Lipetsk aviation training center. German “friends” from the Luftwaffe studied near Lipetsk

Something I see in Lipetsk is that the people are completely inactive, but they have an awesome object, which, to be honest, I didn’t infiltrate myself, but got there quite officially.. But who needs to draw their own conclusions

The history and present of the Center are formulated in the motto: “Teach airplanes to fight, teach pilots to win!”

The earliest document found on aviation related to the Lipetsk region dates back to June 27, 1908. On this day, a collection of donations was organized in Lipetsk for the Imperial All-Russian Aero Club for the purchase and construction of balloons, controllable airships, airplanes and other aircraft. The history of military aviation in Lipetsk truly began on November 4, 1918. On this day, the first combat aircraft from the Ilya Muromets airship squadron landed at the city hippodrome. The birth of the Lipetsk air garrison is associated with the 2nd Higher School of Red Military Aircraft, which was transferred from Moscow at the end of February 1923. Due to a significant increase in the number of military personnel, and the school staff consisted of 792 people, in May, by order of the commander of the Moscow Military District, the creation of the Lipetsk garrison was announced.


The most mysterious page in the city’s aviation history for many years remained the stay of the German aviation school there from 1925 to 1933, which was later reorganized into the Vifupal flight test station. Mediation between the German side and the management of the Red Army Air Force was carried out by the apparatus of a special representative office, designed as the headquarters of the 4th non-separate air detachment, called “unit A5” in secret documents.
In Lipetsk, the Germans tested about three dozen different types of aircraft, including seaplanes on the Voronezh River, as well as new types of aviation equipment and weapons. At the same time, training of flight personnel was carried out.
There are many legends associated with this school, the most common of which are two. The first is that during the war the city was not subjected to enemy bombing, and the second is about the training here of Hermann Goering, the future commander of the fascist Luftwaffe. But none of them was confirmed by a careful study of historical documents either in Russia or in Germany.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Lipetsk region became the base for various aviation units and formations. Aircraft taking off from the main and field airfields near the settlements of Volovo, Voronets, Gryazi, Dankov, Dobrinka, Yelets, Lebedyan, Lipetsk, Ratchino, Talitsky Chamlyk, Usman, Chernava, dealt crushing blows to the enemy. The falcons of the 2nd Air Army, the 3rd Bomber Aviation Corps, and the 9th and 10th Guards Long-Range Aviation Bomber Regiments showed particular valor.
The Air Force Combat Use Center (original name) was formed on April 19, 1953 in Tambov. Since 1954 it was located in Voronezh. In 1960, the formation was relocated to Lipetsk and transformed into the Center for Combat Use and Retraining of Air Force Flight Personnel. In 2010, the name was assigned to the Fourth State Order of Lenin Red Banner Center for the Training of Aviation Personnel and Military Tests of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation named after V.P. Chkalova. In the same year, it included aviation units of long-range, transport and army aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles, and in 2009, the I.P. Kozhedub Aviation Equipment Display Center (Kubinka).
After a 6-day war, the Egyptians once again asked us for help. In 1970, an air squad of 6 pilots and 4 Mig-25 vehicles was sent south from the Lipetsk Aviation Center to conduct aerial and radar reconnaissance. The Museum of Military Unit 62632 is located at 398000, Lipetsk, military unit 63632 (postal code 398000). You can contact the staff at the following numbers: Guide 34-56-14. Actually, that's where we started.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the former commander of the center Oskanov Sulambek Susarkulovich. Who is de facto the first Hero of Russia. He has many services to his homeland, and the last of them was preventing the death of people during his test flight. At the cost of his life, he took the plane away from the village of Kozelki, without having time to eject. There is a memorial in his honor at the headquarters. Having learned the historical details of the air school and the center, we went to flights and actual combat use... on simulators. In my simplicity, I assumed that the simulator was an exact copy of all the components. However, in order to optimize the learning process, the functionality of teaching machines is delineated. On some, elements of piloting are performed, on others, they teach the combat use of various equipment, and on others, they simply, if one can put it that way, take lessons on strengthening the skills of using controls, of which there are so many that at first you can break your head.


Using the STZ-27 simulator, pilots undergo an in-flight refueling course in various weather conditions. It is worth noting that there is no double vision, just a stereo image, and for flights you need to use special glasses.


The flight path is recorded. Being at the helm of a winged bird for the first time, I felt like a very drunk driver. The best we could do was get into the filling cone, and then under the strict guidance of an instructor. The simulator has a single-seat cabin; in fact, no more is needed; it is made on the basis of the Su-24.

Then, on the same drying ground, but closer to reality, with a navigator’s seat, we drove through local virtual air spaces. It’s okay to fly, but to land... it didn’t work out; at best, it ended up on the runway.
In other classrooms, training took place on the crew procedural simulator of the Mig-29SMT multifunctional aircraft complex, which was put into operation in May. The new simulator is designed to train not only refueling, but also the entire range of tasks that an aircraft crew must be able to perform - from takeoff to landing: conducting electronic reconnaissance, using aircraft weapons in conditions of active electronic countermeasures, and so on...

and then they learned to engage ground and air forces with different types of weapons at a specialized complex produced by Kursk-Simbirsk JSC. The complex is not much, not little, but it’s probably worth the money, you quickly grasp what’s what and hit all the targets on the second go.




but there were also various troubles

Next, according to the plan of events, we had a very tasty lunch, although we turned away from it as if in alarm and very quickly headed to the Lipetsk-2 airfield, where training flights were already in full swing. So what follows is continuous spotting in chronological order with short explanations.
So, the first thing we saw was a Su-34 coming out of the taxiway onto the runway. number 07 red.



Aircraft 05 red appeared immediately behind him

New black combat plumage, i.e. coloring, this is how these birds became in 2011. This does not mean that they were simply repainted, this is how they became after modernization in 2010.
The following improvements are currently known:
New types of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. Upgraded high-temperature turbojet bypass engines AL-31F-M1. The aircraft is equipped with an updated L-150 radiation warning station (SPO). Auxiliary gas turbine power unit TA14-130-35, which will allow launching Su-34 engines on the ground without the use of ground equipment. According to preliminary estimates, such an installation will increase the autonomy of the use of front-line bombers and expand the list of airfields where they are based. As expected, all Su-34s produced since 2011 will be equipped with a TA14-130-35 auxiliary gas turbine power unit. And this also means that they have finally begun to be delivered slowly. As of 2011, a total of 22 combat vehicles were manufactured, including prototypes. The plans for them are truly Napoleonic - their number in the Air Force is planned to be increased to 120. It is planned to receive 12 more aircraft in 2012, and by 2015 to increase the number to 70!. The cost of one machine is 1 billion rubles.

According to available data, these aircraft (02, 04-09) belong to the 968th IISAP (research and instruction mixed air regiment) based here in Lipetsk-2. (According to other sources, 05 red from the neighboring Voronezh "Baltimore")
The first Su-34s arrived here in August 2007, flying from the Novosibirsk plant under the control of pilots from the Akhtubinsk GLITs (state flight test center) under their own power. In 2008, Su-34 participated in the Victory Parade on May 9 in Moscow, the head of the center A.N. Kharchevsky himself piloted the car. In the same year, this aircraft was put on combat duty for the first time.

As soon as they go into the sky, one of the falcons lands on the ground. Su-30 board. number RF-9222 or 69 Red. The aircraft is externally similar to the Su-27, in fact it is a deep modernization of it. The Russian Air Force has only 9 aircraft of these winged aircraft; by 2020, the number is planned to be increased to 40 SU-30SM aircraft.

Behind him lands another sample of the Sukhoi Su-24 MR design bureau, tail number RF-92250, 52 red. There are 566 vehicles of this type in service. Adopted in 1975, production ceased in 1993. In total, about 1,400 vehicles were produced. Quite difficult to pilot, nevertheless it is the main front-line bomber; it is they that should be replaced by the new 34th dryers.
Meanwhile, the sky is as crowded as before.

One of the Mig-31s is practicing refueling from an Il-78 tanker in real conditions right above us. The aerial refueling system was created on the basis of the Il-76 heavy transport aircraft. Entered service in 1987 and is currently the only specialized type of tanker aircraft. This machine came to work here from Ryazan Dyagilevo, 203rd OGAP SZ (separate guards air tanker regiment).
Almost simultaneously, the 10th red Su-34, according to our escort, piloted by the head of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, Alexander Nikolaevich Kharchevsky, performed aerobatic maneuvers.

I would like to say a little about the Falcons of Russia. The aerobatic team was formed on the initiative of the head of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, Major General Alexander Kharchevsky, in 2001 to improve the tactics of group flights of front-line aircraft and demonstrate the maneuvering capabilities of fighters. Its first composition included: Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Pinchuk, Major Yuri Sushkov, Major Alexander Gostev and Major Yuri Spryadyshev.


The name of the aerobatic team “Falcons of Russia” was officially announced in June 2004 during an aerial show in Nizhny Novgorod dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Valery Pavlovich Chkalov. Subsequently, the Lipetsk aces demonstrated their skills in the skies of Norway, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Republic of Belarus. In September 2006, the pilots of the group on Su-27 aircraft, together with pilots of the Normandy-Niemen squadron on Mirage-2000 aircraft, flew over Paris in honor of the opening by the Presidents of Russia and France of a monument to the pilots and technicians of the Normandie-Niemen squadron - participants in the Great Patriotic War wars of 1941-1945.
The aerobatic team also has aerial displays in the following cities: Khabarovsk, Yeysk, Tambov, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Severomorsk, Makhachkala, Samara, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yelets, Krasnodar Territory.

This is the only aerobatic team that uses Su-27 combat aircraft to demonstrate tactical techniques for close-in air combat pair-on-pair at low altitudes and in limited space using defensive-offensive tactics. The complexity and unusualness of this show lies in the fact that the air battle, which takes place in real conditions at high altitudes and distances, is demonstrated for entertainment at altitudes from 200 to 2000 meters directly above the show airfield. In addition to air combat, “Falcons of Russia” demonstrate single aerobatics, as well as in “diamond” and six-aircraft flight formations, a complex of aerobatic maneuvers (Nesterov loop, shell, turn, dissolution, etc.) at minimal intervals and distances


The pilots took part in the aerial components of the Victory parades over Poklonnaya Gora in 1995 and over Red Square in Moscow in 2008, 2009 and 2010, during which they flew at low altitude as part of a “tactical wing” and accompanied long-range, military transport and special purpose aircraft. aviation.

Demonstration flights are one of the components of the combat training of the Falcons of Russia. The main work is the study of the combat capabilities of aircraft using all types of guided and unguided weapons, which was successfully demonstrated during exercises in Russia and the CIS countries such as “Union Shield - 2006”, “Tsentr-2008” and “Tsentr-2010”, "West - 2009" and "East-2010". In 2011, the pilots included in the group took part in exercises at the Nalchik mountain range, where they successfully completed the task in difficult high-altitude conditions. Since 2003, Sokolov of Russia pilots have been actively mastering new and modernized front-line aircraft Su-30, Su-27SM, Su-27SM3, Su-34, with subsequent training on them for pilots of combat units of the Russian Air Force

Pilots of the group "Falcons of Russia" as of 01/01/2012:
Major General Alexander Nikolaevich Kharchevsky - head of the aviation center. Honored Military Pilot of Russia, Candidate of Military Sciences. He has the class qualification of “pilot-sniper”. Awarded the orders “For Merit to the Fatherland, fourth degree,” “Red Star,” “For Service to the Motherland, third degree,” “For Military Merit,” personalized weapons and medals, including the French gold medal “For Military Merit” and the badge of an officer of the national order France "For Merit". Born May 9, 1950. In 1972 he graduated from the Kharkov Higher Aviation Pilot School. In 1986 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Yu.A. Gagarin. During his service, he mastered the L-29, MiG-15, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30, Su-34 aircraft. He flew on foreign-made combat aircraft F-15 and Mirage-2000. The total flight time on these types of aircraft is 3650 hours. Colonel Gostev Alexander Ivanovich – head of the research department. He has the class qualification of “pilot-sniper”.
He was awarded the Order of Courage, the Nesterov Medal, and the Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, second degree.
Born June 13, 1964. In 1985 he graduated from the Kachin Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots. In 2007 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Yu.A. Gagarin. During his service, he mastered the L-29, MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30 aircraft. The total flight time on these types of aircraft is 2250 hours. Lieutenant Colonel Spryadyshev Yuri Ilyich - senior instructor - research pilot. Honored Military Pilot of Russia. He has the class qualification of “pilot-sniper”. Awarded the Nesterov and “For Military Merit” medals
Born August 13, 1962. In 1983 he graduated from the Kachin Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.
During his service, he mastered the L-29, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30 aircraft. The total flight time on these types of aircraft is 2420 hours. Lieutenant Colonel Andrey Vladimirovich Sorokin – deputy commander of the air group. He is highly qualified as a sniper pilot.
Awarded the Order of Military Merit and the Nesterov Medal.
Born April 23, 1969. In 1990 he graduated from the Kharkov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.
During his service, he mastered the L-39, MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30 aircraft. The total flight time on these types of aircraft is 1600 hours. Major Musatov Maxim Gennadievich - commander of the aviation unit. He has the class qualification of 1st class pilot.
Awarded the Nesterov medal. Born December 28, 1979. In 2002 he graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute.
During his service, he mastered the L-39, MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30 aircraft. The total flight time on these types of aircraft is 980 hours. Captain Polovko Denis Nikolaevich - navigator-pilot. He has the class qualification of 1st class pilot.
Born December 7, 1981. In 2004 he graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute.
During his service, he mastered the L-39, MiG-29, Su-27 and Su-30 aircraft. The total flight time on these types of aircraft is 780 hours.
On the ground, pilots are assisted by ground services

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Meanwhile, on the taxiway the traffic does not decrease as soon as the 02 turns red

8th red rushes to take his place in the air

he is surrounded on all sides by a pair of assorted Su-25 Sturmgewehr rooks

Su-25SM - Upgraded combat single-seat attack aircraft. Avionics have been updated, HUD and MFD have been added. RF-92255 87 red

In total, the Russian Air Force fleet consists of 381 aircraft of various modifications. They will remain in service until at least 2020. The first aircraft flew in 1975, accepted in 1981.
They successfully took part in the war in Afghanistan, where they received the nickname “Rook”. One of these aircraft was piloted by the well-known A. Rutskoy. In addition to Afghanistan, they participated in many other military operations. These aircraft are operated in 21 countries around the world, in the Russian Federation they are the main attack aircraft of the Russian Air Force and Navy aviation.

The Su-25UB, as we see from the combat training index, is a two-seat version of the attack aircraft. RF-92274, 78 red

In front of the control center stood the most popular helicopter in the world, the Mi-8, board 01 blue. Having plucked up courage and being full of arrogance, we wanted to go for a ride, but as we approached, it turned on the engines, turned its back towards us and took off for takeoff.



Without getting upset for a long time, we took advantage of the short pause and changed the shooting point.


RF-92249 47 red was leaving for its departure

It was followed by the 29th MiG RF-92265 34 red and RF-92262 29 red

Mig-29 is the most popular fighter, 1600 copies were produced. However, about 300 units are currently in service with the Air Force and Fleet Aviation, and the same number are in reserve.

While the MiGs were leaving, the An-26 RF-92949 58 red transport aircraft had already landed and taxied

An hour or two later, having completed his task, he flew on.

I wanted to return a little more to the Mig-29, I don’t know why this is, but they smoke worse than Kamaz trucks, especially during takeoff and landing.



and so the whole day passed, take-offs and landings,

aerobatics

passages

and refueling
It’s a special pleasure to see and hear the afterburning of the dryers. The afterburning mode of operation of an air-breathing engine is realized using an additional (afterburning) combustion chamber (hereinafter referred to as FCC). When the afterburner is turned on, additional fuel is burned in the FCS, and the working fluid is intensively heated, which, in turn, leads to an increase in its flow rate from the nozzle and an increase in engine thrust.

When the engine operates in afterburner, a visible stream of hot gases appears behind the jet nozzle, which has a characteristic striped color. If kerosene is incompletely burned (due to lack of oxygen), the stream will be red in color with yellow vertical rings. If combustion is well optimized, the flame color will be blue. The pressure at the nozzle exit significantly exceeds the ambient pressure, and as you move away from the nozzle, the pressure decreases and the speed of the flowing gases increases. In this case, the cross section of the jet increases and the pressure in the largest section becomes less than atmospheric. After this, the jet begins to narrow again, with increasing pressure. This cyclicity leads to the fact that the supersonic stream of escaping gases periodically (cyclically) becomes subsonic, with the appearance of shock waves - these are precisely the visible light rings of flame. Due to the imperfection of the fuel equipment of some engines, an interesting effect is sometimes observed - on the same aircraft, one engine has a blue exhaust in afterburner, while the second has a red or yellow exhaust.
The temperature of the gases behind the main combustion chamber is limited mainly by the heat resistance and heat resistance of the turbine blades. Installing an additional combustion chamber behind the turbine allows you to circumvent this limitation. The main disadvantage of this solution is a sharp drop in the efficiency of the propulsion system. Due to the above reasons, the switch to afterburner mode of engine operation is carried out only if it is necessary to vigorously accelerate the aircraft (take-off, climb to an advantageous position for attack, emergency exit from combat, overcoming the enemy’s air defense coverage area, etc.

Several cards from the parking lot. Today, almost a third of the entire Su-34 fleet at the moment has gathered here.

And also their older brothers and Migi

The already familiar 69 red Su-30 is once again preparing to take to the skies on this day.

Its falcon brother Su-27 S, 10 red.

Su-27S (Flanker-B) is a single-seat fighter-interceptor of the Air Force, the main modification of the aircraft, produced in series. Equipped with AL-31F engines.

Su-25 RF-92261 86 red

Su-34 08 red


But everything is coming to an end and so is our visit. Half-frozen, but happy, we move back, and the crews and their combat vehicles continue to serve.



In total, the shutter was operated 2096 times during the trip. About 200 cards in varying degrees of processing can be viewed in the album.

Well, as usual, a couple of videos about the Lipetsk Aviation Center and the “Russian Falcons” aerobatic team

And how I was blown away by the wind from the Su-24

Home Structure Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Air Force Lipetsk Aviation Center History of the Lipetsk Aviation Center

State Order of Lenin Red Banner Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation named after V.P. Chkalova (Lipetsk Aviation Center)

January 1, 1949- the 4th Fighter Aviation Training Center was formed (military unit 62632), located in the village of Razboishchina, Voroshilovsky district, Saratov region. Reason: Directive of the General Staff of September 24, 1948 No. org /5/94613.

March 1, 1953- on the basis of the Higher Aviation Courses for Blind and Night Training of Air Force Pilot Officers and the 4th Fighter Aviation Training Center, the 4th Air Force Combat Use Center was formed. The basis for this was the directive of the Military Minister of the USSR dated February 3, 1953 No. org/5/567814, the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army Air Force dated February 27, 1953 No. 135556, and the city of Tambov was determined as its location.

Since 1954, the Center was located in Voronezh. In 1960, the formation was relocated to Lipetsk and was transformed into the Center for Combat Use and Retraining of Air Force Flight Personnel. In 2011, it was awarded the name of the State Order of Lenin of the Red Banner Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation named after V.P. Chkalova. In 2009, it included the I.P. Aviation Equipment Display Center. Kozhedub (Kubinka), and from 2011 to 2013, the centers for combat training of long-range, army and military transport aviation were under his control.

The center is a special flight-methodical, research and training unit intended for the development and development of methods for the combat use of military aviation, training and retraining of personnel on existing and entering aviation systems and weapons.

The Center has mastered over forty main types of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. These include the first-born jets Il-28, MiG-15 and all subsequent production aircraft of front-line aviation, as well as unmanned reconnaissance vehicles such as “Strizh”, “Reis”, “Wing”. In 1960, a training department was created at the Center, in which more than 60 thousand officers of various specialties were trained. 11 USSR pilot-cosmonauts retrained for new aviation equipment at the Center.

Thirty-three Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation served at the Center. For their services in the development of aviation technology, the titles “Honored Military Pilot (navigator)”, “Honored Military Specialist”, “Honored Communications Worker” were awarded to 56 people. For their great contribution to the scientific development of the problems of combat use of aviation systems and weapons, forty military personnel received the academic degree of Candidate of Sciences.

During the existence of the Center, more than 50 research LTUs were carried out and more than two thousand research works were completed.

Throughout its history, the Center has successfully carried out the tasks set by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the Air Force. The personnel took part in atomic bomb testing exercises at the Totsky test site in 1954, demonstrated the combat capabilities of Su-24 front-line bombers at the Spring-75 exercises, and were among the first to master the 4th generation Su-27 aircraft in the 1980s. and MiG-29 and developed methodological documents for their operation in combat units, in 1992 they made the first flight in the history of front-line aviation to the USA on Su-27 aircraft, in 1995 the pilots conducted 36 training air battles with South African pilots and won all of them .

The aviation center participated in the aerospace shows MAKS-2007, MAKS-2009, MAKS-2011, MAKS-2013 and MAKS-2015, where pilots flew Su-27, Su-30SM, MiG- 29 and SU-34 demonstrated maneuverable air combat, single and group aerobatics. In 2006 and 2010, the Center hosted inspectors from OSCE participating States.

In 2006, 2008, 2009 2011, 2013 and 2015, the Center participated in the International Exhibition of Arms and Military Equipment in Nizhny Tagil, on May 9, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 2016 in the air parade over Red Square in honor of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. In 2012, 57 crews of operational-tactical, army and transport aviation participated in the “Common Sky” air festival dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force.

The aviation center is a participant in major international and Russian exercises such as Rubezh-2005, collective security forces of the CIS countries, Center-2008, Interaction-2008, West-2009, East-2010, Union Shield-2011 " "West 2013". The center was the base for joint exercises of the Russian and French Air Forces in 2013, the Russian and Indian Air Forces "Aviaindra-2014", as well as the All-Russian and International flight crew competitions "Aviadarts-2014" and "Aviadarts-2015"

The flying profession places the highest demands on a person’s moral qualities, physical capabilities and professional skills. Lipetsk aviators have repeatedly shown courage in critical situations that arose during flights. Pilots L.A. Krivenkov and S.M. Sherstobitov, E.I. Zakharov and V.I. New settlers sacrificed themselves to save the lives of others. For the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, the title of Hero of the Russian Federation was awarded (posthumously) to Major General of Aviation S.S. Oskanov and Lieutenant Colonel O. A. Peshkov.

The symbol of the glorious aviation history is the monument on Aviators Square - the MiG-19 fighter soaring upward. The inscription on its pedestal reads: “The monument was erected in August 1969 in honor of the exploits of the soldiers-pilots of the local garrison during the Civil War, the Great Patriotic War and in memory of the location of the squadron named after V.I. in the city of Lipetsk. Lenin".

Today, the Center is the main base for researching the combat capabilities of aircraft, Su-30SM and Su-35, with the subsequent introduction into practice of the Air Force of the developments obtained during flight experiments. The aerobatic teams in its composition, and, are the calling card of the Russian Air Force. For many years, they have successfully demonstrated to the world the power of Russian aviation, the maneuverability of domestic fighters and the skill of pilots.

Currently, the main efforts of the Center's personnel are aimed at increasing the intensity of combat training, increasing flight hours, further studying the combat capabilities of aircraft in service, and retraining the flight and engineering personnel of combat units.

In 2013, the super-maneuverable multi-role Su-30SM aircraft were put into service, and in 2014, research began on the combat capabilities of the Su-35S. The educational and material base is constantly being improved. Currently, students and teachers of the Central Officer Courses have at their disposal computer classrooms, automated workstations, complex and procedural simulators, for example, an interactive training system for the MiG-29SMT aircraft, which includes a computer classroom and a procedural simulator.

Since September 2016, the head of the Center has been Honored Military Pilot of Russia, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Major General Yuri Aleksandrovich Sushkov.

The history and present of the Center are formulated in the motto: “Teach airplanes to fight, teach pilots to win!”

Information is being received...

: УУВЛ

The head of the Lipetsk Aviation Center since September 2016 is Lieutenant General Yuri Aleksandrovich Sushkov.

4 Air Force pulp and paper processing plant and PLS is located at the Lipetsk-2 airfield, 8 kilometers west of the center of Lipetsk, near the urban areas of Venus and Mine No. 10. A large number of decommissioned aircraft intended for disposal are in storage: Su-24, Su-27, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, MiG-31

In addition to the existing concrete runway (RWY) 15/33, the airfield has an old concrete runway 10/28 measuring 2,500x40 meters, which is used as parking areas and a taxiway.

Story

The history of the Lipetsk Aviation Center began during the First World War. Back in 1916, the first workshops for assembling French aircraft of the Luran type appeared here. In October 1918, by order of the Main Air Force, a squadron of heavy bombers “Ilya Muromets” began to form in Lipetsk. The squadron was based at the airfield, located at that time on the former outskirts of the city near the railway station (see: Tereshkova Street (Lipetsk)). The Ilya Muromets bombers and the Lebed light airplanes that accompanied them actively participated in hostilities during the Civil War.

The Germans in a very short time reconstructed the production facilities, erected two small hangars, a repair shop, and already on July 15, 1925, a joint flight-tactical school was opened. Initially, the material base was 50 Fokker D-XIII fighters purchased by Vogru with funds from the Ruhr Fund in the Netherlands in 1923-1925. On June 28, 1925, the planes arrived from Stettin to Leningrad on the ship Edmund Hugo Stinnes. Transport aircraft and bombers were also purchased. Flight training took place over 5-6 months. The school was led by Major V. Shtar, and the position of a Soviet deputy, a representative of the Red Army, was also provided.

In the summer, during the flight period, the ground personnel numbered over 200 people (on the German side - about 140 people), in winter the figure decreased (on the German side - about 40 people). In 1932, the total number of personnel of the center reached 303 people: 43 German and 26 Soviet cadets, 234 workers, employees and technical specialists. The leadership of the Reichswehr strictly controlled all the details of the activities of joint structures on the territory of the USSR, and special attention was paid to secrecy. German pilots wore Soviet uniforms without insignia.

Research work was carried out at the school, for which the German General Staff secretly acquired material abroad. The practical training course for pilots included practicing air combat, bombing from various positions, studying weapons and equipment for aircraft - machine guns, cannons, optical instruments (sights for bombing and mirror sights for fighters), etc.

In just eight years of its existence, the aviation school in Lipetsk trained or retrained 120 fighter pilots (30 of them were participants in the First World War, 20 were former civil aviation pilots) for Germany. The exact number of Soviet aviation specialists who underwent training under the guidance of German instructors could not be established.

In the early 1930s, even before Hitler came to power in Germany, German participation in the project began to decline noticeably. Already at the negotiations in November 1931, the German side avoided discussing the possibility of turning the aviation school in Lipetsk into a large joint research center. This happened due to the rapprochement of the USSR with other Western European countries, in particular with France. The Treaty of Rapallo, signed between the RSFSR and the Weimar Republic in 1922, began to lose its relevance. On September 15, 1933, the Lipetsk project was closed, the buildings erected by German specialists, and a significant part of the equipment were transferred to the Soviet side.

Higher Flight Tactical School of the Air Force

4th Air Force Combat Weapons Center was formed in Tambov on April 19, 1953. In 1954 he was transferred to Voronezh, and in 1960 to Lipetsk, after which he was transformed into 4th Center for Combat Use and Retraining of Air Force Flight Personnel.

More than 45 thousand officers of various specialties were trained in the training department of the center during the Soviet period. At the Lipetsk Aviation Center, 11 Soviet pilot-cosmonauts were also retrained for new types of aircraft. As a symbol of the glorious aviation history of Lipetsk, in August 1969, a monument was erected on Aviators Square - a MiG-19 fighter soaring upward.

In 2013, the flight crew of the aviation center began mastering the super-maneuverable multirole fighters Su-30SM; in 2014, development of the Su-35S fighter began.

In 2014, the airfield of the aviation center was used as a base airfield for the duration of the Aviadarts Air Force and Navy aviation flight crew competitions.

In August 2015, the head of the aviation center, Major General Alexander Kharchevsky, resigned; his place was taken by Hero of the Russian Federation, Major General S.I. Kobylash.

Structure

• 968th Research and Instructor Mixed Aviation Regiment (968 ISAP) - Lipetsk - MiG-29, Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, Su-30, Su-34, Yak-130
• 4020th Aircraft Reserve Base (4020 BRS) - Lipetsk

In 2007, the center received the latest Su-34 fighter-bomber and modernized Su-24M2 front-line bombers. In 2010, the Lipetsk Aviation Center became part of

This year has become an anniversary for the pilots of Lipetsk. The history of the city's military aviation began 100 years ago - on November 4, 1918, when the first combat aircraft from the Ilya Muromets airship squadron, piloted by Joseph Bashko, landed at the city hippodrome. Since the Civil War, the city outskirts have gradually turned into one of the largest air hubs in Russia.

From 1925 to 1933, a German aviation school was located near Lipetsk, reorganized into the Vifupal flight test station. Cooperation with Germany was carried out by a particularly secret apparatus. The headquarters was listed in secret documents as “unit A5,” where the Germans managed to test more than 30 types of aircraft, aviation weapons and equipment. These years were overgrown with a lot of rumors, sometimes even completely fantastic, including tests of “flying saucers”.

THE FLIGHT SCHOOL TRAINED MORE THAN 300 HEROES OF THE SOVIET UNION

In 1934, the Higher Flight and Tactical School of the Red Army Air Force was organized in Lipetsk. Thousands of aviation commanders, including over three hundred Heroes of the Soviet Union, were trained there. Already during the Great Patriotic War, dozens of air units and formations were based near Lipetsk.

At the beginning of the war, the main task was the formation of marching air regiments. From July 1, 1941 to June 28, 1942, the Center sent 33 marching regiments to the front, Pavel Rukhlin, head of the historical and memorial complex of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, told KP. - The 591st Fighter Aviation Regiment was based in Lipetsk and its environs (the settlements of Venus and Sokol). It consisted of three squadrons flying MiG-3, I-152 and I-16 aircraft. During 1941, the regiment shot down 20 enemy aircraft, destroyed about 3.5 thousand of its soldiers, playing an important role in the liberation of Yelets and the defense of Moscow.

And since 1960, the State Order of Lenin Red Banner Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing of the Russian Ministry of Defense named after V.P. Chkalov has been based in Lipetsk - the now famous Lipetsk Aviation Center. Since its founding, over 40 types of aircraft and drones have been mastered here. These include the first jet Il-28 MiG-15 and all subsequent production aircraft, as well as unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "Strizh", "Reis" and "Wing". In 1960, a training department was created at the Center, where more than 60 thousand officers of various specialties were trained.

SACRIFICED THEMSELVES TO SAVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS

33 Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia served at the Center. Lipetsk aviators have repeatedly shown courage in critical situations during flights. Pilots Krivenkov, Sherstobitov, Zakharov and Novoselov sacrificed themselves, saving the lives of others. For courage and heroism in the performance of military duty, the title of Hero of Russia was posthumously received by Aviation Major General Sulambek Oskanov, who at the cost of his life took a faulty plane away from a populated area, and Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov, who died in Syria.

The memory of heroes is honored at the aviation center. The younger generation is being educated by their example. This is confirmed by the opening of the Alley of Heroic Glory of the Lipetsk Aviation Center on July 14, noted Pavel Rukhlin.

The personnel of the aviation center participated in exercises to test an atomic bomb at the Totsky test site. In 1992, Lipetsk pilots made the first flight in the history of front-line aviation to the United States on Su-27 aircraft. The center has repeatedly participated in the MAKS aerospace shows, where pilots on Su-27, Su-30SM, Su-35S, MiG-29 and SU-34 combat aircraft demonstrated maneuverable air combat, single and group aerobatics.

The flight and engineering staff of the aviation center participates in the international military-technical forum “Army”, in the International Exhibition of Weapons and Military Equipment, and in major international and Russian exercises. The Center often becomes a base for joint exercises of the Russian Air Force and other countries.

“OVER TIME, ROMANCE FALLS INTO THE BACKGROUND”

When choosing a pilot’s profession, some are attracted by technology, others by romance,” says the head of the aviation center, Lieutenant General Yuri Sushkov. - In the process of mastering a profession, a person understands that it requires constant work on oneself, constant growth of skill, horizons, physical and psychological capabilities. Over time, romance fades into the background, and satisfaction comes from constant improvement in mastering aircraft technology and performing complex tasks.

Currently, the Center is testing the combat capabilities of MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-24M, Su-25, Su-34, Su-30SM and Su-35 fighters and bombers. In 2013, the super-maneuverable multi-role Su-30SM aircraft were put into service, and in 2014, research began on the combat capabilities of the Su-35S. The Center includes the aerobatic teams “Falcons of Russia”, “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” - the calling card of the Russian Air Force. For many years they have successfully demonstrated to the world the power of Russian aviation.

Currently, the Lipetsk Aviation Center is improving combat training, researching the combat capabilities of aircraft, as well as retraining flight and engineering personnel. Pilots have at their disposal complex and procedural simulators, for example, an interactive training system for the MiG-29SMT aircraft, which includes a computer training classroom and a procedural simulator.

In computer classes, the teaching methodology is completely different,” explains Colonel Pavel Patsevich, head of the central officer courses at the Lipetsk Aviation Center. - Both theory and practice can be mastered visually, in one class, which reduces the duration of preparation.

IT IS WORTHY TO CONTINUE THE TRADITIONS OF THE OLDER GENERATION

Since September 2016, the head of the Center has been Lieutenant General Yuri Aleksandrovich Sushkov. A military sniper pilot participated in combat operations in Afghanistan, graduated with honors from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy in 2000, and received a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree in 2007. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star, “For Service in the Armed Forces”, III degree, the Nesterov Medal, as well as medals of the Ministry of Defense. The honored military pilot is one of the founders of the Falcons of Russia aerobatic team, in which he flew from 1991 to 2010.

Today's Lipetsk aviators worthily continue the traditions laid down by the older generation, noted the lieutenant general. - Now the Center faces two main tasks. The first is the training of aviation specialists from combat units for new and modernized aviation equipment. The second is a study of the combat capabilities of operational-tactical aviation complexes entering the troops under the rearmament program, with the subsequent writing of methodological recommendations for the flight personnel of combat units. I take this opportunity to congratulate veterans, all active pilots, navigators, engineers, technicians, communications and logistics specialists, as well as all Lipetsk residents on the 100th anniversary of Lipetsk military aviation. I wish you health, success in your service and prosperity to our city.

Its motto speaks well about the current task of the Center: “Teach planes to fight, teach pilots to win!” Let us remind you that the day before, in honor of the centenary anniversary, all Russian aerobatic teams flocked to Lipetsk for a grandiose air show.

Air Force Day is celebrated in Russia on August 12. On the eve of the professional holiday, the leader of the air group "Falcons of Russia" of the Lipetsk Aviation Center, sniper pilot and researcher, Colonel Alexander Gostev, spoke in an interview with RIA Novosti correspondent Ekaterina Zgirovskaya about the secrets of the skill of the most "combat" Russian aerobatics group, the friendship of the "Falcons" with the French regiment " Normandy-Niemen", as well as the requirements for Air Force pilots and the prospects for creating a women's aerobatic team in Russia.

— Alexander, how did the group appear and why was it given this name — “Falcons of Russia”?

— The Lipetsk Aviation Center for a long time did not want to admit that it has an aerobatic aviation team, because the Center is studying the issue of combat use. We started doing aerobatics because a certain part of the pilots had achieved perfection and reached a level where they could do what you see now. We started doing this quite a long time ago, but at first there was no name, it was just a flight crew unit. And when one of the tasks of the Lipetsk Aviation Center was to demonstrate the capabilities of aircraft, they decided, although it was quite late, in 2006, that they needed to get a name. How was it born? The falcon is a fast bird of prey, matching the tasks that Lipetsk pilots solve.

— What kind of aircraft are currently used by the group and how many are there? How many pilots of the Lipetsk Aviation Center are included in the aerobatic team?

— Equipment that should enter service with the Russian Air Force first comes to the Lipetsk Aviation Center, we fly it over, practice piloting techniques, navigation, and combat use. The group exists on the basis of the 1st aviation squadron, which flies Su-27 type aircraft (a multi-role highly maneuverable all-weather fighter of the fourth generation - editor's note). And the Su-27 has many modifications - Su-27S, Su-27P, Su-27M, then we had the Su-30 aircraft in the first form, and then the modernized Su-27SM, and the final aircraft were the Su-30SM and Su-27SM. 35, which arrived quite recently.

The group includes our six on the Su-27, two pilots on the MiG-29, and a group of Su-25. In the Su-25 group is Colonel Alexander Kotov, who performs solo aerobatics. In addition, the Su-25 is now widely used to display smoke in the form of the Russian flag.

— How many pilots are currently mastering the Su-30SM aircraft?

— About 12 pilots are currently flying it at our Center. We explore issues of super-maneuverability and group agility, and also begin complex aerobatics. From the aerobatic team, all the pilots fly - Kharchevsky (General Alexander Kharchevsky - head of the Center and commander of the air group - editor's note), myself, Major Dmitry Zaev, lieutenant colonels Yuri Spryadyshev and Alexander Sorokin and others. Unfortunately, we only have four Su-30SM aircraft, they arrived quite recently, we are only taking our first steps on them, studying them. In addition, they are constantly undergoing some kind of modifications and modernization, so we have not yet been able to put all four aircraft in a group and fly them in a “diamond formation”.

— In what combinations do the Falcons of Russia perform aerobatic maneuvers during demonstration flights?

— We fly with six, but extremely rarely, although all the shows where we were recently - Nizhny Tagil, Armavir, Krasnodar - everywhere we started with six, then the commander (Alexander Kharchevsky - editor's note) showed solo aerobatics, and the main program was carried out by four .

— How are things going with the introduction of the Su-35 (generation 4++ super-maneuverable multi-role jet fighter)? Will these fighters take part in the Russian Falcons aerobatic team displays?

— The plane is absolutely not designed for this, however, like the Su-30SM. These are, first of all, combat aircraft, and the pilots of the Lipetsk Aviation Center are distinguished from the Aviation Equipment Display Center in Kubinka (the base of the aerobatic teams “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” - editor’s note) by the fact that there the pilots are engaged exclusively in aerobatics, demonstrating the capabilities of the aircraft and flying according to the combat training plan, and the tasks of our center have been expanded. This includes writing methods, and for this purpose, performing flights, being an instructor, and only then demonstrating the capabilities of the aircraft.

- Yes, that’s true - we take part in all the exercises that are conducted. During the flight shift, we will perform a training flight as a group of four or six, and on the second or third flight we will fly to the training ground or air battles, training young people. We have constant business trips to train pilots from other air bases.

— Air Force pilots are subject to very serious requirements, from physical to psychological. What do you need to get into flight service at the Lipetsk Aviation Center and become part of the Falcons of Russia group? How is the selection going?

— When I got to the Lipetsk Aviation Center, it was in 1990, there were very specific requirements - a pilot, senior pilot or flight commander, here all the pilots were in the position of flight commander. There was a limited number of flight personnel in the squadrons; it was determined to be no lower than second class. This was under the structure of the Air Force, which was then.

At the end of the 90s, flying hours began to be cut back due to a lack of kerosene, and the breakthrough began already in the 2000s - at that time young flight personnel joined the Center. Since then, this level that existed before has not existed. Pilots can also come to us from school. At first, the guys were selected with very good theoretical training - excellent students or medalists, this tradition continues: if there are vacancies, they can even take a lieutenant. And then we get to work. There were examples where a lieutenant graduated from college with honors, flew a MiG-29, but here he failed. Maybe because there are more serious types of training here, there is a certain filtering of the flight personnel, when he reaches a certain skill, we look at whether this pilot will be able to fly in flight formations.

Before considering the professional qualities of a pilot, naturally, we look at what this pilot is like as a person. If he has a bad character and is an unreliable friend, then you wouldn’t want to fly with him in a group where the interval and distance are three meters. A person who can make an independent decision in the air and not obey the will of the leader, who takes full responsibility in flights, is not desirable in the group.

— Do you plan to expand the composition of the Falcons of Russia group in the near future?

- We do this all the time. Our group is quite old - the average age of pilots in the group is 45-50 years old, so we are constantly recruiting candidates. Those who have already been selected are improving. But since we are not a Display Center, we do not only do this; there are a lot of other tasks. Now four of our pilots are training at another airfield, we are left without ordinary aircraft, the technical staff is literally torn apart.

— There are people who believe that aerobatics are a waste of budget money.

— I assure you that if now a couple from the Falcons of Russia aerobatic team were selected as participants in the Aviadarts aerial training competition, no one would have a chance.

For three years, by decision of ex-Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov, the Krasnodar Flight School did not recruit cadets, but now it is recruiting, but the competition is less than two people per place. Our problem is that we do not have any kind of information program that would interest young people in serving in the army, and especially in aviation. Now the most prestigious professions are lawyers and bankers - earthly people.
Demonstration flights play a big role. We recently had a show in Orenburg, after the flights people were allowed into the exhibition, two young people came up, looked and said: “What a fool I was for not going to flight school.”

This is not budget money. And any demonstration is unnecessary training. There are commercial displays by the organizers - all kinds of weapons exhibitions. They pay the Department of Defense for us to participate.

— Does the Lipetsk Aviation Center have income from the participation of Falcons in these commercial projects?

“Neither the Lipetsk Aviation Center nor the aerobatic team pilots from these shows have a penny. We are the sovereign's people, we carry out the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Minister of Defense. They have the right to send us anywhere. In this case, we all earn money for the Ministry of Defense.

— What is the “trick”, the main feature of the “Falcons of Russia” group, which allows you not to be confused with the “Russian Knights” and “Swifts”?

— If we take the aerobatics of the four, I don’t see in the performance of the “Vityaz” ascending figures with turns, loops with turns, loops with turns on the ascending and descending parts. The main difference is that we demonstrate elements of air combat. Our special feature is that Lipetsk pilots fly all modifications of aircraft.

— “Vityazi” and “Swifts” are much more promoted than you? What is this connected with?

“We are on friendly terms with them, there are no problems at all.” Their popularity is somewhat determined by the proximity of Moscow. The aviation equipment display center in Kubinka has a developed infrastructure and airfield structure, specially painted aircraft (we painted ours in the early 2000s, and even then only a few), a demonstration base, a command and control tower building and an observation tower for guests, a hangar for demonstrating equipment. In Soviet times, when Kubinka began its existence, they held two or three shows a week for foreign representatives. All foreign delegations that came on visits to Russia made it a mandatory part of their program to visit Kubinka. Then there were international screenings.

They have a regular aerobatics team, we don’t have that. The structure of the Center in Kubinka had a special department that dealt with public relations and propaganda.

But we, as a structure of a conventional combat unit, had none of this.

— By what principle are the events at which you perform among aerobatic pilots divided: where do the “Vityazis” fly, where do the “Swifts” fly, where do the “Falcons” fly?

“For this purpose, there is a special person in the aviation department who deals with these displays. Events are being planned for screenings domestically and internationally. Foreign states, as a rule, send their applications, and then the aviation department of the Air Force General Staff decides where which group will go. But, as a rule, Vityazis and a few Swifts go abroad due to the fact that it is problematic to fly anywhere on the MiG-29. And flights along the Tambov province are all given to us.

— Do you fly abroad? Do any difficulties arise because of your “combat” image? “Vityazs,” for example, are now afraid to be allowed into an air show in Switzerland because the specifications say that they are capable of combat use.

- No, absolutely. We make friendly visits and transport equipment to China. In France, we have been developing friendly relations with the Normandie-Niemen regiment since 1993-1994; they have flown to us several times and invited us to the opening of the monument to the Normandie-Niemen regiment in Le Bourget. We had a visit to Norway. This is all according to the plan for military-technical cooperation.

In the near future, by the way, the international exercises “Indra-2014” India-Russia will be held. The first stage in late August - early September will be held at the Lipetsk base, and the second stage - in November, at the Indian base. We will fly there, but not on our own planes, but there we fly on the planes of the host country. We will fly with joint crews. Here they will fly on our Su-30SM aircraft - a Russian pilot will sit in front, an Indian pilot will sit in the back. But in November the opposite is true.

— Have you received an offer to teach aerobatics to pilots of the new aerobatic team “Wings of Taurida” on combat training Yak-130s? They are taught by "Swifts", although you are geographically much closer.

— There was a proposal, this issue was discussed for a very long time. Literally the next day after the decree of the Commander-in-Chief on the creation of an aerobatic team on Yak-130 aircraft on the basis of Borisoglebsk, the deputy head of the VUNTS (Air Force Academy - editor's note) called us and asked to provide assistance to the Borisoglebsk pilots on the issues of carrying out legal and practical measures to create an aerobatic team groups. And think about how to teach them to fly.

The issue was considered that several of our pilots should retrain on the Yak-130 and then teach them. But the arguments came into force that the Kubinka was going to be transferred to the Yak-130. It has been discussed for several years now. Therefore, it would be more expedient to send those pilots who are planned to be transferred to these aircraft in the future to train Borisoglebsk residents. But now, since the Yak-130 aerobatic team will be created in Borisoglebsk, it is unlikely that the Cubans will be transferred.

- By the way, about training and combat training - every week there are reports from Ukraine that the militias have shot down another Su-25 of the Ukrainian Air Force. Is it poor training of pilots or very accurate militias?

“The thing is that there is no particular need for accuracy, the rocket does everything.” The crew has virtually no chance. Let's remember Afghanistan - the fight for the "Stinger" (MANPADS "Stinger" - editor's note), our government then wanted to get them, because an insane number of planes and helicopters were shot down by these MANPADS. Here the tactics came into force, the pilots, having comprehended it, raised altitudes, the Stinger can reach an altitude of 3-4 kilometers, they began to fly higher and throw bombs without descending, and stopped falling into the range of operations of these MANPADS. And in Ukraine this is clearly the unprofessionalism of their pilots.

— Do you think there is a chance to create a women’s aerobatic team in Russia? Would you take on such a task?

- No, no way. I have a somewhat negative attitude towards female pilots. Unless Svetlana Kapanina is unique, she is the only one on the entire planet - a six-time world champion.

There was a time when, at the instigation of the commander and the minister of defense, girls took a training course. But no matter how much we looked, we understood that it was better for a woman to engage in some kind of female profession.

To create an aerobatic team, a pilot needs to fly for at least 6-7 years.

— At what events by the end of this year will we be able to see the Falcons of Russia?

— On Air Force Day, the Commander-in-Chief comes to us in Lipetsk, we perform demonstration flights, and on August 13 we take off in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. We fly there on military transport planes, and there we will fly on planes from the Domninsky Regiment (Transbaikalia). There will be an anniversary of the aircraft plant, and on August 16-17 we will take part in flights to mark these celebrations.

— How will you celebrate Air Force Day?

“We will celebrate it at home, on our Lipetsk soil, with flights in honor of Air Force Day, then we will get together and remember all our guys.