In order to diversify, to rest a bit from all kinds of architecture, I invite you to the aircraft show which took place on the 10th and 11th of June at the military aerodrome at Levashovo (about fifteen kilometers to the north from Saint-Petersburg).
That's what the aerodrome looks like. Landing strip is seen in the distance, closer to the forest. Admission fee to the field was 150 rubles. You could certainly stand at the edge for free, but everything would then be taking place far away and against the sun.
Part of the field (behind) was assigned for immovable exhibits (large civil planes and military troop-carriers), but main action was happening here - closer to the runway.
They say, there was about 10 thousand people.
Steaming, burning and smouldering :-)
"Fenced in"
It's IL-18. Probably, in the version of "laboratory-plane". These planes did not refer to the exhibits, they just stood at the field behind the line.
Queuing to look at the cabin and touch the levers.
Mi-8
Of course it's impermissible for the plane to demonstrate such things, well, but for helicopter
- one may :)
It's resting..
Actually this helicopter went round in the air most of all, in my opinion. Audience was imbued and periodically climbed on to a cabin to the pilot to nearly kiss :)
Mi-2
Quite old of course, but it demonstrated eights of different kinds.
Actually it made without the loops. Understandably - these helicopters are a long way off from K-52.
SU-27
Literally - the most interesting that could be observed. Of course, it looks great on TV as well, but in reality the feeling is absolutely different. Especially when it turns engines in the direction of us, audience, (from the distance of 70-100 meters) and puts in afterburner. Feels like earthquake.
The very it - imitates landing. Undercarriage touches the strip, brake flap is out, then the plane gathers speed again and abruptly gains height. SU-27 - single-seated reactive fighter.
Developed in USSR in the end of 1970s, serial production - since 1981.
Presenter of the show gave comprehensive comments on SU-27 appearance. He was saying that this plane has flown here nearly by chance (it really took off from the different field), and that it's actually fulfilling an official task :)
After the third approach presenter has announced "let's say goodbye to the pilot". However, in several minutes SU-27 appeared again. When we said goodbye for the second or third time, presenter had remembered a
famous anecdote about
parachutist.
But beyond a joke, in the view of the fuel price pilots don't get that many chances to fly nowadays in order to neglect one more minute in the sky..
AN-12
As I was told - it has a very useful feature: it has anti-icer which works on pure spirit (spirit flows out of holes all along the body), that's why working with it always considered to be an honorable business among pilots :)
(Sign says: "don't revolve")
".. it does it all by itself" :-)
Fireworks. The one in the right was arranged by parachutists
Apparently, it's also Mi-8, but in a military version
In the cabin:
"Older brother of joystick"
AN-12 from the outside
...and inside
Not letting to take off :-)
By the way, these three shots with hang-glider were made on the second day by my father (I came only on the first day). Inasmuch as he seriously concerned himself with model aircraft sport in one's time, he's taken a close up of all kinds of pieces of iron, wings, engines, fuselages and propellers :-)
People are interested..
As usually - nearly accidental shot
At the end of the first day, in 20 minutes after we left, two reactive fighters L-39 ("Russia" group) came into collision (one of them caught on the wing of the other somehow). Both pilots had catapulted but one of them perished :( In view of this program of the second day was cut down to minimum.
Almost all mass-media have elucidated aircraft show exceptionaly in light of this tradegy being guided by their specific understanding of the civic duty. And today I did not manage to find a single reporting about the event itself through Yandex (with words "aircraft show" and "Levashovo") - there are merely different reports about the crash.
