Major General Aviation Alexander Fedotov - test pilot number 1

Alexander Vasilyevich Fedotov passed away 32 years ago, and left behind him three absolute aviation records of 18, established during life. The genius of the sky, he ascended to a height of 37,600 m on a jet engine, having written his name in gold letters in the history of aviation. What else is this amazing man known for, whose name is assigned to the school of test pilots?

Born in Stalingrad

The date of his birth is June 23, 1932. Few people know that at first he was called Albert. But at 9 years old he will come to the mother with a request to change his name. Born in Stalingrad and lost at the front of his father, he does not want to have a name in German. And she will go to the registry office to fulfill the request. He was proud of his small homeland and believed that it was a great honor to be born in this wonderful Volga city. They, the boys, after the war were few, and each with a special pride pronounced the place of his birth.

Alexander Fedotov was a tall and athletic young man, he was engaged in athletics. But the profession chose between two completely different activities, for he loved them equally: the sky and painting. Thanks to the artist's ability, he knew how to see beauty and perceive the world more acutely. But the desire to fly won.

Education

Learn Alexander Fedotov will be his whole life. Even in Stalingrad, he will graduate from the special school of the Air Force, after which he will go to the Armavir Flight School - AVVAKUL. There he comes to the conviction: if you go to aviation, then you must be a leader. He will become one of the first cadets who will get the right to an independent flight, and so will prove himself that after graduating from the school in 1952 he will be left an instructor pilot. For several years he will train the cadets, but will keep the dream of flying for real - to try the aircraft on all limits. Hearing about the set in the SSR (the school of test pilots), he without hesitation will file a report.

The officer will be ready to take, provided that he removes shoulder straps. And the young man will leave military service. At the end of the SLI in 1958, he will begin to work as a test pilot in the design bureau. AI Mikoyan, but in 1965 he again sits at the desk of the MAI, in order to obtain an engineering education.

Professional career

His second homeland will be Zhukovsky, Moscow region. 26-year-old future major-general of aviation (will receive the title in 1983) will be on the flight-test work, personally lifting ten new models of OKB fighters AI Mikoyan. Since 1962, he will receive the appointment of a senior test pilot, leading the flight service of the design office and giving "a ticket to life" to all of its modern aircraft. All my life I worked at one flight station, where about 700 people worked, he promoted the professional growth of talented children. The whole situation had to develop the flight and scientific prospects. The station has brought up two future general and four major aircraft designers.

In fact, Alexander Fedotov was an active participant in the creation of new fighter models, a co-author of engineers, perfectly mastered aerodynamics. When the troops did not work with the flights on the MiG-23, he personally flew to the military units to study the problems on the spot and show how to properly manage the new machine.

Sports achivments

Obsessed with the sky, in parallel, the test pilot installed aviation records, glorifying the USSR. Having reached the speed M = 3 for the first time in the country, he wanted to get ahead of the American colleagues with the best performance. And it succeeded. In 1975, he became an international master of sports for a number of achievements, including a world speed record on a 100 km route. FAI (international organization) will award him with the highest award - the Great Gold Medal, which will be awarded in Montreal.

Many Soviet pilots studied under A. Fedotov. For them, he acted as a coach, writing out the programs of training flights. One of his charges was Svetlana Savitskaya, a future cosmonaut pilot. For success in training aviation athletes, Alexander Vasilievich will be awarded the title of Honored Coach of the USSR.

The tragic death

In 1966 Alexander Fedotov will receive the Star of Hero of the USSR for courage in the testing of aircraft. Possessing high flying skill, coolness and the ability to anticipate possible emergency situations in flight, he tripled successfully in catastrophic times during unforeseen disruptions on board the aircraft. He even developed a formula for behavior during emergency situations, described in a diary. But on 04/04/1984 this formula will not work.

The MiG-31 took off for another test flight. On board, along with the test pilot was the navigator VS Zaitsev. The flight task included checking the operation of the fuel system. At the 8th minute, ground services received a message about the return of the aircraft to the airfield, as the instruments indicated a fuel leak. During the emergency landing, the needle of the flowmeter approached zero, so the commander landed the aircraft without approaching the circle. He believed that the fighter is easy. In fact, actually there were at least 12.5 tons of fuel onboard, which led to the stalling regime. The bailout took place too late, until the last crew tried to save the car and airborne records to find out the causes of the accident.

Memory

Around Fedotov there were always a lot of people. He attracted to himself, possessing the talent of communication and the ability to carry with him. Deprived of pride and swagger, earned the recognition of others, the warmth of calling him among themselves Fedot. They find it hard to believe in the death of a person who taught everyone to perform an airplane mission without detriment to safety and knew the plane until the last cog. The city of Zhukovsky, Moscow region - the place where the test pilot is buried. His name is one of the local streets. The hero left three children and his wife Galina.

Every year on April 4, exactly at 12-00 close friends meet at his grave, where hundreds of aviators come to honor the memory of the best test pilot of the 20th century. And by tradition, the cemetery silence is torn by the MiG-29, which performs the "bell" - the most complicated aerobatics figure. So the crew reports to their idol.