening with that environment and that aircraft which he is testing. Accordingly, the most important subject was aerodynamics, technology.
And was, of course, flight exam. And then at the school of test pilots in Akhtubinsk, again, it was know-how Tsuvarev Valentin Ivanovich, the flight exam was taken on two types of aircraft. One - on its own, mastered type. And the second - on any other type. In this case, the Tu-134 aircraft was used, where you had to set a certain mode for a certain time. You were asked: here you have such and such a speed, such and such a height, set the mode. And the time was running out.
Again, it wasn't easy for me. Why? Because I flew on Yak-28 aircraft, and the Yak-28 aircraft is an aircraft with one pilot, and in order to test it, you need a twin. The management called me and said that they did not have the Yak-28 twins, so I would take the exam for the Yak-40. I tell them: "How is it? I fly a supersonic swept-wing aircraft with booster control, and now you are offering me a transport aircraft with a straight wing and a steering wheel."
They answer that this is Yakovlevsky's plane, so go to the parking lot and study the plane. You have three days for everything. Then hand over the tests and go to take the exam.
That is, you were offered an almost completely unfamiliar plane?
S. Zavalkin: Yes. But it wasn't just me. It was with all those people who came from this particular type of aircraft, because it really sparked Yak-28 did not have. The rest of the people who were MiG-21 and MiG-25, it was easier. They passed the exam on their type. And so I passed the main exam on my "native" type Yak-40. The second exam was Tu-134. Then there was a competitive selection, a credentials committee, and as a result, 22 people were accepted into the test pilot school. Last year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of graduation from this school, we gathered in Akhtubinsk. I must say that so far seven of this number fly.
Led the program Nikolay Mamulashvili. Release director Julia Duntse.
